According to set photos obtained by The Daily Mail, it looks like Claire Foy will be returning to The Crown in season 4. The actress portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the hit Netflix series, which saw the icon succeeding to the throne as well as her first years as the head of the royal family.
Unfortunately, Foy and many of her fellow castmates had their roles recast as their characters grew older. Rather than digitally age them or apply elderly-looking makeup, the showrunners decided to go with different performers. The series intends to constantly recast the royals every two seasons as well, which is both exciting and upsetting for those who miss the original actors.
Academy Award winner Olivia Colman has taken over for Foy in the third season of The Crown and while she’s done a great job thus far, many fans miss seeing Foy onscreen. Luckily, then, it looks like she’ll be back soon, as the 35-year-old actress was recently spotted on the set of season 4 wearing a white dress and pearls. History buffs will recognize this outfit as one that closely resembles what the real Elizabeth wore for her 21st birthday speech.
It seems likely that the next batch of episodes will include a flashback to this pivotal moment in the queen’s life. It’s unclear if it’ll be the only one of its kind, but hopefully it’s just one of the many scenes from Elizabeth’s past that The Crown will go back to so that we can get more of Foy in the role.
Flashbacks aside, we know that season 4 of The Crown will pick up in the 1980s. As such, expect to see an even more modern monarchy, as well as the long-awaited introduction of the legendary Princess Diana and the United Kingdom’s first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.