The Crown's Season 4 Cast Is Packed With A-Listers and Newcomers Alike

The newly-minted Oscar winner is set to take over the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Emmy winner Claire Foy. Most recently seen playing another British queen in The Favourite, Colman has had a slew of roles in both film and television, most notably in the British crime thrillers Broadchurch and The Night Manager. Incidentally, she actually played Queen Elizabeth II's mother, the Queen Mother, in 2012's Hyde Park on Hudson!

Best known for his dual roles as villainous "Black Jack" Randall and modern historian Frank Randall in Outlander, Menzies takes over as the queen's husband from Matt Smith. He has had an acclaimed career on the British stage, especially with Shakespeare. His role on Outlander isn't his only massive TV adaptation, either: he plays Edmure Tully, a cousin to the Starks, on Game of Thrones.

The ever-iconic Bonham Carter is set to tackle the role of the queen's wild younger sister, Princess Margaret, following in the footsteps of Vanessa Kirby. Bonham Carter's list of screen credits is lengthy, with well-known roles in the Harry Potter franchise, movie musicals such as Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd, and, more recently, Ocean's 8. She also has previously played her new character's mother: she was nominated for an Oscar in 2010 for playing Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in The King's Speech.

As young adult Charles, Josh O'Connor is one of the lesser-known actors in the cast, but he's already building quite a resume. He had an ongoing role in the British TV series The Durrells in Corfu, and he can be seen in the BBC/PBS remake of Les Miserables as young idealist Marius Pontmercy.

Like her TV brother O'Connor, Doherty isn't too familiar to audiences, unless they're very into British historical dramas. With a career mostly on the stage so far, Doherty has appeared in the 2019 miniseries of Les Miserables and in one episode of Call the Midwife. Doherty will be playing Princess Anne, the queen's only daughter, throughout her young adult years that also will include her first marriage.

As an actress, Fennell is best know for her five seasons playing Patsy Mount on Call the Midwife, but she's also an acclaimed writer, with three episodes of Killing Eve credited to her. Unlike many of her co-stars, who are taking over roles from previous portrayers, Fennell will be the first person on The Crown to portray Camilla Shand, later Parker-Bowles, Prince Charles's first love and future second wife.

Bailey has had a long-running career across the pond, but probably isn't very recognizable to American audiences. Her most wide-reaching role was in 2016's WWII drama Allied. She takes over from Victoria Hamilton as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the mother of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.

The controversial British prime minister is set to appear in the fourth season, which covers the 1980s. Anderson is best known, of course, as geek icon Dana Scully on The X-Files, but her career has spanned successful decades on the screen and stage alike; she's won an Emmy and a Golden Globe (both for The X-Files).

The buzziest piece of casting for The Crown's fourth season is the arrival of newcomer Emma Corrin as the young Lady Diana Spencer, who later marries Prince Charles and becomes "Princess Di." Corrin is a true newcomer, with only a few minor acting credits to her name so far — this is definitely a giant leap forward for the young actress!