When actors are replaced in the middle of a series, there is often an uproar (see: the confusion surrounding the recent announcement that Liam Hemsworth will replace Henry Cavill in the next season of The Witcher). But that's just an occupational hazard for all who sign up for "The Crown": thanks to its goal of depicting the first half-century of Elizabeth II's reign, the showrunners have made it a habit to replace the entire cast every two seasons to more realistically depict the passage of time.

Season 5 of "The Crown," which debuts this week on Netflix, will feature another reshuffle, as Netflix has announced that the series will end after its sixth season. Let's take a quick look at the stars who will play a role in bringing "The Crown" to its final climax.

After Claire Foy and Olivia Colman each won Emmys, Imelda Staunton will take on the late Queen Elizabeth's wise-cracking pumps, playing her from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

Perhaps best known for her role as Professor Umbridge in the Harry Potter films, the British actress has participated in over 100 film, television, and stage productions since the early 1980s. Recent credits include the films "Maleficent," "Paddington," "Downton Abbey," and the Apple TV+ series "Trying." His recent credits include the films "Maleficent," "Paddington," "Downton Abbey," and the Apple TV+ series "Trying. Fun fact: Staunton is already connected to another Netflix period drama, as she is the mother of Bessie Carter, who plays Prudence Fetherington in "Bridgeton."

Playing the Duke of Edinburgh in his 70s and 80s, opposite Staunton is Jonathan Pryce, a 75-year-old Welsh actor who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth last year for a brilliant career spanning five decades. Highlights include his Tony Award-winning roles in "Comedians" and "Miss Saigon," and his Academy Award-nominated role as Pope Francis in "The Two Popes." On the small screen, he has appeared in "Game of Thrones," "Wolf Hall," and the BBC's "Taboo."

In a curious case of art imitating art, The Affair star Dominic West reprises his role as a man having an affair. He will play the current King from the end of his tumultuous marriage to Princess Diana through the first years of his public debut with longtime girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles.Besides "The Affair," West has appeared in such hits as "Chicago," "The Wire," "Downton Abbey" and "Downton Abbey," and has had a long and varied career: he also made a cameo appearance in "Spice World.

The People's Princess is a relatively new character on The Crown: she first appeared last season, but soon Emma Colin was nominated for a Golden Globe and Emmy for the role. Replacing Colin as Lady Di is 6-foot-2 Elizabeth Debicki, an Australian actress familiar from "The Great Gatsby," "Tenet," and the "Guardians of the Galaxy" sequels.

Princess Margaret has always been a close second to Princess Diana as the most tragic character in The Crown. Lesley Manville is next to play the free-spirited woman who has been overshadowed by her older sister. This British actress' screen credits date back to 1974. In the decades since, she has racked up long-lived roles in "Harlots," "Love Life," "Mum," and the British soap opera "Emmerdale Farm"; in 2017, she played the sister of a fastidious fashion designer in "Phantom Thread," for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting She was nominated for Best Actress.

Here comes the "last cast" exception to The Crown. Because children and teenagers visibly age more than their parents, Prince William and Prince Harry will be played by different actors in the fifth and sixth seasons. Also, Harry makes few appearances in Season 5, but William appears more in the time span of the episodes, since he entered Eton College in 1995.

In these scenes, 13-year-old Wills is played by Senan West. The real-life son of his own father, Dominic West, said at a recent press conference that it was a "very emotional" experience to act opposite his son. The role is the first for the young West, as his father has said that all of his school plays were interrupted because of COVID.

Rounding out the most infamous love triangle of the 1990s is Camilla Parker Bowles, played by Olivia Williams. Williams has appeared in a number of acclaimed films, including "The Sixth Sense," "Education," "Anna Karenina," and "Father," and even appeared in two episodes of "Friends" as Felicity.

In "The Crown," she has never devoted much time to children other than Queen Elizabeth's eldest son, Prince Charles. Princess Anne, however, did make an onscreen appearance in the fifth season, depicting the end of her first marriage to her two brothers, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew, in the early 1990s. The Queen's only daughter, in her 40s, is played by British actress Claudia Harrison, known for her roles in Humans, The IT Crowd, and Murphy's Law.

The first new character on the cast list, Hasnat Khan, is a Pakistani-born heart surgeon with whom Princess Diana had a two-year relationship until a few weeks before her death in the mid-1990s. The princess's "soul mate" will be played by Humayun Saeed, who has enjoyed great fame in Pakistan for more than 20 years in film and television, including starring in the hit movie "Jawani Phir Nahi Ani" and its 2018 sequel. He received the Pride of Performance award from the country's president last year.

The Netflix series comes ever closer to 1997 and the tragic death of Princess Diana, which means it is time to introduce Dodi Fayed, an Egyptian-born film producer who had a brief relationship with Princess Diana and died with her in an August 1997 car crash He will be played by Dodi Fayed, the Egyptian-born producer of "United". He will be played by Khalid Abdallah, an Egyptian-British actor who appeared in "United 93" and "The Kite Runner" and recently joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his role in "Moon Knight."

The matchmaker between Dodi and Diana is played by the former's father, Mohamed Fayed, who is the focus of every episode of this season of The Crown. The episodes will take viewers from Fayed's boyhood in Egypt, played by Amir El-Masry, to his adulthood as a billionaire businessman based in London. The later years are played by Salim Daw, an Israeli actor whose filmography spans until 1982 and includes such series as "Fauda" and "Tyrant."

Another new addition to the lineup is Penny Knatchbull, a familiar face to longtime royal watchers. She developed a close friendship with Prince Philip in the early 1990s that lasted until his death last year, despite the 30-year age difference. Burma's Countess Mountbatten is played by Natasha McElhone, who has also appeared on "The Truman Show," "Californication," "Designated Survivor," and Hulu's "The First."

An enduring feature throughout "The Crown" is the exploration of Queen Elizabeth's relationship with the successive prime ministers who led Britain during her reign. Season 5 is no different, with the monarch interacting with two prime ministers: John Major, who was in power from 1990 to 1997, and Tony Blair, who was prime minister for 10 years beginning in May 1997. [He is best known for "Trainspotting" and its sequels, "Mansfield Park," "The Flying Scotsman," and CBS's "Elementary," and was married for three years to Angelina Jolie in the 1990s. Meanwhile, Blair in the final episode of season 5 will be played by Bertie Carvel, perhaps best known for his stage roles, including the Tony and Olivier Award-winning role of Rupert Murdoch in "Ink.