Netflix has announced The Crown will get a sixth and final season.
The drama, which follows the lives of key members of the British royal family, was due to end its run after the fifth instalment, with Imelda Staunton in the role of Queen Elizabeth II.
But the streaming service has today delighted viewers with the news that there will be more binge worthy episodes in the future in the shape of an entire new series.
The statement, which came in a short series of tweets, said: “News from the palace: we can confirm there will be a sixth (and final) season of @TheCrownNetflix , in addition to the previously announced five!"
The tweets also included a comment from the programme’s writer and creator Peter Morgan.
“He said: “As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons.”
The statement concluded: “So to summarise – we’ll have one more season with Queen Olivia Colman, before she passes the crown to Imelda Staunton. We’re just half way through! Lovely.”
Fans are already speculating about the reason for the u-turn, suggesting that it could be to include the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle saga.
One replied: “Who's going to play Meghan?”
Another joked: “Harry and Meghan are coming for you.”
So far three series have been released on Netflix - the first two feature Claire Foy as the Queen, and the third sees a more mature monarch starring Olivia Coleman.
The upcoming fourth series, some of which was filmed in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, will be the first time that viewers see Princess Diana, played by Emma Corrin.
Back in February the city’s streets were once again given a Manhattan makeover to replicate New York in the 1980s.
A painted sign appeared on a brick archway on Dale Street, turning it into the Henry Street Settlement - a halfway house for homeless families that Princess Diana visited as part of a solo visit to New York in 1989.
During her visit, she met previously homeless mothers and chatted to pre-school pupils, apparently tying one child's shoelace.
It was on this same trip that she paid a visit to young AIDS patients at Harlem Hospital.
Seasons five and six will star Staunton, star of Downton Abbey and Flesh and Blood, in the lead role.
Watch The Crown on Netflix now.
