Here's Why You Won't See Meghan Markle on 'The Crown'

Netflix’s “The Crown” may be returning for a 6th season, but it looks highly unlikely that we’ll ever see a version of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, in the British royal family drama.

Season 4 premiered earlier this month, covering the Princess Diana era of the 1980s. Season 5 is bound to follow Charles and Diana’s 1996 divorce and her tragic death in 1997, which leaves only one season left.

Creator Peter Morgan has said that he follows the “20-year rule,” which means that he doesn’t like to tackle real-life events until at least 20 years after they happened. That means the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry love story is too fresh for him to reenact.

Also Read: 'The Crown': Imelda Staunton to Play Queen Elizabeth on Fifth and Final Season

“Meghan and Harry are in the middle of their journey, and I don’t know what their journey is or how it will end. One wishes some happiness, but I’m much more comfortable writing about things that happened at least 20 years ago,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in an August interview.

Actress Emma Corrin played Diana in Season 4, but she’ll be replaced by Elizabeth Debicki in Season 5 when the series’ bi-seasonal changing-of-the-guard takes place. The historical drama primarily follows Queen Elizabeth throughout the stages of her life, and a new actress is cast to play her every two seasons to accurately show her age progression without the need for prosthetic makeup. The Queen was played by Claire Foy in Seasons 1 and 2 and by Olivia Colman in 3 and 4. For the series’ final two seasons, she’ll be played by Imelda Staunton.

Queen Elizabeth turned 94 in 2020. Meghan Markle is 39, Prince Harry is 36, and their son, Archie, was born in May 2019. On Wednesday, Markle wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times opening up about suffering a miscarriage earlier this year.

Also Read: 'Sabrina' Boss Says Season 4 Will Be a 'Demonic' Version of 'The Crown' With an 'HP Lovecraft Vibe'

Considering that Season 5 will take place in the 1990s, it would require a pretty significant time jump to make it to the present day — and aging Staunton, who is 64 in real life, nearly 30 years to the Queen’s current age.

That said, it’s pretty safe to assume that we won’t be seeing any of the behind-the-scenes reactions to the “Megxit” scandal on “The Crown” — although it would undoubtedly be very juicy.

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