Colman, best known for her roles in Broadchurch and The Night Manager, is the first star to be announced for the third series of the Netflix drama series.

The entire cast is set to be replaced for the next phase of the Queen's reign when the drama jumps ahead to 1960s Britain at the end of the second series.

Creator Peter Morgan has previously commented on the changing role, “You can’t ask someone to act middle-aged. Someone has to bring their own fatigue to it. The feelings we all have as 50-year-olds are different than the feelings we all have as 30-year-olds. That informs everything we do."

The role of Queen Elizabeth II will not be Colman's first royal acting role, having previously played Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in Hyde Park on Hudson and is set to star as Queen Anne in the upcoming film The Favourite, alongside Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.

“On a project that could easily be too traditional, there’s something about Netflix’s modernity that I found incredibly helpful," said Morgan earlier this year at the RTS event The Crown: Deconstructing the Coronation.

He added, “You don’t have a regional or national audience to address any more. You’re talking about global event television.” Watch the full video of the session here.

The second series of The Crown will be available on Netflix from the 8th December.