'The Crown' casts newcomer Emma Corrin its Princess Diana

Netflix series The Crown has cast newcomer Emma Corrin as Lady Diana Spencer, to be introduced in its fourth season.

Filming for the fourth series of the drama will begin this summer, with the premiere of the third series still unconfirmed for now.

“Beyond excited and honoured to be joining The Crown for its fourth season,” she said.

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“I have been glued to the show since the first episode and to think I’m now joining this incredibly talented acting family is just surreal. Princess Diana was an icon, and her effect on the world remains profound and inspiring.

“To be given the chance to explore her through Peter Morgan’s writing is the most exceptional opportunity, and I will strive to do her justice!”

Added series creator Peter Morgan: “Emma is a brilliant talent who immediately captivated us when she came in for the part of Diana Spencer.

“As well as having the innocence and beauty of a young Diana, she also has, in abundance, the range and complexity to portray an extraordinary woman who went from anonymous teenager to becoming the most iconic woman of her generation.”

Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, causing an outpouring of grief around the world.

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23-year-old Corrin, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, is a Cambridge graduate and has previously appeared in Grantchester on ITV.

She is also set to appear in forthcoming movie Misbehaviour, co-starring Keeley Hawes and Keira Knightley, about the plot to disrupt the 1970 Miss World contest by the Women’s Liberation Movement, and Pennyworth, the upcoming Warner Bros TV origin series about the man who became Bruce Wayne’s butler in Batman.

She joins a number of new castings for the show.

In series three, Olivia Colman takes over as Queen Elizabeth II from Claire Foy, with Game of Thrones star Tobias Menzies as the Duke of Edinburgh, taking over from Matt Smith.

Meanwhile, Helena Bonham Carter takes over as Princess Margaret, with Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles and Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles.

Series three will span 1964 to 1976, with Charles and Diana’s courtship and marriage likely to dominate series four.