Initial casting was announced today on the Netflix series titled The Crown, the gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers who shaped Britain's post-war destiny. The cast includes Claire Foy (BBC2's Wolf Hall) as Queen Elizabeth II, Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, and John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun) as Sir Winston Churchill.

The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world - Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street - and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown. Netflix hasn't announced when production will begin on The Crown, or when it may air on the streaming tv service.

The Crown reunites writer Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) with director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) and Producer Andy Harries (The Queen). Stephen Daldry, Philip Martin and Julian Jarrold will direct episodes from scripts by Peter Morgan. The Crown is produced by Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television. Peter Morgan, Stephen Daldry, Philip Martin, Andy Harries, Suzanne Mackie and Tanya Seghatchian serve as executive producers along with Robert Fox and Matthew Byam-Shaw. Andrew Eaton serves as Producer.