Who is Emma Corrin? The Crown’s newest star is slated to play Princess Diana in season 4

With the newest season of The Crown expected to drop later this year, one of the most anticipated newcomers to the series is Emma Corrin who is set to play Lady Diana Spencer.

Corrin, who is a relatively fresh face to the industry, will join the existing cast including Olivia Colman (Queen Elizabeth), Tobias Menzies (Prince Philip) and Helena Bonham Carter (Princess Margaret).

The Cambridge graduate, who according to IMDB has only a guest role in Grantchester and a 2018 short to her name, is set to become a major player in the Netflix series.

Corrin's career appears to be on a roll as she's also set to join the DC universe as a recurring character in Pennyworth, a spin-off series about Batman’s butler Alfred. She'll also be making the leap into film in an upcoming movie called Misbehaviour directed by The Crown's Philippa Lowthorpe, starring alongside Keira Knightley.

As fans of The Crown will know however, the show recasts all of its major players every couple of seasons as it dramatically jumps forward in time. Corrin’s stint on the show will only last a season before The Night Manager’s Elizabeth Debicki takes over for the series’ final two seasons.

So who is the woman set to play Lady Di, and how much will she feature in the upcoming series? Here's what you need to know.

Corrin was announced as a newcomer to the Netflix programme in an exclusive report by The Hollywood Reporter. Corrin also confirmed she would be starring in The Crown’s fourth season in a statement on social media, in which she revealed she was a massive fan of the programme. She said, “I have been glued to the show and to think I’m now joining this incredibly talented acting family is surreal.”

She also added that she was “overjoyed, over the moon and incredibly honoured” to have been cast.

According to Corrin’s IMDB page, she will be starring in all ten episodes of season four. It could be a while until we see her take to the screen, however, as the third series is yet to be given a concrete release date - at the moment all we know is the show will drop later this year.

Corrin will be playing Princess Diana in The Crown, a figure it was originally presumed would appear in the third series of the show. However The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Diana’s appearance on the show had been delayed to the fourth series, and the third “will focus on the Wilson era... and the fourth will focus on Thatcher and Diana”.

Corrin said, “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!”

Peter Morgan, the creator of the series, also revealed that the team were “immediately captivated” by Corrin when she came to audition for the role, calling her a “brilliant talent”. He said, “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.”

Of course, it’s impossible to tell Diana’s story without Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. Prince Charles will be played by God’s Own Country’s Josh O’Connor, while Call the Midwife’s Emerald Fennell is set to play Parker-Bowles.

Currently, Emma Corrin’s age is unknown but W Magazine speculated that she was “somewhere in the early 20s”.

Corrin does have an Instagram under the handle @emmalouisecorrin, however it’s a brand new account. The account has already been verified by the social media platform and in her description Corrin describes herself simply as an “actor”.

Her account currently seems to focus on her work, with references to her guest role on Grantchester, upcoming show Pennyworth and various behind-the-scenes makeup and hair shots.

She also runs another account dedicated to her dog - an adorable creature called (appropriately, given the new role) Deliciously Spencer.