Among Netflix series The Crown’s many strengths—besides exquisite costuming, breathtaking set design, and plots filled with international intrigue—is its spot-on casting. To that end, creator Peter Morgan has said that he will not age-up the current round of young actors portraying the British royals in the 1960s, choosing instead to recast their roles for The Crown’s later eras that will kick off in season three. Broadchurch’s Olivia Colman has already been announced as the new Queen Elizabeth, and although Helena Bonham Carter was also in talks for that role, today Vulture reports that she is close to signing on as Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret.
Margaret was considered quite the party girl of Buckingham Palace in her day, and her romance with, and eventual marriage to, photographer Tony Armstrong-Jones was one of season two’s steamiest storylines. Bonham Carter should easily step right into that complex role. It also puts her in an interesting place within palace politics, considering she played the Queen Mother in 2010’s The King’s Speech, and is now playing that character’s daughter.