The Crown releases first pictures of Prince William and Kate Middleton in final season

Netflix has released the first official images of the actors playing Prince William and Kate Middleton in the final series of The Crown.

Pictures show newcomer Ed McVey in the role of a teenage William, and Meg Bellamy playing Kate Middleton.

The actors – who will play a big part in the next season – shared the photos in a joint Instagram post, with the captions: “Here we go!” and “Meet Kate and Will”.

The show will recreate the early days of their relationship, with an official description saying: “As The Crown enters a new decade, Prince William starts at university in St Andrew’s, determined to lead as normal a life as possible while he still can.

“Also beginning life as a university student, is Kate Middleton from Berkshire. As the pair meet for the first time on campus, a new romance and a new future for The Crown begins.”

Appearing as a child in the last series, young William was played by Senan West, the real-life son of actor Dominic West, who plays the then Prince Charles.

Rufus Kampa will also play William in his younger years, before McVey takes over the part.

The story of William and Kate’s young romance is expected to play a large role in the coming series.

Season five of The Crown covered the 1990s – a tempestuous period for the royals – featuring the break-up of three marriages. Princess Diana, Sarah Ferguson and the now King Charles all had affairs, while the last series also included Diana’s infamous interview with journalist Martin Bashir and a fire at Windsor Castle.

As the show has neared the present day, there has been some criticism of its portrayal of the royal family, with actress Dame Judi Dench and former prime minister John Major both hitting out at the artistic licence used to depict real-life events.

In response, Netflix said the programme “has always been presented as a drama based on historical events”.

The streaming giant also added a label to the trailer, Twitter page and website, calling the programme a “fictional dramatization”.

The Crown had been due to end after the fifth series – which aired two months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II – but creator and writer Peter Morgan later said it would be extended to include a sixth.

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While this final season will cover the period of Princess Diana’s death, in Paris in August 1997 – when Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry was 12 – Netflix has said it will not depict the car crash that killed her.

It is understood the series will show the lead-up to the crash, as well as its aftermath, but not the crash itself.

The final series of The Crown is expected to air towards the end of this year on Netflix.