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'The Crown' finds its Princess Diana in newcomer Emma Corrin

Now that Netflix's "The Crown" has jumped ahead a few years, the cast has expanded to include one very familiar, and much-missed face: Princess Diana's.
/ Source: TODAY

"The Crown" has found its Princess Diana.

The Netflix series has cast young newcomer Emma Corrin to play Prince Charles' future bride, Lady Diana Spencer.

Actress Emma Corrin has been cast as Princess Diana in an upcoming season of Netflix's "The Crown."
Actress Emma Corrin has been cast as Princess Diana in an upcoming season of Netflix's "The Crown."Faye Thomas/eyevine/Redux

"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," "Crown" creator Peter Morgan told The Hollywood Reporter.

Thus far Corrin has just three credits on IMDB, including an upcoming feature film debut in "Misbehaviour," a historical drama that will look at how women from the women's liberation movement disrupted the 1970 Miss World beauty competition in London.

THR also reported that she would make her US series debut in Epix's Batman series "Pennyworth" about the life of the superhero's butler.

Lady Diana Spencer burst onto the international stage in 1981, when her lavish wedding to Prince Charles of Wales made her not just a princess, but a star at age 20. Over time, she and Charles had two sons, Princes William and Harry, and Diana herself became a sought-after celebrity thanks to her youthful good looks and her humanitarian efforts.

Diana Spencer
Lady Diana Spencer in 1980, prior to her marriage to Prince Charles, in London. Getty Images

But her troubled marriage to Charles ended in an almost unheard-of divorce in 1996. She and her then-boyfriend Dodi Fayed died in a crash in a Paris tunnel as her car attempted to elude paparazzi cameras. She was 36. The funeral of the "people's princess" (as Prime Minister Tony Blair called her) was watched by millions around the world on television.

Still, all of that is in the distant future for "The Crown." Corrin won't even appear until season four. The third season, which begins airing later this year, will focus on the 1964-76 era of the royal family; the fourth will introduce former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Diana.

Diana In Tiara
Princess Diana, seen here at a dinner at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. in 1985, became known as the "people's princess."Getty Images

Corrin posted a statement on Instagram Tuesday:

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

She added, "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!"