For fans of the TV series The Crown, there is news on who will play the role of Queen Elizabeth II when they start recording series 3.

Netflix has announced that the star of the ITV series Broadchurch, actress Olivia Colman, will take on the role.

Colman will take over from Claire Foy, who most people agree, did a superb job portraying the early years of The Queen’s reign.

The then Princess Elizabeth left the UK in early 1952 on a tour of the Commonwealth.

She returned just a few days later as Queen.

Claire Foy in the first series of The Crown. Credit: AP

At age 25, the responsibilities of Monarch had fallen to her on the sudden death of her father, King George VI.

Series 1 of the popular Netflix programme followed the Queen’s accession, the 1952 Coronation and her working relationship with her first Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

The second series will be released for viewing in early December.

Netflix has already announced there will be a series 3, when Olivia Colman will take over the role of the Queen.

It has not yet been announced who will replace Matt Smith in the role as the Duke of Edinburgh.

The cast (left-right) of Victoria Hamilton, Jared Harris, Matt Smith, Claire Foy, Dame Eileen Atkins, Greg Wise and Vanessa Kirby in 2016 Credit: PA

The next series will feature scenes on board the Royal Yacht Britannia which the Duke of Edinburgh helped to design during its building phase in 1952.

The ship – which is now a floating attraction in Leith near Edinburgh – was not available for filming as the producers wanted to close it to visitors for several months.

Instead, Netflix used drones to take pictures of the royal yacht and the company rebuilt part of Britannia in South Africa – where the scenes were filmed.

There have been questions over the accuracy of the storyline in The Crown but the Netflix series has been hugely popular.

It has been responsible to igniting interest in the British Royal Family in a new generation of viewers around the world.