The Crown has put out a casting call for a young actor with "a strong physical resemblance" to play Kate Middleton - confirming a final season controversy for the long-running Netflix series. This latest casting move affirms long-speculated ideas that The Crown season 6 will touch on more current events. In addition, this potential Kate Middleton casting also cements that The Crown will run for longer than its anticipated season 5 finish, with Netflix announcing a sixth, and final season, in order to do justice to the show's original plot.

Kate Middleton first met Prince William in 2001 while they were college students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, with the pair marrying a decade later on April 29th, 2011. Netflix's search for a younger actor indicates that the storyline intends to depict the earlier years of Middleton's romance with Prince William, but the producers plan to cast the part only if they find "the right fit", as the Duchess of Cambridge is not an essential part of the plot.

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Middleton's casting as the next Royal Family member to feature in The Crown settles speculation regarding whether the present-day Royals will feature in the show's depiction of events. And while Netflix's The Crown serves as a heavily dramatized historical account, parts of the final season have already been confirmed to be entirely fictional - which will likely prove even more controversial. The Netflix series now finds itself in tricky territory, as it is unclear how the show intends to portray more modern events regarding the royal family, especially without clear-cut historical events to fall back on.

Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis

The Crown has faced a lot of backlash in the past, with many commentators expressing the idea that the show villainizes or lionizes specific characters, depending on the storyline. Prince William has previously expressed displeasure at the show's depiction of his parents, feeling they were falsely represented in the series. While still shrouded in controversy and mystery, Princess Diana's death (as set to be depicted in The Crown season 5) is a painful memory for the royals, and The Crown dredging up these events is almost certainly not welcomed by the royal family.

Critics of The Crown claim that the show is full of inaccuracies, and The Crown season 4 received strong backlash that forced the Royal family to weigh in on the controversy, urging Netflix to issue a caveat at the beginning of its episodes. Adding this to the already divided views on the present setup of the royal family suggests the final season may well be the most controversial yet - something that audiences had speculated right from the first episode back in 2016. Although the much-anticipated season 5 is yet to premiere, The Crown season 6 will start filming in August 2022 - but for now, it remains to be seen whether or not a suitable actress will be found to portray the series' take on a young Kate Middleton.

Next: The Crown Season 5 Is A Political Minefield For Netflix