The Crown releases first look at Will and Kate from its sixth and final season

The Crown has released first-look images of the Prince and Princess of Wales ahead of its sixth and final season.

Early last year, Netflix announced newcomers Rufus Kampa and Ed McVey had been cast as 16 and 21-year-old Prince William, respectively.

It was later revealed that 19-year-old Meg Bellamy would make her professional acting debut as Princess Kate after having read about the casting on social media and submitting an audition tape.

The popular drama series will enter a new decade in its forthcoming series, with Prince William starting 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,” an official logline reads.

“As the pair meet for the first time on campus, a new romance and a new future for The Crown begins.”

An official premiere date has yet to be announced, but Netflix has teased season six will release later this year.

On Thursday (27 April), the streamer unveiled four exclusive photos of McVey and Bellamy in character and costume as the royal couple.

In one, the two are seen walking hand in hand, while another shows McVey’s Will seated on a couch in what appears to be a family home.

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A third shows Bellamy’s Kate attending a college lecture, with Will in the background.

In the final photo, an “off duty” McVey and Bellamy are pictured standing outside Northpoint Cafe in St Andrews, where Kate and Will are claimed to have met.

Inspired by real events, The Crown is said to be “a fictional dramatisation of the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign”.

The show has come under intense scrutiny from several high-profile Britons, including Dame Judi Dench and former PM Sir John Major, who alleged its latest season distorted historical facts.

The Crown season six premieres later this year on Netflix, where seasons one through five can be streamed now.