#Lesley Manville replaces Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret in ‘The Crown’

By Naman Ramachandran, Variety

Lesley Manville, Oscar nominated for “Phantom Thread,” will take over from Helena Bonham-Carter in the role of Princess Margaret in the final season of Netflix series “The Crown,” winner of several Emmys.

“I could not be happier to be playing Princess Margaret,” Manville said in a quote on “The Crown” Twitter feed. “The baton is being passed on from two formidable actresses and I really don’t want to let the side down. Furthermore to play siblings with my dear friend Imelda Staunton will be nothing short of a complete joy.”

Staunton was announced in the role of Queen Elizabeth II in January, replacing Olivia Coleman. Vanessa Kirby played Princess Margaret, the Queen’s younger sister, in the first two seasons, before Bonham-Carter took over in the third.

Manville scored Oscar and BAFTA supporting actress nominations for her role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread.” She is the narrator in hit HBO series “Love Life.”

“The Crown,” whose creator Peter Morgan was Oscar nominated for “Frost/Nixon” and “The Queen,” is produced by Left Bank Pictures for Netflix. The fourth season is due later this year and the fifth and concluding season is due to film in 2021.

In 2017, “The Crown” won Emmys for supporting actor John Lithgow, production design and costumes. In 2018, it won Emmys for lead actress Claire Foy, director Stephen Daldry, casting directors Nina Gold and Robert Sterne, cinematographer Adriano Goldman, and costumes.

Manville is in the reboot of BBC series “Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads,” and will also be seen in feature film “Let Him Go,” alongside Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, and in black comedy “Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell My Daughter About Men,” directed by 21 women, including Maryam d’Abo, Saffron Burrows and Jodhi May, based on a stage play by Lorien Haynes.