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The much-anticipated final season of the global hit series The Crown will be released in two parts later this year, streaming giant Netflix announced yesterday.

The first instalment of the wildly successful historical drama's sixth season will be available to stream on November 16, while the second and final part will be released four weeks later on December 14.

The Crown, which first aired on Netflix in late 2016, is a fictionalised version of the British royal family but broadly based around real historical events.

It has amassed a loyal audience around the world, won dozens of top awards – including 21 Emmys – and stoked controversy in Britain over claims of untrue depictions of the royals.

The US streaming behemoth announced news of the series release dates with a montage of clips showing the actresses who have played the late Queen Elizabeth II paired with their scripted lines on her views of the role.

"It is not a choice. It is a duty," her character says, with Netflix reiterating that line on X, formerly Twitter, alongside the release dates and the video.

The coming season is expected to look at the 1997 Paris car accident which led to the deaths of Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed – the son of late business tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed – and their driver Henri Paul.

The couple were seen getting to know each other in season five. It is also expected to show the premiership of Tony Blair, and the early relationship between Prince William and the then-Kate Middleton.

The previous season of The Crown covered the early and mid-1990s, a turbulent period for the royal family that included the divorce of now-King Charles III and Princess Diana.

It prompted a backlash among some in Britain, with one scene depicting the heir-to-the-throne attempting to draw former prime minister John Major into a conspiracy to force the abdication of his mother.

Critics have said the series are "full of lies."

Its makers have rejected the criticism, insisting that it has always been presented as a drama based on historical events.