Netflix has closed the deal to start production on a prequel for hit series The Crown, according to the Daily Mail. The streaming company has reportedly been in talks with the show’s producer, Left Bank Pictures, for prequels since 2022, even before The Crown’s last season came out in late 2023. Now, deals have been struck, and Left Bank has received the green light to officially start working on the project. 

The prequel will cover the British royal family’s lives from the time Queen Victoria died in 1901 until  the beginning of the events in the original series, particularly when the then-Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten. If you’ll recall, The Crown’s first episode was literally a depiction of that royal wedding. The Daily Mail said the companies have allocated £500 million ($681 million) for the prequel’s production, which will also be helmed by The Crown creator Peter Morgan. 

Morgan previously said that he wasn’t done with the subject yet but couldn’t imagine himself wanting to tackle more recent events. The Crown’s last season already covered Prince William and Catherine’s relationship, as well as King Charles and Queen Camilla’s. “I might find some way of coming into it from a different way,” he said. “If you go back in time, you always have that wonderful opportunity for metaphor.”

While Netflix has yet to confirm the story, giving The Crown’s prequel the go-ahead to start production doesn’t sound out of left field. The original show got the lone streaming win at the SAG Awards back in 2018, and it helped Netflix dominate the Golden Globes a few years later. It was a hit with the viewers, as well, and consistently topped Netflix’s charts.