The Crown season 6 first posters out! Series to air in two parts 

It's here. The first posters of the final season of the global hit series The Crown were unveiled by Netflix on social media on Monday. The series will be released in two parts later this year. 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 new poster shows actress Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana in the show, sitting on a diving board dressed in an electric blue swimsuit. Another poster shows actress Imelda Staunton who plays Queen Elizabeth II walking out of a dark hallway. 

Netflix also unveiled a short teaser on Monday. The minute-long teaser saw a visual representation of all the three actors who have played the Queen in the series. It begins with the voice of Claire Foy saying, "The Crown is a symbol of permanence." It then transforms into the voiceover of Olivia Colman, who enters the hallway and says, "Some portions of our natural selves is always lost." As the camera finally rests on the face of Imelda Staunton, who plays the aged Queen, who says, "But what about the life, I put aside? The woman, I put aside?"

The Crown, which first aired on Netflix in late 2016, is a fictionalised version of the British royal family but broadly based on 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 final 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 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 is "full of lies". Its makers have rejected the criticism, insisting that it has always been presented as a drama based on historical events.