'The Crown' set for final season

LONDON - Fans of "The Crown" are holding their breath for the final season of the hit Netflix drama about the life of Queen Elizabeth II, with the last episodes covering some of the most tumultuous times of the monarchy.

The 10 episodes of the sixth and final season of the series is being released in two stages, with five episodes on Thursday, and the remainder on December 14.

The series notably features the event that shook the British monarchy to its core -- the death of Princess Diana on August 31, 1997.

A trailer for the new season, which will recount the last weeks of Diana's life after her tumultuous divorce from the current King Charles III up to her death, shows the princess (Elizabeth Debicki) overwhelmed by media attention. 

The royal family has never publicly commented on the series, but revelations that Diana appears as a ghost in Season Six have already caused patriotic Brits to splutter indignantly into their teacups.

Apart from Diana's demise, Season Six, which spans the years 1997 to 2005, is expected to portray the tenure of Tony Blair as prime minister, Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones's wedding, the blossoming romance of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. 

Over the seasons, the show has attracted controversy for suggesting infidelities by the queen and her husband Philip, of portraying the current king as a cheating husband who neglected young Diana, and suggesting Charles wanted his mother to abdicate in the 1990s.

Last year, Netflix said it would add a warning stating that show was a work of fiction.