Netflix says Claire Foy, Matt Smith and John Lithgow will lead the cast of its 10-episode, original series The Crown.

Set to premiere next year, the small-screen drama will chronicle the decades-spanning story of Queen Elizabeth II and the prime ministers who shaped Britain's post-World War II destiny.

Foy will play the monarch as a young woman, while Smith will portray Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, and Lithgow will channel Winston Churchill.

The Crown reunites writer Peter Morgan with The Queen producer Andy Harries.

The Queen followed Elizabeth II in the days after the death of her former daughter-in-law, Princess Diana, in 1997. Helen Mirren won an Oscar for her portrayal of the monarch in the film and a Tony Award for her depiction of the same character in Morgan's stage play The Audience.

Stephen Daldry, Philip Martin and Julian Jarrold will direct episodes of The Crown from scripts by Morgan.