Jonathan Pryce will play Prince Philip in The Crown seasons five and six

After Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies played the iconic role of the Duke of Edinburgh in the hit Netflix show The Crown, it has been confirmed that Game of Thrones star Jonathan Pryce will take over the role of Prince Phillip for the final two seasons.

MORE: Mike Tindall quizzed over Princess Anne's portrayal in The Crown

The news was confirmed on the show's official Twitter account, and Jonathan's statement read: "I am delighted to be working with Netflix again. The positive experience I had making 'The Two Popes' has given me the confidence to tackle the daunting prospect of portraying Prince Philip. To be doing so with Peter Morgan in the company of Imelda and Lesley will be a joy."

Jonathan will be playing Prince Philip for the last two seasons

Fans were thrilled with the news, with one writing: "This is fantastic casting," while another added: "Excellent news. Jonathan played the first and, arguably the best, Engineer in Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane." A third person tweeted: "I loved The Two Popes! Very excited to see him in something else! Awesome choice, @TheCrownNetflix."

Tobias is currently portraying the Prince on the hit show

While the show was originally intended to end after season five, it was recently confirmed that the show will actually run for six series. The statement read: "News from the palace: we can confirm there will be a sixth (and final) season of @TheCrownNetflix, in addition to the previously announced five!

MORE: The Crown casts Oscar nominee as Princess Margaret

Writer/creator Peter Morgan: 'As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons.' So to summarise – we'll have one more season with Queen Olivia Colman, before she passes the crown to Imelda Staunton. We're just halfway through! Lovely.