Will Meghan and Harry taking a step back impact The Crown?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made the surprise announcement on Instagram on Wednesday night, stating they would split their time between the UK and North America and work to gain financial independence from the royal family.

The huge development prompted fans of the Netflix drama, which currently stars Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies, to speculate on how it could affect later seasons of the show.

However, executive producer Suzanne Mackie told PA Media that the series probably won't stretch far enough to cover events unfolding today.

"To be honest, whatever the life of The Crown is after where we are now, I doubt we'll ever go as far into the present day," she said.

The Crown is currently expected to run for six seasons, with Colman currently in the lead role of Queen Elizabeth II and Imelda Staunton rumoured to take over when the show makes another time jump.

Creator Peter Morgan has also expressed an aversion to including recent events in his factual drama, detailing his thoughts to Entertainment Weekly in 2018.

"I feel uncomfortable writing about events within a certain time period. I think there’s a certain amount of time within which, if you write about it, what you do instantly becomes journalistic. Because it’s too close to the moment.

He continued: "If you wait a certain amount of time, if you allow fifteen or twenty years, basically a generation, between you and [the events] then you can write about it somewhat freely as drama."

Seasons 1-3 of The Crown are streaming on Netflix now