First pictures have emerged of Imelda Staunton as she takes on the role of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix hit The Crown. The 66-year-old follows in the footsteps of Olivia Colman and Claire Foy.
Netflix released the pictures earlier today, as Imelda prepares to take the starring role as the late Queen. Speaking to the Mirror, she said: “What has been nice, and I hope I don’t prove them wrong, is people saying, ‘I’m really looking forward to seeing her as the queen. So, let’s just hope that works out for them because I’ve done it. Nothing I can do about it now.”
When her casting was confirmed in January 2021, Imelda had said: "I have loved watching The Crown from the very start. As an actor it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan’s scripts.
"I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion."
The fifth season of The Crown will be released on November 9. Ten new episodes will be set in the 1990s with Philip played by Jonathan Pryce opposite Imelda.
It was a turbulent decade for the Royal Family. Something that has been well documented by journalists, biographers and historians.
Elizabeth Debicki, who takes on the role of Princess Diana, told Netflix fan website tudum.com there was lots of material for research. She said: “That’s the amazing thing about playing these people at this time, because in the journey of The Crown so far out of all the seasons, this is the most visual content we have of the Royal Family. In the ‘90s everything had started to be filmed and also it was the birth of the 24-hour news cycle so there’s just this incredible amount of content that we have access to.
"Diana was the most photographed person in the world at that time. As an actor you open the portal and this huge tsunami of information comes at you. I happily swam around in it.”
Another new image shows Johnny Lee Miller as former Prime Minister John Major. And he is tipped to receive rave reviews from the show's creator Peter Morgan.
Morgan said: “I think Jonny Lee Miller is an absolute triumph in the role and a real surprise” Also involved with the final cast change is Dominic West, who plays Prince Charles. Some viewers have criticised the series for its reimagining of key events and conversations.
And in 2018, show creator Peter Morgan admitted some parts of the show require "leaps of the imagination" from the writers, even though it is thoroughly researched. But West explained: “I think people understand, because the cast has changed every two seasons, that this is not an imitation,” he says. “This is an evoking of a character. That’s really where the show lives: in the imagined conversations of their private life, which is something that no one knows.
"I think that’s what it gets a lot of criticism for. How can you know what they talk about in their private lives? The obvious answer is we don’t, but we have an incredible writer, a dramatist, who imagines based on exhaustive research, and that’s really part of the fascination of the show.”
Olivia Williams who stars as Camilla Parker-Bowles is keen to inject some lightness into her role. She said: “One of the great things about The Crown is we get to see those sort of imagined intimate moments, which maybe give us a better perspective on someone that we've judged.
“Charles and Camilla seem to have a very healthy sense of humour about what at times must be an unbearable predicament. And that is the thing that I most want to show.”
- The fifth season of The Crown will launch on November 9.
