The Crown will reportedly 'pause' filming following the death of the Queen. Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully, aged 96, on Thursday afternoon. Her death was announced at around 6.30pm following the release of a brief statement by Buckingham Palace.
The Palace said: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
Her sad passing comes 17 months after she mourned the loss of her beloved husband of 73 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99 in April 2021. It was broadcaster Huw Edwards who delivered the news of the Queen’s death live on BBC One. After an image of the flag at Buckingham Palace was shown at half mast, he told viewers: "A few moments ago Buckingham Palace announced the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."
READ MORE: Death of Queen Elizabeth II - latest updates as period of mourning to begin
The UK is now in a period of official mourning, which officially began at midnight on Friday, September 9. The period of mourning will last for 10 days, until the Queen’s funeral, with the UK now thrust into a grief-filled limbo.
As the world reacts to the news the creator of The Crown has issued a statement regarding the future of the Netflix series. Peter Morgan, who also wrote the 2006 film The Queen, starring Helen Mirren, shared in an email with Deadline that he expects production on the sixth series of The Crown "will stop filming out of respect" for a period of time, according to the Mirror.
The American publication reports him writing in the wake of the Queen's death: "The Crown is a love letter to her and I’ve nothing to add for now, just silence and respect. I expect we will stop filming out of respect too."
The fifth series of the Netflix production had been scheduled to air in November this year but following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, it's not yet known if the proposed premiere will still go ahead. Imelda Staunton has become the latest to portray the role of the monarch, following on from Olivia Coleman and Claire Foy.
Netflix have reportedly had plans in place for some time regarding how the award-winning show will proceed following the Queen's death. Deadline reports Stephen Daldry - who directed early episodes of The Crown - vowed when the show first aired that production would pause as a mark of respect.
"None of us know when that time will come but it would be right and proper to show respect to the Queen. It would be a simple tribute and a mark of respect. She’s a global figure and it’s what we should do," he declared in 2016, shortly after The Crown made its debut on Netflix.
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