The Crown’s Claudia Harrison has reflected on the royal drama coming to an end after a decade on screen.
Harrison has played Princess Anne since season five and reprises her role for the second instalment of the sixth series, which is available to stream this Thursday.
The British actress said that despite being used to “moving on” as an actor, it was still tough saying goodbye to the show’s crew, who have been with the series for 10 years, and admitted tears were shed on set as filming wrapped.
She told The Standard: “I mean it's been two or three years for us, the cast, but for the crews and the creative team, they've been doing this for a decade.
“So, for us actors, it's been an extraordinary experience but for them, that's 10 years of their life… And, you know, what, we're actors, we're kind of used to moving on but we were celebrating it and yes, there were definitely [tears on set].
"I mean for people there it's their last moment onset, particularly for those creatives who have been doing it since the beginning.”
And while Harrison may have found it easier saying goodbye, there’s one thing she won’t move on from quite so easily – Princess Anne’s hair and make-up, which she described as more “practical” compared to her co-stars’ costumes.
She recalled: “My costumes were definitely not necessarily the most glamorous but very, very practical - and I didn't get to wear much makeup.
“I mean, people have asked me to describe the make-up - but the makeup went on and the blusher went down and that was me out of the trailer you know? Not how you’d do it yourself.”
When it came to keeping a memento from the series, it seems Harrison wasn’t keen on trying to sneak her “valuable” character’s wig home but rather lamps from set.
“You know what's amazing, what I would have loved to have stolen is the lamps,” she regaled. “Lamps on The Crown are just beautiful so I didn't steal any of them but I wish I had.”
Although her hopes to nab a lamp didn’t come to fruition, she did manage to take a keepsake from a particularly poignant scene – not for her, but for her co-star Marcia Warren.
Harrison shared: “I did steal the program - don't tell anyone - from the Queen Mother's funeral to give to Marcia Warren, the actress [who played her] because she was obviously not in the coffin, so I stole it for her because she hadn't got it.”
