The sixth and final season of The Crown is soon to air, which means we're about to watch the final instalment of the show about Queen Elizabeth's reign. It might be historical fiction, but each era, and each actor to play the late Queen, has made the show feel very real.
Imelda Staunton played the Queen in season five and will reprise her role as the leading lady in season six too. She will tackle several difficult and defining periods in the late Queen's life, including Princess Diana's death, her mother's death and her golden jubilee.
Speaking about her casting at the time, creator Peter Morgan said, 'I’m absolutely thrilled to confirm Imelda Staunton as Her Majesty the The Queen for the fifth and final season, taking The Crown into the 21st century. Imelda is an astonishing talent and will be a fantastic successor to Claire Foy and Olivia Colman.'
Peter Morgan originally planned to do six seasons of the show, then five seasons, and then six again. It's unsurprising that he felt indecisive given how many huge historical events the writers have to squeeze into ten episodes.
Across six seasons, only three actors have played the Queen on a show that spans 1947 to the early noughties. The decision to end the show around this time was made by the show's creator, and was confirmed after the Queen's death in September 2022.
Suzanne Mackie, a producer on the series, said 'Peter has said it very articulately, that he simply can’t write something unless there has been time to gain a proper perspective. And I think he’s always felt 10 years is the minimum amount of time that he can see something in a historical context, to allow him to really understand it.' This therefore means the Queen's death as well as the final decade of her life will not be depicted on screen.
Imelda has described playing the late Queen as an honour. When it was first announced she would play the Queen she 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.’