The Crown star Imelda Staunton has opened up about returning to work on the show following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year.
Imelda played the late monarch in the final two seasons of the award-winning Netflix show, with production on series six being briefly shut down in September 2022 after news broke that the Queen had died.
Speaking to HuffPost UK in the lead-up to The Crown finale’s debut, Imelda admitted it was difficult being back on set for both herself and her colleagues.
“It was hard, but I hopefully took a bit of the Queen with me, and thought, ‘right, I have to do this’,” she shared. “It was the day after the funeral that we filmed, and so I girded my loins and got dressed.
“And actually the costume designer walked in and she just burst into tears, and so I thought, ‘that’s not helpful’.”
Imelda continued: “We had a lot of supporting artists that day, and I think it was really hard for them, because they were looking at me [in character as the Queen]. I didn’t look at myself that much, [but] I think it was very hard for them.”
She added: “We didn’t have a big scene to do, but there were still a lot of people and it was an odd atmosphere. It was just quite quiet, actually. Quiet and respectful. For all of us.
“We all looked into each other’s eyes, we all knew what had happened a day earlier, and we all knew what we were part of. And yet, it felt a great honour, actually.”
Last month, Imelda admitted she’d found returning to The Crown “quite difficult” after the Queen died.
“We carried on with as much dignity and grace as they have always had on The Crown, but obviously there was a very different temperature in the world, in England and even more so on set,” she shared.
“We couldn’t do anything differently; I had to carry on. But we were all a wee bit sad.”
During our interview with Imelda Staunton, she responded to critics who have suggested that the events depicted in season six are too “recent” to be turned into drama.
The former Harry Potter star also shared her take on the show’s divisive Princess Diana “ghost” scenes that appeared in the first half of season six.
All six seasons of The Crown are available to stream now on Netflix.