TV & Movies
Imelda Staunton Was Filming The Crown When The Queen Died
“I was inconsolable.”
Imelda Staunton has revealed how The Crown cast learned of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Appearing on The Graham Norton Show on Dec. 15, Staunton disclosed that she was filming the royal drama’s sixth and final season when the cast were informed of the late monarch’s passing
“Lesley Manville, who plays Princess Margaret, and myself were filming, and at lunchtime we were told we might hear some sad news,” she said.
Staunton added that, while at first confused, the cast was later told that the “sad news” in question was related to the Queen’s death.
“We carried on and finished the day ... and weirdly, in the schedule, I had ten days off, which was the then days of mourning,” she continued. “I was inconsolable that night. And I would have been sad, but obviously, I think it was fuelled by living with her for so long.”
“It Was Hard”
Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8, 2022. She was 96 years old and the longest-reigning British monarch.
Staunton played Queen Elizabeth in The Crown’s last two seasons, following Claire Foy’s portrayal in Seasons 1 and 2, and Olivia Colman’s in Seasons 3 and 4.
Staunton recently told HuffPost that she found it difficult playing the Queen following her death.
“I hopefully took a bit of the Queen with me, and thought, ‘Right, I have to do this,’” she explained. “It was the day after the funeral that we filmed, and so I girded my loins and got dressed.”
“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,” Staunton added.
“Extra Challenge”
Meanwhile, appearing on BBC Radio’s Woman’s Hour, Staunton also spoke of the “extra challenge” of portraying the Queen in the modern era.
“I’m now doing the Queen that we’re a little more familiar with,” she explained previously. “With Claire Foy, it was almost history, and now I’m playing one that people could say, ‘She doesn’t do that,’ or ‘She’s not like that,’ and that’s my personal bête noire.”
