The Crown’s Imelda Staunton is seen on set as Queen Elizabeth II as she films emotional flash-forward scene depicting King Charles’ ascension to the throne
- Imelda Staunton plays Queen Elizabeth II in final and sixth series of The Crown
- READ MORE: The Crown ‘will pay tribute to the late Queen during its final series and all THREE actresses who played her are returning – with a surprise newcomer’
The final and sixth series of The Crown is likely to include an emotional flash-forward scene depicting the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, according to the latest photographs of the crew filming.
Pictures taken on May 26 capture Imelda Staunton, who plays Her late Majesty in the hit Netflix production’s fifth and sixth seasons, walking through a London street as revellers run around waving Union Jack flags, seemingly unaware of the monarch.
The downcast 67-year-old actress, dressed in a check cream skirt, brown cardigan, green coat and patterned headscarf, appears to watch as a portrait of herself is removed from The Queen’s Head pub’s sign.
In the photographs, builders seem to be replacing the image with a painted portrait of King Charles III.
Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of The Crown’s final series later this year, which will see Imelda will reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce play her husband Prince Philip.
The final and sixth series of The Crown is likely to include an emotional flash-forward scene depicting the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, according to the latest photographs of the crew filming. Pictured, Imelda Staunton
Imelda Staunton appears to watch as a portrait of herself is removed from The Queen’s Head pub’s sign (pictured)
Elizabeth Debicki will once again appear as Princess Diana in the build-up to her death, while Dominic West plays Prince Charles.
Series five of The Crown was subject to plenty of criticism, including over controversial scenes which showed Prince Charles, played by Dominic, lobbying then Prime Minister John Major, portrayed by Jonny Lee Miller, in a bizarre attempt to force his mother’s abdication.
But Sir John told The Mail on Sunday in October 2022 that the meeting never happened and called the scene a ‘barrel load of malicious nonsense’.
Another well-placed source said: ‘All the dialogue is completely made up.
‘All the one-to-one conversations you see on screen are utter fiction and some scenes have been entirely created for dramatic and commercial purposes with little regard for the truth. People should be boycotting it.’
Sir John, an ardent royalist, insisted he did not co-operate – in any way – with The Crown. ‘Nor has he ever been approached by them to fact check any script material in this or any other series,’ said his spokesman.
The spokesman added: ‘As you will know, discussions between the monarch and Prime Minister are entirely private and – for Sir John – will always remain so.
‘But not one of the scenes you depict are accurate in any way whatsoever. They are fiction, pure and simple.
For the scene, Imelda, who plays Her late Majesty in the hit Netflix production’s fifth and sixth seasons, is dressed in a check cream skirt, brown cardigan, green coat and patterned headscarf
Pictures taken on May 26 capture Imelda walking through a London street as revellers run around waving Union Jack flags, seemingly unaware of the monarch
In the photographs, builders seem to be replacing the image with a painted portrait of King Charles III
Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of The Crown’s final series later this year, which will see Imelda will reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce play her husband Prince Philip
‘There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales about any abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II – nor was such an improbable and improper subject ever raised by the then Prince of Wales (or Sir John).’
However, The Crown star Gillian Anderson, who played Margaret Thatcher in series four, hit back at criticism against The Crown – and argued that the series could have been far more damaging.
Speaking to The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden, Gillian said: ‘There’s a lot of researchers involved, and a lot of people checking and double-checking and triple-checking.
‘There’s a lot that has not been written about that could be written about. And if you knew the difference in those, you’d see there is a great deal of kindness and restraint.’
She added: ‘At the end of the day, there are incredibly compassionate and well-rounded takes on human beings.
Imelda (pictured right) was nominated for a Best Actress BAFTA for her work in the fifth series, which aired last year
Series five of The Crown was subject to plenty of criticism , including over controversial scenes which showed Prince Charles, played by Dominic, lobbying then Prime Minister John Major, portrayed by Jonny Lee Miller, in a bizarre attempt to force his mother’s abdication. Pictured, Imelda
However, The Crown star Gillian Anderson, who played Margaret Thatcher in series four, hit back at criticism against The Crown – and argued that the series could have been far more damaging. Pictured, Imelda walking past people waving Union Jack flags
The new images (pictured) come amid reports that The Crown is set to pay the ultimate tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth by featuring all three actresses who once played her as well as a surprise newcomer
Scenes were shot with Claire Foy , 39, who portrayed the young monarch, and Olivia Colman , 49, who played her in middle age. They will be reportedly appearing in the sixth and final series of the show alongside Imelda Staunton (pictured), 67, who will play the elderly queen
According to The Sun there will also be a previously unseen ‘wartime’ depiction of the younger princess Elizabeth, which will be played by Viola Prettejohn. Pictured, Imelda as she continued to film scenes for the final series
‘And what you’re left with is properly, maturely drawn, complex characters. And there’s a lot that’s in there that one has to say, ‘If you didn’t do it, we wouldn’t be writing about it’.’
The new images come amid reports that The Crown is set to pay the ultimate tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth by featuring all three actresses who once played her as well as a surprise newcomer.
Scenes were shot with Claire Foy, 39, who portrayed the young monarch, and Olivia Colman, 49, who played her in middle age.
They will be reportedly appearing in the sixth and final series of the show alongside Imelda. According to The Sun there will also be a previously unseen ‘wartime’ depiction of the younger princess Elizabeth, which will be played by Viola Prettejohn.
A member of The Crown’s crew holds up a sign as filming continues on the sixth and final series
It comes after a TV insider revealed to The Sun that the idea likely came around during the time of Queen Elizabeth II’s death last September.
The insider said: ‘Netflix are playing a clever hand with these four queens, bringing the story of Her Majesty to a sensational end after telling virtually all of her life story over 60 episodes.’
‘It also indicates the respect and affection which the creators have for the late monarch, even though they might not feel the same way about the royals as an institution’, they added.
The source continued: ‘The idea would most likely have been devised last year, around the time that the Queen passed away, as a way of paying tribute to her.
‘Getting the actresses together was no mean feat as both Claire and Olivia went on to bigger things after making The Crown and have packed schedules.’
It comes after Claire, who played the Queen in series one and two in 2016 and 2017, received plenty of praise for her performance.
Meanwhile, Oscar-winner Olivia, who portrayed the Queen in series three and four in 2019 and 2020, was also critically lauded for her role in the hit TV show.
Elsewhere, Imelda was nominated for a Best Actress BAFTA for her work in the fifth series, which aired last year.
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