‘The Crown’: Stars From All Seasons Of Netflix Royal Saga Stroll London Red Carpet As Imelda Staunton Opens Up About Playing Queen Elizabeth II Following Her Death

Max Goldbart and Baz Bamigboye
·4-min read

The cast of The Crown strolled the red carpet this evening, as the glitzy final premiere of the nearly-ended royal saga came to London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Stars from all seasons of one of Netflix’s biggest shows of all time, which has been airing for seven years, were present at the much-hyped event including many of those who have played queens, princes and princesses.

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Two Queen Elizabeth IIs were in attendance – current incumbent Imelda Staunton and her predecessor, Olivia Colman. Other big names included the likes of Dominic West, currently playing Prince Charles, Elizabeth Debicki, the latest Princess Diana, Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Phillip, and Gillian Anderson, who was Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Seasons 3 and 4. Anderson, Colman, Emma Corrin, Erin Doherty, Jason Watkins and Jonny Lee Miller were just some of a number of actors from down the seasons who made the trip, along with up-and-comers such as Prince William actor Ed McVey and Luther Ford, who plays Prince Harry.

“On we went”

Speaking to Deadline from the red carpet, Staunton said she remained staunch when playing Queen Elizabeth II following her death last year.

“It was hard but on we went,” she added. “You can’t let that effect what you are doing otherwise you are not doing your job. [The Queen] got on with it and I took great comfort in that.”

Meanwhile, EP Suzanne Mackie, who has worked on the show throughout, talked about how the Queen’s death altered the final episode, while teasing the potential prequel.

On the former, she said creator Peter Morgan had organically changed the ending to something “really tender and heartfelt.”

“There was a sense of looking to the end, contemplating mortality and contemplating your time on Earth,” she added. “The episode would always end with a sense of a peace being restored to the land with Charles and Camilla’s wedding but it then had a new dimension to it. She was our leading lady.”

Mackie added that “the door is not shut” on a potential prequel that would move further backwards in time to the Edwardian era. “An elegant way to approach it is to go back in time,” she said, adding that she will continue to work with Morgan and is producing “a couple of things he has lined up.”

The red carpet took place with the second set of Season 6 episodes dropping next Thursday on Netflix, which will finally round out Morgan’s royal saga.

In Season 6 Part 2, Prince William heads back to Eton amidst an increase in attention from young female fans touched by his plight following the death of his mother. The struggle to re-adjust leads to tensions with his family, as they try to support another young heir to find his way in the system and the world. Later, as Prince William takes up his place at St. Andrew’s University, the omnipresent conflict of life as a public servant continues as he tries to balance the traditional undergraduate rites of passage with the constraints of his position and constant presence of personal protection officers. His perseverance is tested when he develops a crush on one of the most desired students on campus: a woman by the name of Kate Middleton. Meanwhile, Princess Margaret suffers a stroke and is suddenly forced to reassess her lifestyle.

Staunton, West and Pryce continue as leads, while newcomers McVey and Ford take on William and Harry duties and Middleton will be played by another fresh face, Meg Bellamy.

The first set of Season 6 episodes were not without controversy. Royal commentators were particularly incensed by scenes in which Charles informs William and Harry that their mother has died, along with the much-discussed ‘Diana’s ghost’ depictions in episode five. Last Friday, the Queen’s former press secretary described Season 6 to Deadline as “dramatic license gone bonkers.”

But controversy aside, tonight’s premiere signals the beginning of the end of undoubtedly one of the most talked about shows of the millennium. It is the end of an era.

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