Several members of the talented cast of Netflix’s The Crown honored Queen Elizabeth after her sudden death on Sept. 8. “I think that she was an incredible monarch,” Claire Foy, 38, who played the queen in the first two seasons of the show, told BBC at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 14. “She united people and she was a massive symbol of continuity and dignity and grace.”
Although she was on the UK throne through some of the most pivotal points in world history, Claire said she remembers Queen Elizabeth as a beloved family member, rather than a record-breaking monarch. “My main feeling is just thinking about her as a mother and a grandmother and a great-grandmother, really,” she continued. “I’m very honored to have been a teeny tiny, small part of her story.”
Olivia Colman, 48, who portrayed the queen in seasons 3 and 4, spoke to Variety about the impact the queen had on the world at the Toronto International Film Festival. “I wouldn’t know where to begin with that. She made a promise as a young woman and she absolutely kept it with such dignity,” she said. “We’re all incredibly impressed by what she did.”
Matt Smith, who played the queen’s late husband Prince Phillip in the first two seasons of the hit series, reflected on the death of the longest-reigning British monarch during a Sept. 15 appearance on Today. “I think it’s a piece of history. I don’t think we’ll ever have a monarch who serves for 70 years again… I just want to be in London. I want to experience it. I think in the ceremony of it, really,” he added, speaking of the upcoming funeral that is slated to be held on Sept. 19.
He continued, “My mom’s going to go [to the procession]. I don’t know if I’m actually going to go to the procession, but I’d like to watch it. I might watch it in my local pub, actually, with a group of friends.”
Season 5 of The Crown is expected to premiere in November, with Imelda Staunton playing the late queen. The cast also includes Jonathan Pryce as Phillip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Dominic West as Prince Charles, and Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana. Olivia Williams has been cast as Camilla Parker Bowles. That group is currently filming the sixth and final season of the show, which will take viewers through the 1990s up to Princess Diana’s tragic death.
Production on the upcoming season was suspended on Friday, Sept. 9 to honor the queen’s death, according to Variety. “As a mark of respect, filming on The Crown was suspended today,” a Netflix source told the outlet. “Filming will also be suspended on the day of Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral.”
“The Crown is a love letter to her,” the show’s creator, Peter Morgan, shared about the decision, per Town & Country. “I’ve nothing to add for now, just silence and respect. I expect we will stop filming out of respect too.”