The Crown star Imelda Staunton says she was 'devastated' by Queen's death
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Imelda Staunton says she felt "devastated" about the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, news of which she learned after a day spent shooting The Crown, on which Staunton plays the Queen. Staunton has replaced Olivia Colman in the role for the show's upcoming fifth season and the currently-in-production season 6.
"We filmed that day, and then we got home and then discovered [what had happened] on the six o'clock, 6:30 news, so that was pretty devastating," she says in EW's latest cover article about the Emmy-winning series. "I was relieved that I then [already] had a week off. Anyway, filming stopped. But it was odd, to say the least, and I'm glad I had time to regroup before I started again."
Netflix Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II on 'The Crown'
Jonathan Pryce has taken over the role of the Queen's late husband, Prince Philip, on the show. He learned about the monarch's death while shooting a scene for the film One Life with his friend and The Two Popes costar Anthony Hopkins. "I was sitting opposite Tony Hopkins and we were filming a scene of two friends together, art recreating life," says the Brazil and Game of Thrones actor. "Towards the end of the filming, I think they were just checking if they were going to do one more take, I looked at my phone under the table, because we all knew it was happening, and I just very quietly said to Tony, 'She's gone.' We finished filming, and the company had a minute's silence, and went our own ways. I felt a loss, I really did. It was fascinating because the television, the BBC especially, was wall-to-wall coverage of her life, and it was a privilege to see those images, to see how beautiful she was. You think, oh yeah, of course they describe a queen as radiant, and then you go, oh my god, but she was."
Dominic West, the Emmy-winning series' new Prince Charles, first heard about the Queen's death in Spain. "I'd just flown to Barcelona to shoot my first day of season 6," recalls the star of The Wire and The Affair. "When I arrived in the hotel, one of the assistant directors said to me, 'Have you heard the news? The Queen's very unwell.' I went up to my hotel room, and the decision came through that they were suspending filming, and I just watched the telly for three days and then went home. We didn't shoot at all, out of respect."
Elizabeth Debicki, who is playing Princess Diana for the show's next two seasons, was also in Spain at the time of the Queen's passing. "We were actually gearing up to shoot in Barcelona, which was very strange," the actress tells EW. "I was in my hotel room, watching the BBC. I felt that very strange pull that people felt when they weren't [in the U.K.]. I know a lot of the cast and crew felt like that."
The Queen's passing inspired a prodigious outpouring of grief — particularly in the U.K., where her body lay in state at Westminster Abbey for four days. More than 250,000 lined up to see the Queen's body, some waiting 24 hours to do so. Debicki recalls how she was glued to the BBC's coverage of people visiting the Abbey to pay their respects. "It just really moved me," says the actress. "I almost can't talk about it without crying. I don't think I'll ever forget that."
Lesley Manville, who plays the Queen's sister Princess Margaret, says it is hard to put her feelings about watching the monarch's Sept. 19 funeral into words. "By that point, we were working on The Crown in Spain but obviously we took the day off," she remembers. "There was a lot of us from The Crown altogether watching it in awe really, in silence, at all the private personal feelings that it made you think, and the gloriousness of the event, and small moments. The flowers on her coffin were just so moving and touching, and the single bagpiper playing in the Abbey, and the sound of the bagpipes just diminishing. So much of it was so moving."
Netflix will premiere season 5 of the series Nov. 9.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
