The Crown: Netflix Reveals First Look at Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II

The fourth season of The Crown is having a great year, winning Best TV Drama at the Golden Globes [...]

By Jamie Jirak

The fourth season of The Crown is having a great year, winning Best TV Drama at the Golden Globes back in February, and recently topping the Emmy nominations with 24 total. Many of the show's cast are up for awards, including Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II. Colman is the second actor to take on the role, following in the footsteps of Claire Foy, who won her own Emmy for The Crown in 2018. As the show gears up for its fifth season, a whole new cast is preparing to take over the roles with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix's Imelda Staunton set to replace Colman. Yesterday, Netflix shared the first official look at Staunton in the role.

"An early glimpse of our new Queen Elizabeth II, Imelda Staunton," the official Twitter account for The Crown wrote. You can check out the image in the tweet below:

"I have loved watching The Crown from the very start," Staunton said when her casting was announced. "As an actor, it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan's scripts. I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion."

In addition to Staunton, the new cast of The Crown will include Elizabeth Debicki (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) as the new Princess Diana. The fifth season will also see Jonathan Pryce (Game of Thrones) as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) as Princess Margaret, Dominic West (The Wire) as Prince Charles, and Olivia Williams (The Father) as Camilla Parker.

Last year, showrunner Peter Morgan stated that he felt The Crown season 5 was "the perfect time and place to stop." That decision shocked fans as Morgan had originally stated that the 21st century-era of Queen Elizabeth's life was one that demanded a complex in-depth look, as it's the era of the monarch's life that most viewers will be familiar with. Thankfully, Morgan changed his mind and announced that the show would receive a sixth season.

What do you think of the first image of Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II? Tell us in the comments!

The Crown's first four seasons are now streaming on Netflix.

Trending Now: