It has been confirmed that Netflix hit show ‘The Crown’ suspended production on Friday in honour of the Queen’s death. It is currently in the middle of shooting its sixth and reportedly final season. “As a mark of respect, filming on ‘The Crown’ was suspended today,” a Netflix source confirmed. “Filming will also be suspended on the day of Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral.”
‘The Crown’ is about Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and the events that shaped it. The monarch, who ascended the throne in 1952, was the world’s oldest reigning monarch at age 96. She died surrounded by her family at Balmoral, her palace in the Scottish Highlands, the family announced on Thursday. Her eldest son, King Charles III, succeeds her.
Peter Morgan, writer of the Emmy-winning drama, said that the series is “a love letter to her.”
Her death comes ahead of Season 5 of the Netflix show, which is set to premiere in November and feature a new cast. Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce will portray Prince Philip, Dominic West will star as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki stars at Princess Diana. Olivia Williams has been cast as Camilla Parker Bowles and Jonny Lee Miller will appear as Prime Minister John Major.
Although the details have been kept quiet, the season will seemingly focus on the 1990s, leading up to Diana’s death in 1997. Season 6 recently cast 16-year-old Rufus Kampa as Prince Harry and 21-year-old Ed McVey as Prince William, hinting that the season will explore the aftermath of Diana’s death and the boys’ lives in the early 2000s.
Although Queen Elizabeth II never spoke publicly about ‘The Crown’, Claire Foy, who played her in 2016’s first season of the show, stated one year later that she “would hate the idea of her watching it.”
“When you’re playing a real person, you never want to be ghoulish,” she told Town & Country at the time. “I don’t want to pick apart a person. I want to invent someone. So, I would hate for her to watch it and think I overdramatized anything.”
Following the death, Peter Morgan, writer of the Emmy-winning drama, said that the series is “a love letter to her.” He wrote that “[The Crown] is a love letter to her and I’ve nothing to add for now, just silence and respect. I expect we will stop filming out of respect too.”
Netflix have long had plans in place should Queen Elizabeth die during its run.
‘The Crown’ has had three actresses who have portrayed the Queen: Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton, whose reign is due to start on Netflix in November.
