Imelda Staunton defends The Crown’s portrayal of royal family

Veteran actor plays Queen Elizabeth II in the final two seasons of Netflix drama

Imelda Staunton has defended The Crown’s depiction of the royal family, arguing the show’s creator’s job is to entertain.

The actor portrays Queen Elizabeth II in seasons five and six of the award-winning Netflix drama, following Olivia Colman and Claire Foy’s younger portrayals of the monarch.

Ahead of the release of the series’ final episodes, Staunton, 67, shared her view on some viewers’ negative feedback about the portrayal of the real-life royals, claiming that although people have emotional ties to the characters portrayed, showrunner Peter Morgan’s job is to make an exciting programme.

Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown (Justin Downing/Netflix)

“Here we are fictionalising real events that are very close to us,” she told Sky News. “Of course, people feel that – ‘no, that wasn’t right, that didn’t happen’.

“Peter Morgan is making a drama about a family where there were lots of dramas within the family but he’s also making a drama for entertainment as well.”

The stage and screen star has also defended the programme’s right to use creative licence in the past. In 2021, she expressed that people should understand that the show is not a direct transcript of events.

“Surely [what] you want to say to people is… this isn’t verbatim, this isn’t taken from diaries,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

“You’ve got to use your imagination, I think. I’d like to allow the audience a bit of intelligence and go, ‘Well, you can’t know that’s what Margaret and Elizabeth were talking about.’”

Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce as Prince Phillip (Justin Downing/Netflix)

The final part of season six arrived on Netflix on Thursday (14 December), which follows the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death, as well as Prince William attending university and meeting his future wife, Kate Middleton.

The series ended before reaching modern-day events and does not feature Prince Harry meeting Meghan Markle, but included the now-Duke of Sussex’s Nazicostume disgrace.

Though previous episode drops have received widespread praise, The Crown’s final instalment doesn’t seem to have impressed as many critics, with The Independent’s Katie Rosseinsky giving the programme two stars.

She wrote: “As the final six episodes arrive on Netflix, bringing a saga spanning half a century to a close, Morgan’s drama is haunted by the ghost of past glories. Remember when this all felt exciting – when these on-screen royals seemed painfully, gloriously human? Now they exist less as characters, more as vessels for exposition and knowing nods to present-day royal in-fighting.”

You can read the full review here.