Claire Foy, Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton in character as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown on Netflix.Photo:Netflix (3)
Netflix (3)
The Crownis making its final curtsy with the premiere ofseason 6on Netflix, concluding the hit royal saga aboutQueen Elizabethand the modern royal family.
Foy originated the role of a then-Princess Elizabeth at the start of the series and played the Queen in seasons 1 and 2.
“People forget how beautiful Elizabeth was,”The Crown’s costume designer Amy Roberts tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “This young girl growing up, the discipline that she brings on herself is quite remarkable. Her clothes might be fashionable, but there’s a more controlled element about them.”
Claire Foy playing Queen Elizabeth in The Crown on Netflix.Courtesy Netflix
Courtesy Netflix
“They were very glamorous years. The Queen was the most glamorous figure in the world, and Claire Foy captured that well,” adds Robert Lacey, the series’ historical consultant. “She also conveyed her fragility and her uncertainty and how she grew into the role.”
The part passed to Colman in seasons 3 and 4, who plays a middle-aged Queen unafraid to clash with her prime ministers on politics.
“Those seasons portrayed how the Queen could relate to her people more closely than their elected representatives,” Lacey explains.
Olivia Colman playing Queen Elizabeth in The Crown on Netflix.Courtesy Netflix
Despite the often serious scenes playing out on set, Colman brought muchlevity to the set!
“Olivia led the way on fun. She just wasn’t going to have a kind of somber serious makeup truck,” hair and makeup designer Cate Hall tells PEOPLE. “We would have lunchtime raves. All the lights would go off and there’d be loads of neon, loud music and glow sticks. Considering we were doing quite serious subject matter, the light relief was quite intense.”
Hall joinedThe Crownin season 3 and says there was an ease among each back-to-back cast.
“It’s the joy of doing something where you’ve done the series before. [The actors] come with a kind of open trust and there’s a real intimacy that develops quite quickly,” she tells PEOPLE. “They’re loads of fun.Dominic West[who stars asPrince Charles] is a hoot.”
Staunton closes the role of Queen Elizabeth in seasons 5 and 6, and she gracefully portrays the monarch’s tumultuous later years.
“She captured the twinkle amid the dowdiness. She brought great softness to the stern side of the Queen,” says Lacey. “Those were the years of the family issues threatening toderail the family institution. You could say she kept it on the rails.”
Imelda Staunton playing Queen Elizabeth in The Crown on Netflix.Keith Bernstein/Netflix
Keith Bernstein/Netflix
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Dedicated to every detail, Hall says that Staunton was committed to the Queen’s “lack of vanity” through minimal makeup.
“It was kind of like to get the job done," she says of Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with makeup during her record reign. “Imelda was really keen to follow that principle because it speaks to that lack of vanity. It speaks to quite a practical approach. Her eyebrows weren’t overly groomed. She would wear a lipstick, but it really wasn’t a kind of overly done makeup look."
The Crowntakes two final bows with asplit premierefor season 6.Part 1drops Thursday, Nov. 16 and the series concludes with the second drop of episodes on Dec. 14.
source: people.com
