After becoming monarch in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II had the longest reign in British history.
The world is mourning the passing of Queen Elizabeth II as The Crown pays homage to its illustrious model.
“The Crown is a love letter to [the Queen] and I’ve nothing to add, for now, just silence and respect,” creator Peter Morgan wrote in a statement to Deadline on Thursday. “I expect we will stop filming out of respect too.” (Variety confirmed on Friday that season 6 production had halted.)
The series has long-standing contingency plans in place in the event that the historic monarch passes away, director Stephen Daldry previously told Deadline.
“None of us know when that time will come but it would be right and proper to show respect to the Queen. It would be a simple tribute and a mark of respect. She’s a global figure and it’s what we should do,” he said after the Emmy-winning Netflix drama made its debut in 2016.
It is not anticipated that the sixth and final season of the show, which has followed the monarch over the years since a young Prince Elizabeth’s accession to the throne following her 1947 wedding to Prince Philip, will dramatize current affairs.
A request for comment on the show’s immediate future, including whether it will proceed with the anticipated fall premiere of season 5, was not immediately answered by Netflix.
For her performances as the Queen in seasons 1 and 2, Claire Foy won three Emmys. She also received a 2021 statuette for a guest appearance in a season 4 flashback. In seasons 3 and 4, Olivia Colman assumed the role. She also won an Emmy last year for her performance in season 4. The fifth and sixth seasons will feature Imelda Staunton as the monarch.
The public’s familiarity with Queen Elizabeth, according to Staunton, was unsettling as she prepared to play a fictionalized version of the monarch. “I think my sort of extra challenge, as if I needed it, is that I’m now doing the Queen that we’re a little more familiar with,” she said during an episode of BBC radio’s Woman’s Hour in 2021.
The casting process for some of the contemporary monarchs has started for the upcoming sixth season of the show. The roles of Prince William and Kate Middleton were split between two actors, Rufus Kampa, 16, and Ed McVey, 21, with Meg Bellamy portraying Middleton.
After becoming the monarch in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II ruled for the longest period of time in British history.
The Queen’s declining health was announced on Thursday morning by Buckingham Palace, which noted that while she was “comfortable,” her doctors were “concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision.”
A few hours later, the palace declared the monarch had passed away at the age of 96 and that her first-born son, Prince Charles, who is still known as such today, would succeed to the throne as King Charles III.
