The Queen's appearance in The Crown seems to be morphing as often as Dr Who, with a third actor set to play the famous late monarch since the series started in 2016.
It is beloved British veteran Imelda Staunton’s turn to play the woman who sat on the throne for seven decades.
In series five, which was released on streaming platform Netflix on Wednesday (November 9), Staunton will take over from Oscar-winner Olivia Colman, who had in turn had replaced Claire Foy.
Each actress has played the Queen at a different stage in her life, showing her getting older over the course of the two series they have each played or are due to play.
Staunton, in the latest series, will be focusing on the Queen’s experience in the 1990s, including her so-called 'annus horribilis' and the breakdown of her children’s marriages, including the-now King Charles’ split with Diana, the Princess of Wales.
The period was one of the toughest for Elizabeth II, who passed away aged 96 in September, during her long reign.
A well-versed actor, Staunton’s face (and voice) will be recognisable for millions of viewers who are binge-watching the new episodes.
Where you might recognise Imelda Staunton from
Those switching on the latest series of Netflix ’s The Crown are most likely to recognise the new actress playing the Queen from her stint as a Harry Potter character.
Imelda Staunton, 66, made the exclusive list of British actors to have a part in the Harry Potter series, alongside Hollywood stars such as Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Richard Harris.
She played the uptight and controlling Professor Dolores Umbridge in 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix., reprising the role three years later for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1.
The film she garnered the most critical acclaim for was Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake, a gritty and stark British feature-length from 2004, where Staunton played a working-class woman in 1950s London who performed backstreet abortions before the practice had become legal in the UK.
Staunton won the Bafta Film Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her work as the title character and was nominated for an Oscar.
The Londoner won the coveted Coppa Volpi (best actor) award for her Vera Drake performance at the illustrious Venice Film Festival, where it also secured the Gold Lion (best film) award.
Other standout screen moments include performances in Shakespeare In Love, Downton: A New Era and starring alongside Angelina Jolie in Maleficent — an alternative take on Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.
But it is not only Staunton’s face that viewers are likely to recognise.
She has voiced a number of much-loved animated and CGI characters, including Aunt Lucy in Paddington, the bear’s ageing relative in Darkest Peru, and Mrs Santa in Arthur Christmas.
As well as attracting praise for her stage work, including in musicals Sweeney Todd and Guys and Dolls, she has appeared on TV in series such as If You See God, Tell Him and comedy sketch show Little Britain.
She is married to English actor Jim Carter, who she met while appearing in the aforementioned Guys and Dolls.
They live in West Hampstead in north London and have a daughter, Bessie, who was born in 1993.
