The Crown star Olivia Colman has paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II following her death aged 96.
Her Majesty died on Thursday (8 September) at her Scottish residence of Balmoral, ending her record breaking 70-year reign as head of state. Appearing at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, Olivia offered a heartfelt tribute to the royal she portrayed for two seasons of the hit Netflix series.
Speaking to Variety, she said: “She made a promise as a young woman and she absolutely kept it with such dignity. We’re all incredibly impressed by what she did.”
READ MORE: Every word of Prince Harry's beautiful tribute to 'Granny', the late Queen Elizabeth II
The Oscar winning actress also gave her verdict on King Charles III's “beautiful” first speech, which she said made her “proud to be British.” She said: “From a British point of view, he did it so beautifully.
“He did it about love, tolerance and gentleness, and that is what she always wanted and she’s done.”
She added: “From the outside world looking at Great Britain, at the moment, we’ve got some comedy going on at one side – politics – and something so dignified. I felt proud to be British. I think he’s going to do a good job.”
Following the end of her tenure in the Emmy award winning show, the role of Queen Elizabeth II will be played by Imelda Staunton for its upcoming fifth and sixth seasons, the filming of which has been halted out of respect for the late monarch.
Showrunner Peter Morgan reportedly wrote in an email to Deadline: “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.”
The fifth and penultimate series of The Crown is due to premier on Netflix in November and will also star Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki as King Charles and the late Princess Diana.
You can pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II by lighting a candle here.
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