Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and the country’s figurehead for 70 years, has died at age 96, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
Over the years, several legendary actresses have played Her Majesty on-screen in a wide-ranging number of films and TV shows.
Here, we’ll take a look back at some of those memorable performances, which admirers of Queen Elizabeth II will be able to enjoy for years to come.
CLAIRE FOY — THE CROWN (2016-2017)
Netflix’s popular series traces Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension as Britain’s leading royal. Airing since 2016, Claire Foy was the first actress to play the monarch for two seasons. Foy won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal. “It was never a matter of letting it go,” Foy told the Sun after her run ended. “I think we all knew that we had 20 episodes to live as those characters and tell that story, so we just cherished it really. I’m proud that I was a part of that show. So there are no feelings, really. I just have pure pride of being a part of something that so many people have taken to heart.”
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HELEN MIRREN — THE QUEEN (2006)
Stephen Frears’ 2006 film featured Helen Mirren playing Elizabeth II in the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana. Mirren, who also played the Queen onstage in The Audience, won an Academy Award for her portrayal. In a recent chat with Radio Times, Mirren recalled reaching out to Her Highness when she agreed to the role. “I said, ‘We are doing this film. We are investigating a very difficult time in your life. I hope it’s not too awful for you,'” she recounted. “I was very relieved subsequently that I had written that letter.”
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OLIVIA COLMAN— THE CROWN (2019-2020)
Taking over from Foy, Colman played Elizabeth II in her middle years and won both a Golden Globe and Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for her portrayal. “The hardest part I’ve done is someone who’s real,” Colman told Radio Times after leaving the role. “I’m not ashamed to say that I’m quite pleased now to be able to move on to something else.”
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EMMA THOMPSON—WALKING THE DOGS (2012)
Emma Thompson slipped into the role of Elizabeth II for a TV movie that reenacted 1982’s Buckingham Palace break-in that saw an intruder make it into the Queen’s bedroom while she was asleep.
JULIE WALTERS — THE QUEEN’S CORGI (2019)
Educating Rita star Julie Walters voiced a cartoon version of the ruler in an animated film that centred on one of her beloved pet corgis (she owned more than 30 of them in her lifetime) who gets lost and has to find his way home.
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FRED ARMISEN — SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (2010-2012)
Many different actors and actresses played the royal leader on the long-running comedy, including Jon Lovitz, Mike Myers, Kate McKinnon and Joan Cusack. But it was Fred Armisen who was perhaps the most memorable with his foul-mouthed version of Elizabeth. “You know when I see a Candle in the Wind? When I light my farts” he exclaimed during one sketch, prompting Elton John to call her a “mean old bitch.”
IMELDA STAUNTON — THE CROWN
The Harry Potter vet will play the final iteration of The Crown’s Queen in the series’ upcoming fifth and sixth seasons, which begin in the ’90s. “I have loved watching The Crown from the very start,” Staunton said in a statement. “As an actor it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan’s scripts. I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion.”
JEANNETTE CHARLES
Jeannette Charles parlayed her resemblance to her royal highness into a 36-year career as an impersonator, appearing in a number of films, including National Lampoon’s European Vacation, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! and Austin Powers in Goldmember. “An agent said my resemblance to the Queen could be a money-spinner,” Charles, 94, recently told the Guardian.
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