Imelda Staunton has defended The Crown from criticism about its portrayal of the Royal Family.
Speaking to Sky News, Staunton – who plays Queen Elizabeth II – said “of course” people may be frustrated about the portrayal of high-profile events by the show‘s writer Peter Morgan.
“Here we are fictionalising real events that are very close to us. Of course, people feel that ‘no, we know that wasn’t like that, that didn’t happen!’
“And, of course, Peter Morgan is making a drama about a family where there were lots of dramas within the family but he’s also making a drama for entertainment as well,” she said ahead of the release of the second instalment of the sixth season.
The 67-year-old also praised the show for doing what’s “never been done on television before”.
“To have the story of, say, a family or an institution told with three different casts has never been done.
“It’s saved a lot of makeup I suppose – poor old Claire Foy would have been covered in prosthetics – but I think it’s been so unique in its telling.
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“I feel so proud to have been a part of that extraordinary piece, that experiment that they did,” she said.
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Staunton also pushed back on the idea that the Royal Family are celebrities, calling the monarchy “a very different animal altogether”.
“Here was someone who knew that she [the late Queen] just stood for an institution. It’s not like she was a really good actor or a really good athlete.
“You’re just this person and we put on you what we feel you are. She couldn’t do anything about that but do her job.”
