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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Janine Yaqoob

Actresses who have played Queen Elizabeth II on TV and in films over the years

The Queen has been a constant presence in films and on TV.

Stars who took on the royal role include Claire Foy, Queen in the first two series of Netflix’s The Crown. Olivia Colman starred in series three and four and Imelda Staunton will play The Queen in the final two series.

For 2006 film The Queen, Dame Helen Mirren won an Oscar. She played the monarch again in theatre show The Audience in 2013. Kristen Scott Thomas was in the show in 2015.

Emma Thompson was Queen in Walking the Dogs and Sarah Gadon in A Royal Night Out.

Claire Foy as The Queen in hit Netflix series The Crown (Netflix)

Here we list the actresses who have played Queen Elizabeth II in TV shows and films, with pictures of many of them in character as the most famous person in the world..

Olivia Colman took over from Claire Foy as The Queen in series three and four of The Crown (Liam Daniel/Netflix)

Claire Foy , 38, played a young Queen in her formative 20s and 30s in the first two series of Netflix series The Crown, which was released in 2016.

She was followed by Olivia Colman , 48, who took to the throne for the third and fourth series of The Crown, from 2019-2020, which portrayed the Aberfan mining disaster and other major events.

Imelda Staunton , 66, plays The Queen in the final two series of The Crown, which are expected to air this year and next.

Dame Helen Mirren , 77, has portrayed the monarch in film and on the stage. In the 2006 movie The Queen, Mirren won an Oscar for her show-stopping performance as Queen Elizabeth II.

Dame Helen Mirren played the monarch in the play The Audience, pictured, and the movie The Queen (PA)

She donned the crown once again in the theatre show The Audience in 2013.

Emma Thompson , 63, took on the royal role in 2012 comedy drama Walking the Dogs, based on the real-life events when an intruder broke into the Queen’s bedroom.

Emma Thompson as The Queen in the comedy film Walking the Dogs (PA)

Kristen Scott Thomas , 62, followed in the footsteps of Helen Mirren and played the Queen in the 2015 performance of The Audience.

The play was written by Peter Morgan, who also wrote The Queen and created The Crown.

Sarah Gadon , 35, portrayed a teenage Princess Elizabeth II in the rom-com A Royal Night Out.

Neve Campbell , 48, played a very different Queen than we’re used to in 2004 satire Churchill: The Hollywood Years.

Freya Wilson , now 23, played a child Queen in 2010 film The King’s Speech, which told the story of her father, King George VI.

Barbara Flynn , 74, Samantha Bond , 60, Emilia Fox , 48, Susan Jameson , 81 and Diana Quick , 75 all feature in 2009 Channel 4 drama series The Queen showing Queen Elizabeth II at different points during her life.

Barbara Flynn in Channel 4 drama series The Queen (Channel 4)
Samantha Bond in The Queen TV series (Channel 4)

Jeannette Charles , 94, a Queen lookalike for 50 years, starred in a number of films as her, including National Lampoon European Vacation, Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Eddie Izzard , 60, voiced The Queen in 2010 episode of The Simpsons.

You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here

This weekend, the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror celebrate the life of Her Majesty the Queen with a commemorative special filled with all the key moments from Britain’s longest reigning monarch. Be sure to pick up your copy of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror to get both pullouts.

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