The Queen actress Imelda Staunton is close friends with on-screen sister Lesley Manville.
Imelda Staunton has discussed the emotional final scenes between The Queen and Princess Margaret in The Crown season 6 episode 8.
The eighth episode, titled ‘Ritz’, focuses entirely on the final days of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Lesley Manville), and primarily on her relationship with her beloved sister, Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton).
The drama depicts the physical decline of Margaret after a series of strokes but she continues to be supported by her sister. In contrast, the series intercuts these events with those from VE Day when the sisters had a night ‘on the town’ and visited the Ritz in London.
On the poignancy of the episode, Staunton told RadioTimes.com: “Well, you know, when Peter [Morgan, writer and show creator] does the relationships, it’s always so powerful, isn’t it?”
She continued: “When you’re establishing those sisters in season one, and then completing their journey now, it’s so rewarding to do those scenes, because, you know, we are obviously hanging so much stuff on real events and protocol and the institution, but then when you get the human dilemmas that are happening, and particularly with those two women, because they were sisters before she was Queen, and they were both princesses before she was Queen. And so to have this episode as being two sisters, I think it was really, it was so moving. And, and I mean, Peter Morgan is sort of always at his best, but I think when he we get a chance to have that sort of writing, it’s, it’s, it’s so satisfying to do.”
The actress also noted that working with her close friend Lesley Manville added to the experience for her.
“And of course, with Lesley and I have known each other a long time,” noted Staunton, “to be able to do those scenes, it was an absolute joy.”
Read more:
- The Crown stars address ‘jealousy and tension’ between William and Harry
- The Crown casting director on ‘complicated’ William and ‘graceful’ Kate
- The Crown’s Claire Foy and Olivia Colman return for emotional finale
- The Crown: What was Operation Paget and what did it find?
- Why won’t there be The Crown season 7?
- The Crown’s Bertie Carvel on Tony Blair portrayal: ‘He represents modernity’
- The Crown’s Dominic West says real-life royal drama “hugely affects” show
- How does The Crown season 6 address the Queen’s death?
The Crown season 6 is available to stream in full on Netflix now. Seasons 1-5 are also available now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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