‘She was a symbol of dignity and grace’: The Crown actor Claire Foy says she was ‘honoured’ to play the Queen

Claire Foy, known for her starring role as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s hit drama The Crown, has said she is “honoured” to have told part of the late monarch’s story.

Foy played the younger Queen in the show’s first two seasons, before Olivia Coleman and Imelda Staunton took over in later series.

“I’m very honoured to have been a teeny tiny, small part of her story," Foy told BBC News while promoting her new film at the Toronto Film Festival.

"My main feeling is just thinking about her as a mother and a grandmother and a great-grandmother, really,” she said.

"I think that she was an incredible monarch," she continued, adding: "She united people and she was a massive symbol of continuity and dignity and grace.”

The Crown has been launched back into Netflix’s top 10 lists in several countries, in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death last week.

On Thursday (8 September), Buckingham Palace announced that the British monarch had died peacefully at Balmoral, aged 96.

Shortly after the queen’s death was announced,The Crown showrunners announced that production on the show’s sixth and supposedly final season had been suspended on Friday (9 September), as a “mark of respect” for Britain’s longest-serving monarch.

Nonetheless, the Netflix series – which follows the life of Elizabeth II from prior to her coronation – appears to be experiencing a surge in popularity in several regions, including Argentina, Sri Lanka, and the UK.