imelda the crown© Photo: Rex

The Crown floors fans with first photo of Imelda Staunton as the Queen

Are you excited for series five?

Senior Features Writer
July 30, 2021

Fans of Netflix's The Crown were thrilled on Friday when the royal drama shared the first glimpse of Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II for the upcoming fifth series.

MORE: The Crown: who has been cast as the royal family in season five so far

The show tweeted the photo of the Harry Potter actress in costume along with the caption: "An early glimpse of our new Queen Elizabeth II, Imelda Staunton.

Fans were hugely excited with the photo and took no time to fill the replies with comments. One wrote: "Well damn, was not ready for that," as another tweeted: "I've never clicked on a tweet so fast!!"

WATCH: Emma Corrin reacts to Prince Harry's response to The Crown

Others were loving the Harry Potter and The Crown crossover thanks to Imelda's stint on the show and her time as Professor Dolores Umbridge in the magical film franchise. A third fan said: "Umbridge ran away from Hogwarts to be the queen of England!" Another quipped: "Why isn't she in pink?"

Meanwhile, another Twitter user was more sceptical of the actress, and admitted they'd miss Olivia Colman, who played the monarch for seasons three and four.

"Gonna miss this Queen," they tweeted along with a Gif of Olivia in character, adding: "But I'm sure Imelda will do a brilliant job. My time with the crown is done, some of last season's cast and this seasons were just not it for me. Good luck to everyone involved though."

MORE: The Crown star Emma Corrin reveals she attend Prince William and Kate’s wedding

MORE: The Crown star Emma Corrin's celebrity friends rush to support her after 'intimate' post

© Photo: Netflix

The Crown shared this photo on Friday

Series five is currently in production and see Imelda joined by plenty of other stars for the new episodes. Academy-Award nominee Jonathan Pryce will star alongside Imelda as the late Prince Phillip.

Great Gatsby actress Elizabeth Debicki will play Princess Diana, while Dominic West is widely reported to play Prince Charles – although Netflix are yet to confirm this news.

More recently, the drama announced that Elementary star Jonny Lee Miller would be playing former Prime Minister John Major – overtaking Gillian Anderson's iconic role as ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

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