LONDON (AP) — “The Crown,” Netflix’s acclaimed series about Queen Elizabeth II and her family, has paused production due to the monarch’s death.
A spokesperson for the series said production was paused on Friday “as a mark of respect” and will also be suspended on the day of the queen’s funeral.
The show is in production on its sixth season. Its first two seasons starred Claire Foy as the young princess Elizabeth ascending to the throne and gradually growing into her role as monarch, and seasons three and four featured Olivia Colman as a more mature queen. The show has gradually moved closer to current events. Netflix recently revealed casting of the actors who are playing Prince William and his wife Kate in the sixth season.
Its fifth season, with Imelda Staunton playing the queen, will premiere in November.
The show has won 22 Emmy Awards so far, including one outstanding drama series trophy and best drama actress honors for Foy and Colman. Josh O’Connor, who played Prince Charles in 13 episodes, also won the best drama actor Emmy for his portrayal of the future king as a young man.
Award-winning London interpreter Helen Mirren, who starred in the film The Queen, posted on her social networks about the event and defined herself as “proud to be Elizabethan”.
“We mourn a woman who, with or without the crown, was the epitome of nobility,” Mirren’s post on her Instagram account continues.
Netflix has thought about the death of the Queen of England since the launch of this production in 2016, when, on the occasion of the premiere, Stephen Daldry, director of several chapters of the series, assured that they would pay “tribute” to her when this day came.
“None of us know when that time will come, but it would be right and proper to show respect to the Queen. It would be a simple tribute and a sign of respect. She is a world figure and she is what we should do,” Daldry stated at the time.
