Imelda Staunton - who played England's Queen Elizabeth II - has said she feels "bereft but relieved in equal measure" to retire her role as period drama The Crown comes to an end.
The 67-year-old actress portrays the former monarch in the fifth and sixth season of the hit Netflix royal soap, following in the footsteps of Claire Foy and Olivia Colman who played younger versions of the monarch in the show.
Part two of the final season, which is due to be released on Thursday, will see the Queen reflect on the future of the monarchy as she reaches her Golden Jubilee, Charles and Camilla get married, and a romance blossoming between William and Kate.
Reflecting on her time with the show, Staunton told the PA news agency: "It's been remarkable and I’ve loved every second of it.
"I’ve been living with it for two-and-a-half years, a bit longer and now that it’s over I feel bereft but relieved, I suppose, in equal measure."
The actress said it had been "quite hard" to hang up her crown six months ago when the drama finished filming but that it also felt like it was time for it to finish.
She added: "You’ve done it enough in a way. I think we were all ready, particularly the people who have been working on the show behind the scenes and the creatives for well over a decade.
"I think it was a bittersweet moment for them to finish."
The final two season were around events that occurred within the British royals during the 1990s to the early Noughties, including the breakdown of the marriage between Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Staunton admitted portraying the more recent years of the late Queen’s life was made "more difficult" due to the events being more prominent in viewers’ minds.
She said: "It’s recent and yet it’s 20 years ago. We’re telling a story that is recent history.
"No-one has a problem with another film about Elizabeth I. We think we have a hold on our recent history, and in a way of course we do.
"But equally, it is 20 years ago. I think that’s what makes it more difficult to do because we have to be ready for people to say 'No it wasn’t like that, that didn’t happen’.
"We can’t say ‘You weren’t there’ because they were there, so it’s difficult.
"But I would rather be involved in a piece like this where a writer puts his head above the parapet and takes risks and I think that’s what art and drama has to do."
The actress, who has previously starred as Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films and has won a number of Olivier Awards for her stage performances, said there was an "enormous weight on one’s shoulders" taking on the role of Elizabeth II.
Reflecting on the most difficult elements, she said: "I don’t think there was one particular thing – her voice, her stance.
"I suppose all the technical issues that you have to learn about and study and practise day after day.
"But then you are presented with a script, so this is a drama, and you’re not going to put a spin on playing the Queen.
"You are contained and yet you have liberty within Peter Morgan’s script.
"There wasn’t a day that went by that wasn’t hard. So that’s a challenge and rewarding and difficult and you get frustrated with yourself and all those things that good writing and good characters give to you."
Part two of the sixth and final season of The Crown will debut on Netflix on December 14.
Source: Press Association
