The Crown’s Imelda Staunton looked worlds away from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as she attended a screening of the latest episode of the Netflix show in London on Sunday.

The 67-year-old actress, who plays the monarch in the series, left the royal regalia at home and instead opted for a chic olive sweater and matching trousers.

Imelda also wore a funky youthful bob for the BFI Southbank event and tucked her feet into a pair of chunky brown boots.

She was joined by the show’s director, Stephen Daldry, 63, as they later took to the stage to answer questions after the screening.

Imelda previously revealed she was ‘inconsolable’ after learning The Queen had died while filming The Crown in September 2022.

Speaking on the Graham Norton Show she said: ‘Lesley Manville [who plays Princes Margaret] and I were filming and were told there might be sad news and asked if we wanted to continue.

‘We carried on and finished the day. Strangely enough, in the schedule I had 10 days off, which were the 10 days of mourning. I was inconsolable that evening.

‘Of course I would have been sad, but I think it was fueled by living with her for so long. I think when I went back to work people found it hard to look at me.”

The star also spoke about playing The Crown’s final version of Elizabeth II, having previously been played by Claire Foy and Olivia Colman.

Imelda said: ‘Everyone knows this version of her, so it felt very present and I felt a little bit more pressure.

“In these last six episodes, there are specific issues that she was dealing with at this point in her reign, which is dramatically interesting to play: Margaret is gone, the Queen Mother, and we have Charles and Camilla.”

Imelda also spoke about Elizabeth’s memorable speech to the nation after Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

She said: ‘I listened to it every moment of the day for I don’t know how long. When we came to do it, I didn’t talk to anyone because it was a very serious moment and a serious time, and I thought I would try to recreate that. It was very quiet on set and I got lost in the moment.’

As the infamous royal family drama came to an end, viewers quickly admitted on social media that they were “heartbroken.”

They shared their dismay that The Crown was finally coming to an end after six series and told how the final scenes were ‘so sad’.

On X – formerly known as Twitter – someone wrote: “I just finished season 6 of The Crown, part 2. Oh my God. Wow.’

A second said: ‘Okay this is really sad,’ while a third said: ‘The Crown final is so sad.’

A third tweeted: ‘The last episodes are out.. [broken heart emoji]’, and another wrote: ‘The Ritz episode. Heartbreaking. And absolutely beautiful.’

Another added: ‘This show was absolutely stunning and so well done. I will miss it so much. Thank you Peter Morgan.”

Viewers also praised the show for briefly bringing back former stars Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, who played Queen Elizabeth II in the earlier series.

The moving scene saw the two actresses appear on the shoulder of Imelda Staunton, the last actress to take on the role, in the drama’s closing moments.

However, the second half of series six received a very mixed response from reviewers, with the introduction of Kate (Meg Bellamy) and William (Ed McVey) in St. Andrews receiving a lukewarm reception.

Some were also critical of that the image of Carole Middleton‘s desperate attempts to make a match for her daughter.

The Crown’s sixth and final season has come to a dramatic conclusion this morning when the remaining five episodes landed on Netflix.

Writer Peter Morgan, from London, has devoted a whole episode depicting Prince William and King Charles’ seemingly strained relationship in the wake of Diana’s tragic death.

What’s more, viewers are also introduced to Kate Middleton as a student at St Andrews – after appearing to meet her late mother-in-law by total chance on a shopping trip with Carole in London.

Meanwhile, the writers also delved into Princess Margaret‘s tragic final years and shows flashbacks from her night of freedom with Queen Elizabeth to celebrate the end of WWII in 1945. 

On top of this, the series digs up old wounds for the Royal Family by dramatising the inquest into Princess Diana‘s death – which investigated Mohamed Al-Fayed‘s damaging claims that the royal was engaged and pregnant at the time of the accident.

Here FEMAIL reveals the full breakdown from each episode.

Episode Five: Willsmania

Episode five opens with a teenage Prince William listening to music on his headphone while having breakfast with his father in the immediate wake of Diana’s funeral.

Later, Charles drives William back to Eton – but tells him that he can stay at High Grove or Windsor if he prefers.

‘I just want you to move at your own speed,’ Charles tells him.

‘This is my speed,’ William says. ‘I just want things to go back to normal as quickly as possible.’ 

After dropping his eldest off at Eton, Prince Charles receives a phone call from Princess Anne. 

He tells her the exchange felt uncomfortable and it felt like William couldn’t wait to get away from him.

At Eton, William’s room master shows him a box filled with 600 letters of condolences from adoring royal fans – who tell him they’re sorry for his loss while also remind him of his ‘sexiness’.

The member of staff says: ‘This one contains letters from all around the world – mostly from young ladies.’ 

The housemaster then informs William of his grandparent’s golden wedding anniversary celebrations – but tells him that he can skip the events if he wants. 

However, Prince William agrees to attend regardless and throws himself into sports and studying while grieving his mother.

The episode then cuts to the Royal Family posing for an official portrait together at Windsor, where William is repeatedly reminded that he needs to keep smiling.

Afterwards, Prince Harry approaches William with two teacups he’s discreetly filled with champagne. The pair discuss how much they want their family to start treating them as ‘normal’ again.

Prince Charles then brings them back into the room with the family and reminds them that they’ll be meeting dignitaries later.

While walking in the same procession as the Queen and Prince Philip, William is perplexed by the screaming young royal fans fawning over him.

Speaking to Camilla on the phone later, Charles said: ‘It was madness – like he was some pop star.’

Camilla tells him: ‘The whole thing has a distinct feeling of deja vu.’

The pair discuss how William looks ‘remarkably’ like his mother and how William is a ‘shy old thing’ who isn’t ‘comfortable’ with the attention.

 After being told to be more comforting towards his son, Charles says that William only gives him monosyllabic answers and has been acting hostile.

Charles said: ‘It’ not as if I was given the best example to follow – and the Duke of Edinburgh was hardly the most communicative or, affectionate father to me. 

‘Hardly surprising given the delinquency of his own father’s parenting. I’m afraid we don’t do fathers and sons very well in this family.’

The episode then returns to Prince William at Eton – where his room master asks when he’d be available for a visit from his father and notes the two new stacks of fan mail for Valentine’s Day.

During the visit, Charles tries to cheer William up and asks if he would like to visit Diana’s grave with Harry.

After admitting that it was ‘maybe too soon’, Charles then says he wants both Harry and William to join him on an official visit to Canada – where they could later go skiing.

At the airport, Prince William attracts crowds of screaming young royal fans holding up signs, magazines and flowers.

Later, Harry and William sneak a drink in their hotel room and toast to Diana.

Harry then teases William about the attention and jokes: ‘I’m just jealous. In the history mankind, nobody has ever screamed for somebody with red hair.’

Following their engagements in Vancouver, the family then head to British Colombia to ski – where Prince William argues with Prince Charles over having to do a photocall with press. 

Charles says: ‘Willy, that’s how it works. We give them something snd they leave us alone.’

William replies: ‘No I hate that stuff. It’s already been a thousand times more than I agreed to.’

He then reminds his father that he isn’t the one with the ‘image problem’ but reluctantly agrees to meet the photographers.

Once they return home, Charles tells the Queen about William ‘hating’ photocalls and asks for advice on how to help him navigate his grief.

Prince Philip then suggests that William come to Windsor for lunch and surprise him with Prince Charles’ presence.

After being forced to confront his father, William yells: ‘She should never have been anywhere near the Fayads. She should have been safe with us and the fact that she wasn’t – IS your fault. 

‘I know you didn’t actually drive the car but you drove her into the arms of this that did – but making her so unhappy, By loving someone else.’

A devastated Charles then replies: ‘Well if you want to make that connection, thats your right but I find it very upsetting and deeply unkind. 

‘My responsibility for mummy ended a long time before she got to Paris. That accident was not in any way may fault and to even suggest it was is courageous. I resent the accusation.’

When Prince William returns to school, he finds Prince Philip in his bedroom and studying the photos of supermodels on the walls.

Philip comforts William about feeling uncomfortable in the spotlight and suggests that perhaps he is harbouring anger because his mother ‘left’ him. 

He tells his grandson: ‘So you take it out on someone else and blame him for the fact that she’s gone. An accusation I’m sure he’s leveled at himself a hundred times – as have we all. 

‘But it’s not our fault. And its not his fault. And one day, when you’re a father, and your own skin is staring at you with murderous yes and you’re praying for his forgiveness as your father is currently praying for yours and as I have on shamefully on too few occasions, prayed for his. Well, maybe you’ll remember this chat.’

Prince Philip then drives William to High Grove to reconcile with Charles and looks at them wistfully from a distance as they hug.

The episode ends with William rowing a boat across a lake to lay flowers at his mother’s grave.

Episode Six: Ruritania 

Episode six opens with the Queen having a dream about Tony Blair being crowned King at Westminster Abbey with his wife Cherie. 

At breakfast, she is then presented with papers raving about the PM – and tells her advisors that she’s concerned about how he is ranking above her in every poll.

As a result, the monarch asks her advisors how she could improve her image. 

After holding a focus group with 2000 members of the public, the Queen is told that 69 per cent felt the Royals were out of touch with ordinary people while 53 per cent agreed that they lacked compassion. 

Meanwhile, 66 per cent agreed that they had failed Princess Diana in death as much as they had in life.

Only 10 per cent agreed that the monarchy should continue in its present form.  

Following these findings, the Queen is presented as being obsessed and jealous with Blair’s popularity – and worries he may become as favourable as Winston Churchill.

The episode then cuts to Blair delivering a successful speech on the Serbian war. 

After this, viewers are shown the Queen visiting the Women’s Institute, where she delivers a speech that has members in hysterics.

However, the Queen can’t shake her jealousy towards Blair – who is labelled ‘King Tony’ in the US media following a visit to Chicago.  

Describing how Tony is ‘walking on water’, the Queen tells him during a private meeting: ‘It’s one thing to have popularity but its quite another to have influence so I offer you my congratulations.’ 

The Queen then confides that the crown is not having such a good time and reluctantly asks what he suggests in order to turn things around for the Royal Family. 

This scene ends and returns to Queen’s advisors saying that she rarely puts a foot wrong until this moment.

After Blair returns to Downing Street, Cherie jokes: ‘You’d be better off trying to modernize Stone henge.’ 

The following week, Blair suggests the royals alter the line of primogeniture – meaning firstborn girls could become Queen over their younger brothers.

He then suggests an annual report which outlines their performance, assets and accounts so the public see themselves as ‘shareholders’ rather than subjects.

On top of this, Blair suggests getting rid of roles in the Palace – including the herb grower, swan warden, glassware supervisor, royal astronomer, linens keeper.

When asked how Blair feels about working with the incoming President Bush in the following meeting, the PM tells the Queen: ‘Lets not forget – I’ll be the senior partner now so I hope to be able to influence President Bush.’ 

Ultimately, the Queen decides not to take Blair’s suggestions about cutting jobs into account – telling him: ‘Tradition is our strength, respect for our forebears and the preservation of generations of their wisdom and learned experience. Modernity is not always the answer – sometimes antiquity is too.’  

After this, the Queen’s private secretary congratulates her before announcing that he is stepping down from his post.

The episode ends with Blair delivering a critically panned speech at the Women’s Institute, which resulted in members of the audience heckling and slow clapping him.

Episode Seven: Alma Mater 

The episode opens with a teenage Kate Middleton shopping for dresses with her mother Carole in London.

While exiting a shop, they notice Princess Diana and Prince William selling copies of The Big Issue across the road. 

Carole gives her a £1 coin to contribute to the collection – prompting Kate to ask if she has any more cash.

Kate then walks up to Diana, who thanks her for the ‘very generous’ donation. The Princess then asks Kate for her name and tells William to thank her.

William and Kate exchange a knowing look as he hands her a copy of the magazine.

Afterwards, Kate is seen cutting out pictures of Prince William from magazines – prompting Carole to appear at the door and say: ‘Someone obviously made an impression.’

Kate says: ‘He seems kind. He has a nice face.’

Carole then proceeds to tell Kate how Michael was ‘way out of her reach’ when they first met and tells her to ‘underestimate’ herself. 

She adds: ‘Never think there’s anything in this world you’re not good enough for.’

The episode then jumps to William and Harry on a night out which appears to be for William’s 18th birthday.

The following morning, William gives his first ever press conference – where he is quizzed about his university plans and if he has any romances on the go.

After this, it jumps ahead to results day – where William achieves a C in biology, A in geography and B in History of Art.

Prince Harry then gives him a box of flavoured condoms as a present for getting into university.

Carole Middleton is seen listening to Prince William on the radio as it is announced he will be taking a gap year to do some travelling before heading to St Andrews University.

The episode then jumps ahead to William’s first day of university, where he is approached by students for autographs.

The first time Kate appears on screen, William’s friend ogles her as she walks past and says: ‘Honestly, what I wouldn’t give…’ 

During a phone call with Harry, William’s little brother tells him: ‘University is just sex – with books. Get stuck in. Sire some illegitimate bastards and alter the lines of succession. Or swallow some hallucinogenic mushrooms and have a fistfight with the local oiks.’ 

After kissing a girl at a party, Prince William then gets up early for a run – where he comes across Kate again.

Later that day, Kate is seen waitressing in an Italian restaurant – when she spots Prince William with his arm around a girl called Lola Airdale Cavenish Kincaid walking through the streets.

Kate and William continue crossing paths at university – but only speak for the first time when he asks to borrow some of her library books as they are on the same course.

During their first conversation, Kate reveals that she is living in the room above William and the pair discuss their near identical gap years.

Lola then joins the conversation, which comes to an abrupt halt when a student asks for an autograph.

William says: ‘I get that all the time. You have no idea what its like to live with that kind of attention day in and day out.’

Kate then replies: ‘What being ogled? Looked at and judged constantly. Try being a girl.’

‘A fit girl,’ William mutters.

‘No try being any any girl,’ Lola says. ‘Failing that , you could at least try being a human being while not reducing every woman to whether she’s fit.’

During a trip to Balmoral, William is forced to miss a ‘razor party’ where students cover themselves in shaving cream – and is pining after Kate, whose single ‘ship is sailing’ according to his friends.

Back at university, William walks past Kate with her new boyfriend Rupert Finch and takes the opportunity to apologise for how he behaved in the library. 

During Christmas celebrations at Sandringham, the Queen notices William is quiet and asks if it’s an ‘affair of the heart’.

Meanwhile, Rupert arrives for Christmas at the Middleton’s home – which disappoints Carole.

After he leaves, Kate tells her mother: ‘You’ve always loved the idea of me and William together. I was all set to go to Edinburgh university straight after school with all my friends and then you suggested I changed it to St Andrews after a gap year – with none of my friends. That was no coincidence.’

After insisting they were all coincidences, Carole tells her daughter: ‘I think you’re special. I also happen to think that poor boy needs a nice normal girl.’ 

One of the final scenes shows Prince Harry confiding in William about Charles finding out about him smoking weed and being sent to a rehab for a day. Meanwhile, Prince William admits that he is considering leaving university.

He says: ‘He went ballistic. Said I could have got myself expelled. Now he wants me to go to a treatment centre to spend the day with some addicts. Bit of an over reaction, I said. Remorse and responsibility he said. Thanks.’ 

The episode ends with Prince William receiving a text from Kate asking him not to leave St Andrews.

Episode Eight: Ritz

The episode opens with a flashback Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret celebrating the end of WWII in London.

The sisters sneak out of the Palace with the Queen’s friend Porchy to join the crowds in Trafalgar Square before Margaret suggests they go to the Ritz.

It then jumps back to the present (early 2000s) where the Queen and her sister are playing cards, with Margaret suggesting they celebrate VE Day for the 50th anniversary.

‘It was quite a night,’ Margaret says.

The episode then shows Margaret in her holiday home in Mustique, where she is drinking a martini and entertaining guests with stories. 

Suddenly, she appears to have a stroke and drops her martini glass – prompting staff to escort her away. 

The following day, Margaret informs the Queen of her condition from a hospital in Barbados. 

After being flown home on a commercial plane, Margaret has an MRI and is told she needs to make some adjustments to her lifestyle.  

She tells the Queen: ‘No more chesterfields, no more whisky, no more sweet treats – just lean barley water, nicotine gum and lots of rehabilitation exercises.’

Despite doctor’s orders, Margaret returns to Mustique and suffers another stroke while in the bath – resulting in her scalding her feet.

Back in London, Maragret – who has impaired speech – tells her sister that she wants to celebrate her 70th birthday at The Ritz.

This prompts the Queen to have a flashback to when two black American servicemen suggested she dance the jitterbug, which had been banned for injuring people, with them. 

In the present, the Queen is seen getting ready for Margaret’s birthday and tells Philip that she’s taking Porchy with her in his absence.

At the party, the Queen delivers a touching speech as a tribute to her sister.

After calling the Queen to thank her for the speech, Margaret suffers another stroke and collapses on the floor after staggering out of bed to find her medication.

Once she’s returned home from hospital, Margaret is informed that Porchy has died of a heart attack on the day of 9/11.

When her sister visits, Margaret tells her: ‘Poor you, he was such a special friend. He was devoted to you.’ 

After this, Margaret outlines her funeral plans – including the dress she wants to wear and how Swan Lake should play as people arrive for the funeral.

The Queen then climbs into Margaret’s bed and they read her diary account of VE Day.

Margaret says: ‘If people dont know about that night, they’ll never fully understand the scale of the sacrifice you’ve made. How much of your tire self you’ve locked up, hidden away. You caused havoc that night.’

The final flashback shows the Queen dancing the jitterbug with the American servicemen after disappearing from the group.

While walking back to Buckingham Palace, Margaret teases the Queen about being drunk – while Elizabeth laughs that she may have acquired her chewing gum from kissing soldiers. 

Episode Nine: Hope Street

The episode opens with Mohamed Al-Fayed giving a television interview where he claims Dodi and Diana’s death was not an accident and labels the royal family ‘gangsters’ and ‘terrorists’.

He then goes to sensationally claim the royals had Diana killed because she was pregnant with a muslim child.

It then jumps to the Queen being briefed about the interview, including a study which found ’78 per cent of Britons believing some element of foul play may have been involved’.

Prince William is seen putting on his running shoes and listening to the radio as it’s announced that Diana’s body may be exhumed to investigate Al-Fayed’s allegations.

Later, he is told that Kate is single again and participating in a student fashion show. 

After finding out that William is attending, Kate phones her mother – who tells her to wear ‘heels not flats’ and to ‘show off those legs’.

Kate giggles: ‘Honestly, you’re worse than Mrs Bennett.’

Backstage, Kate is seen picking out a dress to wear and locks eyes with William as she reaches the end of the catwalk.

Later, the pair are seen sitting at the bar – where Kate cracks a joke about Prince William’s bodyguard always being present.

She then tells the royal that she wanted to do ‘something drastic’ to see if William was interested – to which he replies: ‘Of course, I’m interested.’ 

He adds: ‘I’ve always been interested – bordering on obsessed. To the point where I thought if I couldn’t be with you , I’d sooner not be here at all.’

The pair then lean in for their first kiss, which is interrupted by William’s bodyguard – informing him of ‘Operation Taybridge’, which is code for the Queen Mother’s death.

Following the Queen Mother’s funeral, William and Harry discuss the inquiry into Diana’s death and William reveals he’s been asked to be interviewed by the police to give insight into her state of mind.

Later, Charles is seen watching a police car arrive at High Grove. 

During the interview, Charles was told that Diana’s butler Paul Burrell found a letter from the late royal claiming that Charles was plotting a brake failure in her car to remove any obstacles to his new marriage.

Following this, police directly ask Charles if he ever contributed to any plans to assassinate his ex-wife.

The Crown’s Prince Charles responds: ‘Of course not.’ 

What’s more, Prince William is seen overhearing the conversation after lingering in the doorway at High Grove. 

Afterwards, William is driven to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen – where they briefly discuss the strained relationship between Harry and Charles.

The Queen then tells William how Tony Blair suggested he take a more active role in the Golden Jubilee celebrations – but says she is going to ignore this advice because she wants him to have a ‘normal life’ for as long as possible. William then confides in his grandmother about his new relationship.

Later, the results of the inquest into Diana’s death reveal that she was not engaged or pregnant at the time of the accident.

Prince William then accepts Kate’s invitation to join her family in watching the Golden Jubilee celebrations at their home.

William later tells Kate that even though the Queen said he could skip it, he feels like he should be with her and travels back to London.

He arrives at Buckingham Palace just in time to make an appearance on the balcony. William later tells Kate on the phone: ‘It makes you realize the pressures of the job.’

The final scenes of the episode involve William asking Kate if she would be interested in living with him in their second year of university.

During a phone call after the Golden Jubilee, the Prince of Wales tells his future wife of his plans to live with Fergus and another friend – but revealed they had an empty room to fill.

He then tells her that living with a girl could keep the house ‘civilised’ and asked if she would consider it.

The episode ends with Kate and William having dinner with friends in their new home and the Prince receiving a framed photo of the Queen and Prince Philip during the early days of their marriage from his grandmother.

Episode 10

The final episode of hit Netflix series depicts Charles and Camilla’s wedding in Windsor in April 2005.

The couple’s big day was noticeably less lavish than King Charles’ wedding to Princess Diana in July 1981 – which was held at St Paul’s Cathedral and watched by over 750m people from around the world.Instead, Charles and Camilla – who had both been divorced – opted for a civil ceremony which was followed by a religious blessing.

The sixth and final series of Netflix’s The Crown will be released on November 16.

Ahead of its release, Imelda Staunton, who plays Queen Elizabeth II in the hit royal drama, said the late monarch “gave people a sense of importance” during her reign.

“She didn’t worry about, ‘What do I look like?’ What should I do?’ She would go, hat, coat, bag, away. Talk to them, talk to them and be friendly and have something to say. And that was her job,” Ms. Staunton explained.

The British actress, 67, will reprise her role as the late Queen Elizabeth, which previously earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Ahead of the launch of the sixth series next week, Ms Staunton said: ‘For the royal family and for the queen, I hope she knows how good she was at her job and she probably knew the effect she had because she had seen her father and her mother have that effect so you’ve seen it your whole life.

“I don’t think she cared in any way about how she came across, what she looked like. What she wanted to do was the job that made people feel like it was an extremely important day for them, for this building, for whatever she was doing, that she was there and made people feel important and that she cared . enough to do it.”

Elsewhere, Dominic West – who plays Prince Charles in The Crown – has claimed the King is an “emotional” and “outspoken man” in private – “despite his buttoned-up appearance” in public.

His co-star Olivia Williams, 55, meanwhile praised Queen Camilla for being ‘provoked and provoked and provoked’ but ‘never being able to do it’.

Dominic, 54, said: ‘[Charles] is very emotional and he has real anger and I think he has real sadness and real compassion, and so I think he is very emotional.

‘The great thing about The Crown is that you see these public figures in private and I suspect in private he is quite emotional, well, that’s how I played him anyway.

“I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that Charles is an emotional and quite outspoken man, despite his buttoned-up appearance, which he obviously has to have in public,” the British actor concluded.

Dominic, who played Queen Elizabeth II’s son in both the fifth and sixth seasons of the Netflix hit, added that he “admires” the king — but believes the now monarch “gets a lot of support and I didn’t want any of that to add. ‘.

‘I’ve spoken to a lot of people who’ve met him, because he’s met a lot of people, he’s probably met more than anyone else except the Queen and Prince Philip. Almost everyone has extremely warm, kind things to say about him,” the actor added.

Elsewhere, Olivia, who plays Camilla, praised the royal family, saying she “deserved some credit” for being the “perfect companion of our king.”

‘There seems to be some kind of Camilla or Diana clash, while I don’t think it has to be that way. It was a terrible situation,” the British actress said.

‘It’s like a school subject: the causes of the Second World War. How did we get to a place in society where Charles ended up marrying Diana? That was just an extraordinary anomaly that was no fault of any particular person.

“But going forward, Charles and Camilla have shown that their marriage is excellent, and that she is the perfect companion for our king, and so I thought that deserved some credit, and also the fact that she really still hasn’t written — You know, where is the book, Camilla, her story, Camilla, in her words, you know?

“She’s been provoked and provoked and provoked, and never got up; she’s a better woman than me.’

Stars of The Crown also said they were reduced to tears while filming scenes surrounding Princess Diana’s death.

The Netflix series has faced backlash for choosing to dramatize the tragic events of 1997, despite executives insisting the portrayal was done with the utmost sensitivity.

Elizabeth Debicki, 33, who plays the princess, said she found filming the scenes leading up to her death “tough and very manic and incredibly invasive.”

Ahead of the launch of the sixth and final series, she said: “It was hard to recreate.

‘Sometimes it’s almost an animal reaction when you’re being chased by so many actors playing the press, because you have nowhere to go and you only have to be in that situation for about a minute before you realize that this is completely unbearable. ‘

The Australian actress said filming Diana’s last 24 hours had been “very demanding”, adding: “I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how people react to the show.”

Jonathan Pryce, 76, who plays Prince Philip, said he ‘couldn’t stop crying’ as director Christian Schwochow put together clips from the series so they could watch Diana’s death.

He added: ‘Neither could the cameraman who filmed it, nor the director who filmed it. It was an extraordinary moment. It was a reliving of waking up and listening to the radio.’

Fellow cast member Khalid Abdalla, 42, who plays Dodi Fayed, said he even walked the route of the car the couple died in in the Alma Tunnel to better “understand” what happened.

The actor said: ‘There are all kinds of things I understood about the geography of what happened that day that I didn’t understand before I did this, or until I did what I did walking all the way from the car down . to the Alma Tunnel, back and forth, to understand it.

“It’s a huge responsibility, and I hope that when the public sees it, they feel like we’ve done a good job and appreciate how sensitive it is.” Dodi’s father Mohamed Fayed, played by Salim Daw, is seen grieving in some scenes.

Young actor Fflyn Edwards, who plays Prince Harry, amazed director Schwochow with his ability to capture the prince’s emotion in the aftermath of his mother’s death.

“For me in my directing career, seeing this 12-year-old actor surrounded by a hundred extras, a hundred film crews and all these star actors and he showed an emotion from the first take that made us all stop breathing. Mr Schwochow said.

Crown producers came under fire earlier this year when it emerged they had shot scenes of the build-up to the crash, footage of a mangled car and Diana’s coffin. The late princess will also appear as a ghost in an emotional reconciliation with a grieving Prince Charles, played by Dominic West.

In other series six storylines, Prince William tries to integrate into life at Eton in the aftermath of his mother’s death. The Queen, played by 67-year-old Imelda Staunton, reaches her Golden Jubilee and considers the future of the monarchy with the wedding of Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

Lesley Manville, 67, reprising her role as Princess Margaret, said she understood some of the criticism of the Queen’s sister as she was a “spoiled princess” who “didn’t do much to earn money”.

The first four episodes will be released on November 16 and the rest on December 14.