Imelda Staunton returns to reign as Queen Elizabeth II for the last time. “I’ve been living with her for a long time so, if anything, I felt more comfortable this time,” Staunton said of filming Season 6. “I love her stillness and her ability to not be thrown by everything that must have constantly — throughout her whole life — gone on around her.”

The real Queen Elizabeth II was actually, to the month, the same age as Morgan’s mother, who was also of the war generation. “She had that sort of uncomplaining, stoical, frugality, and I could really connect with that,” he said. He saw the queen as “both a very ordinary person, and a completely remarkable person.”

Vera Drake, the Harry Potter films, My Family and Other Animals, Shakespeare in Love, Nanny McPhee, Downton Abbey, Pride, Cranford, The Girl, Chicken Run, Paddington, Is It Legal?, Up the Garden Path, and Olivier Award-winning performances in stage productions of Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, A Chorus of Disapproval, The Corn Is Green

Jonathan Pryce returns as the Duke of Edinburgh and, as Staunton called him, Queen Elizabeth II’s “strength and stay.” “It’s a great screen relationship, isn’t it?” said Staunton. “The woman and the man just there — and particularly for Philip, who’s such an alpha male — to be two steps behind.” Longtime friends with Staunton, Pryce was overcome saying his last lines to her in Season 6. “I had a lump in my throat saying them, and I could feel tears in my eyes as I was walking out of the scene,” he says.

While Pryce has met Tobias Menzies, who played Philip in Seasons 3 and 4, he has never mett Matt Smith, who played Philip in Seasons 1 and 2. “I had trepidation about going into this job,” he tells Tudum. “But I had a certain amount of confidence that it would be my Prince Philip, because Tobias had done his Prince Philip and Matt Smith had done his. So I wasn’t going to compare myself to them.” 

Instead, Pryce sees his Philip as having a sense of maturity about him. “He knows who he is and he is the father of the family,” he says. In dispensing advice and becoming a mentor, Pryce was particularly looking forward to the relationship building between Prince William and his grandfather Prince Philip in the final season. “There’s a kind of handing over from his early mentorship of Diana to become a mentor and a comforter to William,” said Pryce.

Brazil, Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies, the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Age of Innocence, The Wife, Wolf Hall, Taboo, The Two Popes, Game of Thrones, Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, and Olivier and Tony Award-winning performances in Hamlet, Miss Saigon, Comedians

Lesley Manville returns as the sparkling Princess Margaret in Season 6, settling into her role as supporter to her sister. In fact, Manville praises series creator Peter Morgan for crafting a big episode for Margaret this season with a story “about two sisters who really love each other,” she said. “It’s an episode very much not about a queen and a princess, but two sisters, and the memory of that.”

Manville has spent the most one-on-one time on The Crown with Staunton, who’s an old friend. “Working with her feels like coming home, really,” she said. “It’s very easy to pretend I’m her sister. We’re both in the same glove. It’s terrific.”

Phantom Thread, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Another Year, Let Him Go, Secrets & Lies, Citadel, High Hopes, All or Nothing, Topsy-Turvy, World on Fire, Sherwood, Magpie Murders, Harlots, Mum, Mr. Turner, Vera Drake, Ordinary Love, Real Women, Holding On, A Bunch of Fives, Emmerdale Farm

Dominic West returns as Prince Charles, who’s newly divorced from Princess Diana in Season 6. Over the course of playing the heir to the throne, West found himself “always trying to fight Charles’ corner” and “present him in a good light,” he said. “I really like him and I really admire him and I really think he’s a good guy who I think gets a lot of stick, and I didn’t want to add to that.”

As for his fondest memory from his work on the groundbreaking series? “The fruitcake was actually what did it for me. That’s what I’ll miss the most.”

The Wire, The Affair, Stateless, Les Misérables, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Colette, The Pursuit of Love, The Square, The Hour, Appropriate Adult, Testament of Youth, The Forgotten, 300, Chicago, Mona Lisa Smile, Richard III

Elizabeth Debicki returns as Diana, the Princess of Wales, who’s off on holiday with the Fayeds in the south of France at the start of Season 6. “It’s been such a huge gift to play the part… and to have people see the work and respond to it,” said Debicki. “I don’t take any of that for granted.” 
 

Her favorite costume this season is the blue swimsuit Diana wears when she’s sitting on the end of the yacht’s diving board. “There was just something about that swimsuit and re-creating that moment that felt very sacred and important, and it was very important that we got it right,” she said. “In a way, it reminded me a little bit of when we shot the revenge dress [in Season 5].”

The Great Gatsby, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Widows, Tenet, the Guardians of the Galaxy films, The Night Manager, Vita & Virginia, The Cloverfield Paradox, The Tale, The Kettering Incident

Rufus Kampa joins Season 6 as Prince William in his early teenage years. “The first half of Season 6, you had to feel like Harry and William were boys, not young men,” said Mackie. She commends Kampa’s ability to play the prince at such a vulnerable age but also bring some sparkle. “William is a good-looking, charismatic presence, so you wanted someone that had that presence.”

Debicki in particular adored working with Kampa and Fflyn Edwards, who plays young Harry. “They’re very smart, much smarter than me, and they’re funny, and they’re very kind,” she said. “They’re kind of similar to how they feel on-screen. They’re very connected to each other, and I just desperately wanted them to love me. I think that was pretty much what was happening on-screen as well.” 

Portraying teenage Prince William is Kampa’s on-screen debut. Director Christian Schwochow called Kampa “the most intelligent actor you can imagine,” as “he’s only 16, but you can talk really precisely about the emotional arc of this character and what each scene should be.”

Fflyn Edwards joins The Crown as Prince Harry. One of Schwochow’s strongest memories of Season 6 is when Edwards made magic happen. “Seeing this 12-year-old actor surrounded by 100 extras, 100 shooting crew, and all these star actors, and he just –– on the first take –– showed an emotion that just made us all stop breathing,” he said.

Debicki said that she and Edwards became rather like a tag team on set. “I often felt much less mature than Rufus, and Fflyn and I were like a terrible buddy duo, just teaming up on him,” she said. “It was a natural dynamic that we had, and I was genuinely so much happier when they were on set and I had scenes with them.”

Shadow and Bone, The Snow Spider, Save the Cinema, 1899, Making 1899, North Star, The Continental: From the World of John Wick

Olivia Williams returns as Camilla Parker Bowles on the eve of her 50th birthday, still providing support in Charles’ corner when he needs it most. “I do think a sense of humor is at the heart of the triumph of Camilla and Charles’ relationship,” she said. “And I think it’s probably the secret of the fact that Dominic [West] and I enjoy working together so much. We just laugh at the same things.”

Williams credits Camilla as the perfect companion for Charles and for all she’s endured for their love. “Where is the book Camilla: Her Story, Camilla: In Her Words, you know? She has been provoked and provoked and provoked, and has never risen; she’s a better woman than I,” said Williams.

Emma, The Postman, Rushmore, The Sixth Sense, An Education, The Ghost Writer, The Nevers, Dollhouse, Counterpart, Victoria & Abdul, The Father, The Halcyon, Manhattan, Anna Karenina, Peter Pan

Claudia Harrison returns as the Princess Royal. Anne remains an ally to Charles, and is pleased to find her own happiness in the system being married to palace equerry Tim Laurence.

The Cat’s Meow, Murphy’s Law, The IT Crowd, Midsomer Murders, Delicious, Humans, Holby City, Case Sensitive, Mutual Friends, Apparitions, New Tricks

Khalid Abdalla returns as Dodi Fayed, the oldest son of Mohamed al-Fayed. Now a successful producer of the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, he explores a relationship with Diana in Season 6, after his father encourages him to join them on holiday.

A major part of Abdalla’s initial interest in the role was that creator Peter Morgan gave the Fayeds “equal space to the other characters in the royal family so that they’re given the dignity of a full story,” he told Tudum. “I can tell you from my position as an actor of Egyptian and Arab descent, it’s a huge honor to take on that space because it’s not a space that we get often.”

United 93, The Kite Runner, The Square, Green Zone, Hanna, Moon Knight, Assassin’s Creed, In the Last Days of the City

Salim Daw is back as Egyptian magnate Mohamed al-Fayed, who whisks Diana away on a summer holiday in the south of France. He eagerly anticipates the arrival of his son, Dodi.

“When I left Season 5, I took Momo al-Fayed with me,” said Daw. “I never left him and he never left me. We were together all the time.”

Oslo, Gaza Mon Amour, L’infiltré, Fauda, Nafas, Tyrant, Arab Labor, Prisoners of War, Let It Be Morning, Kiss Me Kosher, Avanti Popolo

Bertie Carvel reprises his role as Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose popularity is apparent to the queen. He first appeared in Episode 10 of Season 5, in which he particularly enjoyed re-creating Blair’s “New Dawn” speech after winning the election. 

He considered it “an incredible moment for me because I remember that moment [in real life], and I remember what it felt like. It felt like a ‘new dawn’ has broken, has it not? It really felt like a burst of hope,” said Carvel. 

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Doctor Foster, Dalgliesh, The Sister, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Baghdad Central, Babylon, and productions of Matilda the Musical and Ink

Ed McVey plays Prince William as Willsmania gets underway. McVey had gone on a stress run when he found out he got the part. “I was doing some stretches, trying to chill myself out, and I got a call from my agent,” he said. “I’m starting to discover that if I deal with bad news, good news, I get very numb, and I get a bit shell-shocked by good news.”

Portraying Prince William in The Crown is McVey’s first on-screen role. “It’s always been one of my favorite shows since it started,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be in it.”

McVey had attended drama school at Drama Centre London prior to The Crown, which Luther Ford said made McVey feel like a mentor to him on-screen and off. “He was very generous and kind and guided [me] and helped me through it all,” said Ford.

Porchey is one of the queen’s closest friends. His nickname is derived from his full title the Lord of Porchester. He and Elizabeth bond over their mutual love of horses and he even serves as her racing manager for some years. 

The Circuit 

Newcomer Meg Bellamy takes on the role of University of St. Andrews student Kate Middleton, who catches Prince William’s eye. Bellamy’s instincts were right on the mark from the very start of her pursuit to play Kate. “From the first audition, the helpful thing that the casting directors were saying was, ‘Don’t change anything that you did in your first audition,’ ” Bellamy told Tudum. “I think it was luck that my interpretation was what they were going for.”

Bellamy’s favorite moment in the casting process was telling her mother she got the role. “She cried and she just was so, so happy and so proud,” Bellamy said. “She loves The Crown, and… it has been lovely to share it with her.”

Bellamy found out she got the role as Kate Middleton in The Crown while working as a costumed character performer at Legoland Windsor. “I had to go back to doing this kids’ entertainment stuff, which was a great job, but I wanted to be screaming and running around, and I definitely had to stifle that,” she said.

“It’s just been a big change for everybody in my life, really,” she said. “All my family are just still a bit in awe about the whole thing.”

Luther Ford plays Prince Harry in his cheeky teenage years. “I’m a younger sibling, so I very easily slotted into that dynamic,” said Ford. “Pretty much everything relating to Harry in the series is about the relationship between William and Harry.”

Playing Prince Harry in Season 6 of The Crown will be Ford’s on-screen debut. He was about to start his final year studying directing at Bournemouth Film School when his brother’s girlfriend sent him the open casting call for Harry. “I had never acted before,” Ford told Tudum. “I was like, ‘Yeah. Well, I’ll give it a go,’ because it’ll be a great anecdote to say, ‘Oh I auditioned for Harry in The Crown.’ ” 

Cherie Blair is Prime Minister Tony Blair’s wife. While he may be advising Queen Elizabeth II, she’s the one advising him.

Gentleman Jack, Last Christmas, Archipelago, Ten Percent, Red Election, Absentia, Quacks

Carole Middleton was a flight attendant who went on to run a successful business. She adores her daughter Kate and has high ambitions for her. Carole encourages Kate to pursue William at university. 

Fate: The Winx Saga, House of the Dragon, Nurse Jackie, Lucky Man, The Honourable Woman, The King’s Speech

Michael Middleton is Kate’s father. His family fraternized with the royals, as his grandmother had been friendly with the queen’s aunt and his father was an RAF pilot who’d flown with Prince Philip. He left his job to work full-time for his wife Carole’s family business.

The Bourne Identity, Poldark, Darkness Falls, Ally McBeal, Thanks, The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries

Pippa is Kate’s younger sister, who’s excited to catch up with her when she returns from uni to their family home in Berkshire.

From Bath, Matilda Broadbridge trained at the National Youth Theatre. Playing Pippa will be her first major screen role.