Yahoo News The Crown ending explained as Imelda Staunton says 'it was time' to say goodbye
The Crown's finale pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in a big way
The Crown's last six episodes have been released and with it comes the end of one of Netflix's biggest shows, but how did the royal drama come to an end?
Focused on Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family, the last six episodes of the show chart the important moments in their life from 1997 to 2005. And while members of the family like Prince William (Ed McVey) and Prince Harry (Luther Ford) take the spotlight, the show shines the spotlight back on the Queen in its final moments.
Here is everything you need to know about how The Crown came to an end, and what actor Imelda Staunton thought of the final moments as she speaks to Yahoo UK about the ending. But fair warning: This article contains spoilers for season 6 part two.
How The Crown season 6 ended
The Crown's finale sees the Queen contemplate her reign, her death and the possibility of stepping down in favour of her son, Charles (Dominic West). Set in 2005, audience members will know that the monarch still has a long reign ahead of her as she remained Queen until her death in 2022 at the age of 96.
Written with this in mind, it seems, The Crown chooses to end with the Queen standing alone in Westminster Abbey after attending her son's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles. Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) speaks with her about how they will both die and with their deaths will mark a change in the monarchy because those that come after are "not remotely ready" to rule like she was.
He adds that "everyone will carry on pretending all is well but the party's over" as they discussed the plans that were in place for both their funerals. Upon leaving her, the monarch hears the bagpipe music chosen for her funeral: Sleep, Dearie Sleep.
The Queen then imagines her coffin as it was displayed in 2022, and as she walks out of the abbey she sees herself in her younger years, with actors Claire Foy, Olivia Colman and Viola Prettejohn — who each played the character at different stages of her life — reprising their roles.
After acknowledging her three counterparts, the Queen then walks out of an empty Westminster Abbey and, upon reaching the door, walks into the light — a clear metaphor for the monarch's passing.
Imelda Staunton says 'it was time' to say goodbye to the show
Staunton reflected on the way in which the show paid tribute to the late Queen, telling Yahoo UK that she felt "it was time" to say goodbye to the Netflix hit.
"I think they have honoured her in the last episode and actually the last shot of the last episode was the last shot of the whole series, and that doesn't often happen. You're usually doing it the all over the place," Staunton says. "So that was very special, I think, for everyone involved and particularly people who've been working on it for 10 years.
Watch: Imelda Staunton on saying goodbye to The Crown
"I think for Peter Morgan [the show's creator], who's lived with this family for [what] must be over 20 years, from Helen Mirren [in The Queen] to The Audience, to The Crown, I think that was a very fitting end. I hope people agree."
Looking back at her own experience of saying goodbye, Staunton goes on: "I've lived with her for about two-and-a-half years, it was a really wonderful feeling. My favourite time of day [was] between action and cut, so to be her for a moment, even for a moment, was [wonderful].
"And to say goodbye, you know as an actor you say goodbye to parts all the time but when something has has been going for as long as that, it was time. And [I'm] not sentimental about that."
The final episodes saw the Queen also contend with the death of her sister Princess Margaret in 2002, with an episode dedicated to the royal and her health after she suffered a series of strokes. Staunton says she enjoyed the opportunity to play these scenes opposite Lesley Manville.
"What was great was to conclude that relationship that started so strongly in series one, it was wonderful to give that that amount of time," she admits. "Because up until then we've just done lots of little scenes together, we'd done a few in series five but to be given that amount of time I think was really satisfying for for both of us and it was just wonderful to be sisters as opposed to being queen or princess.
"I think [Peter Morgan] just got back to the core of their relationship, and as an actor we want to investigate people's emotions and and that episode allowed us to do that."
Staunton also admitted that while the show has had much criticism levelled at it she navigated that by "not really thinking about it", saying: "We have to remember that this series finishes in 2005, which is almost 20 years ago. It's not yesterday."
The Crown's final season is out now on Netflix.
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