An actor faces a unique problem while playing the Queen Elizabeth . To begin with, there is no chance of meeting your character in person to ask a few questions.
Watching interminable news footage of Her Majesty in polite conversation at formal gatherings, a lot of dialogue coaching, and certainly, a lot of studying over those 67 Christmas addresses are all part of the research. 
And, at first glance, ‘obligation’ is certainly a notch or two lower on the list of intriguing dramatic motivations than, say, vengeance or passion
However, those who have taken on the role have frequently done such a magnificent job that our recollections of the late queen now frequently mix with flashes of, for instance, Helen Mirren’s gentle compassion in The Queen or Claire Foy’s wry bonding with Winston Churchill in The Crown.
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Here is the complete list of actresses who have taken on the daunting challenge of capturing this legendary image and humanizing the woman beneath the crown.
Penelope Wilton
The BFG (2016)
Penelope Wilton plays a joyful monarch haunted by nightmares about monsters eating the children of England in Steven Spielberg’s Roald Dahl adaption – possibly the one thing the real Queen didn’t have to worry about.
Wilton parlays her Downton Abbey experience into another posh pile when she invites young Sophie and the BFG (Mark Rylance) to Buckingham Palace and declares war on the man-eating giants, all while coping with some whizzpopping corgis shooting around. Elizabeth was voiced by Angela Thorne in the 1989 animated version of the story.
Claire Foy
The Crown (seasons 1-2)
Claire Foy rose to prominence in the first two seasons of Netflix’s blockbuster series about the Windsors after capturing notice in a quite different royal image as Wolf Hall’s ill-fated Anne Boleyn. Even in a career that includes First Man and A Very British Scandal, it has remained her best achievement. She’s flawless in an arc that sees Elizabeth evolve from a gauche princess to a monarch who grows into the role after the first onerous responsibilities threaten to sink her.
Olivia Colman
The Crown, seasons 3-4
Oscar-winner Olivia Colman took on the part of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown with her usual grace, despite stating that it was one of the most difficult roles of her career. ‘You’re thinking, ‘Oh my god, what if Queen Elizabeth II watches the series and sees me?’ she recalls, alluding to the extra layer of self-consciousness that comes with playing this institution.
Freya Wilson
The King’s Speech (2010)
Freya Wilson, an eleven-year-old Londoner, played the young Princess Elizabeth in Tom Hooper’s Best Picture winner. Her dad, George VI (Colin Firth), heroically battles a stuttering ailment with the help of Geoffrey Rush’s speech therapist, but she has a few moments alongside her sister Margaret (Ramona Marquez) and manages not to be overwhelmed by two much cuter corgis in them.
Sarah Gadon
A Royal Night Out (2015)
In this bubbly rom-com set on the night of VE Day in 1945, Canadian actress Sarah Gadon (Dracula Untold) plays the then-Princess Elizabeth on a fictionalized tear-up across London. It’s not a side of the Queen we see very frequently (read: never) on screen, so seeing her as the heroine of a Roman Holiday-style fairy tale is a delightfully crafted oddity. Did she genuinely go out that night dancing and carousing with British Tommies? We’ll never know, so let’s go ahead and say yes.
Kristin Scott Thomas
The Audience (2015)
Even though it’s theatre rather than film, Kristin Scott Thomas’ performance in the recast version of Peter Morgan’s stage drama is tough to overlook. The difficulties of stepping into Queen Elizabeth’s shoes were exacerbated by the fact that Helen Mirren had already made the role her own on stage (and in the movie), not to mention The English Patient actress’s lack of physical similarities with the Queen.
But, as the theatre critic for Time Out described it, she was “an indisputably clever replacement for Mirren: almost as big a celebrity, and with noticeably more Windsor-ish froideur.”
Neve Campbell
Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004)
Neve Campbell, from Scream queen to genuine queen, is a strange footnote in the annals of on-screen Elizabeths. Christian Slater as an American Winston Churchill and a poshly accented Campbell as Princess Elizabeth star in this counterfactual comedic romp from The Comic Strip Presents’ Peter Richardson.
It concludes with the couple collaborating on an Inglourious Basterds-style plot to assassinate Hitler and is so unlikely to appeal to royal purists.
Helen Mirren
The Queen (2006)
Helen Mirren’s empathetic dramatization in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death in 1997 is the most well-known on-screen portrayal of the Queen.
In a performance that accented the royal persona with true personality, the Londoner brought a serene elegance and emotional intuition to the turbulence of those tumultuous days. It is unknown what the Queen thought of it, but the Academy awarded her an Oscar for it
Emma Thompson
Playhouse Presents: Walking the Dogs (2012)
Emma Thompson, a member of the British aristocracy, appears to be an easy choice to play Queen Elizabeth II in a full-fledged film adaptation.
She’s only done it once, in this Sky Arts TV play, but she lends poise and elegance to a sympathetic reenactment of the Queen’s confrontation with Buckingham Palace intruder Michael Fagan (Eddie Marsan) in 1982. There’s even a life lesson given to the helpless Fagan. ‘We’re all different,’ she says, ‘but we’re all a part of something bigger.’
Stella Gonet
Spencer (2021)
In Pablo Larran’s cold royal fantasy, a sharper-edged version of the Queen, played by Scottish actress Stella Gonet, emerges.
As Kristen Stewart’s Princess Diana battles to keep her cool over a Sandringham Christmas, Elizabeth is in full no-nonsense mode. ‘You realize, my dear, that all you are is currency,’ she chastises her daughter-in-law. On set, Gonet realized that even wearing the regal robes changed the behavior of those around her.
‘People shifted completely towards me as soon as I came out of make-up with the wig on,’ she told The Guardian. ‘It was incredible. “May I get you something?” Is there anything I can do for you? “How are you doing?” There was only instant respect.’
Barbara Flynn
The Queen (2010)
This Channel 4 docudrama series features five various interpretations of Queen Elizabeth II, including Emilia Fox, Samantha Bond, Susan Jameson, and Diana Quick. However, English actress Barbara Flynn gets the meatiest part, portraying the Queen during the famed ‘annus horribles of 1992, when the Royal Family was afflicted by a series of scandals.
Everything transpired in a blur, with Flynn being cast on a Friday and filming the following Tuesday. ‘It was a case of “add water, be Queen,” she says to The Northern Echo, ‘although the wig, pearls, and Corgis helped.’
Jeannette Charles
National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
During her career, Jeannette Charles played Queen Elizabeth so frequently that she titled her memoir ‘The Queen & I.’ You might remember her as the baseball-throwing Elizabeth II in The Naked Gun, who was nearly saved from assassination by Frank Drebin’s frantic intervention (‘How about that Queen, ladies, and gentlemen?’), or as the woman who knighted Austin Powers in Goldmember.
However, the 94-year-old actress spent the majority of her career mimicking Her Majesty. ‘I’d spend hours practicing the Queen’s voice and mannerisms and staying up to date on royal happenings so I could reference them in my speeches,’ she claims.
Maggie Sullivun
Maggie Sullivun plays the Queen in this soft-focus Lifetime film on Harry and Meghan’s courtship, and the Canadian actress drinks tea and dispenses regal advice with the best of them. Intriguingly, she despises The Crown. ‘I’m not sure why they have to do that while one is still alive,’ she muffles.
In Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal and Harry and Meghan: Escaping the Palace, Sullivun wore royal regalia once more. Those Lifetime sequels recast Harry and Meghan twice, but Sullivun maintains consistency as a steely king with a tiny Canadian accent.
