66 ‘The Crown’ Characters With Their Real-Life Counterparts

Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of The Crown. From perfecting the queen’s accent to mirroring veritable fashion and political moments (like this dance with Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah during a royal visit in 1961), Claire has captured the essence of the monarch with grace and strength.

Golden Globe winner Olivia Colman took over the anticipated role of Queen Elizabeth II starting in season 3, which followed the Queen as she ages into her 50s. The British actress is best known for her roles in The Favourite and Broadchurch.

Harry Potter actress Imelda Staunton is the final star to play the late monarch in seasons 5 and 6 of The Crown. When her casting was announced, Imelda told Deadline: "I have loved watching The Crown from the very start...I am genuinely honored to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion."

When it comes to playing Prince Philip, Matt Smith (of Doctor Who fame) has his stature to thank: Queen Elizabeth’s late husband stood at a regal six feet tall—the actor's exact height.

When the show moved on to a new era, English actor Tobias Menzies took over the role of Prince Philip. After news of the casting broke, Tobias said in a statement, “I’m thrilled to be joining the new cast of The Crown and to be working with Olivia Colman again. I look forward to becoming ‘liege man of life and limb.’”

Oscar nominee Jonathan Pryce is the next Prince Philip for seasons 5 and 6 of The Crown. To get into character, the actor studied carriage-driving, a sport the royal was very passionate about. "They were hugely fond of him and said that he was a joy to be with, had a great sense of humor and a great zest for life," the actor told Vanity Fair of Philip's carriage-driving friends. "That was all very helpful, because it's not what we saw from him as a public figure—this man had such a joy for life.”

Played by English actress Victoria Hamilton, whose résumé includes episodes of Pride & Prejudice (the BBC one with Colin Firth) and Call the Midwife, the Queen Mother was a constant rock for Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace and beyond. In real life, the Queen Mother, who was the longest-lived member of the British royal family (and always one of the more popular royals), lived until the age of 101. She died in her sleep on March 30, 2002, just weeks after Princess Margaret passed away.

As the characters age in The Crown, Marion Bailey took over for Victoria Hamilton as the Queen Mother. Marion’s résumé includes a movie adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion as well as Allied, which stars Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.

Perhaps best known for playing Lane Pryce on Mad Men, British actor Jared Harris was the face of Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, on season 1 of The Crown (along with some flashback scenes in later seasons). George VI’s reign famously began in 1936 when his brother Edward abdicated the throne and married American socialite Wallis Simpson. In 1952, following the stresses of World War I and a long battle with lung cancer and other illnesses, the King died in his sleep at the age of 56 while the future Queen Elizabeth was on an official royal tour of Australia and Kenya.

Vanessa Kirby played Princess Margaret, whose love life provided two key storylines during the first two seasons of The Crown. Following her doomed relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend, which was forbidden by the Church of England given Townsend’s status as a divorcé, Margaret fell in love with photographer Tony Armstrong-Jones. Their wedding at Westminster Abbey in 1960 was the first royal wedding to be televised.

Helena Bonham Carter took on the role of rebellious Princess Margaret for seasons three and four. Once the news was released, the actress stated, “I’m not sure which I’m more terrified about—doing justice to the real Princess Margaret or following in the shoes of Vanessa Kirby’s Princess Margaret.” Which…fair.

Lesley Manville, who acted in Maleficent, is the third actress to play Princess Margaret. Along with the news, she stated, "I could not be happier to be playing Princess Margaret. The baton is being passed on from two formidable actresses, and I really don’t want to let the side down. Furthermore to play siblings with my dear friend Imelda Staunton will be nothing short of a complete joy."

Played by English actor Ben Miles, Peter Townsend led a rather impressive professional life as an officer with the Royal Air Force. For nearly 10 years, he was also an equerry (which is pretty much a fancy way of saying “personal attendant”) for the British royal family, serving under both King George VI and the Queen Mother. His personal life was rather dramatic. As shown on season 1, Townsend divorced his first wife, proposed to Princess Margaret, and shortly thereafter, he was sent to serve as an air attaché in Brussels. (BTW, an air attaché just means an Air Force officer who is part of a diplomatic mission.) On season 2, Townsend was shown writing a letter to Margaret to announce his engagement to a young Belgian woman. That woman would be Marie-Luce Jamagne, with whom Townsend would have one daughter.

Where does actor Matthew Goode end and the real Antony Armstrong-Jones begin? The photographer who won Princess Margaret’s heart made history when he became the first commoner in 400 years to marry into the royal family. During their nearly 20 years of marriage, Margaret and Tony (who later became the 1st Earl of Snowdon) raised their two children and endured endless headlines about their infidelities (on both sides), all while attempting to live their best lives in the most unconventional of settings. Following their divorce, Tony continued to maintain a professional relationship with the royal family, photographing Queen Elizabeth, Princess Grace of Monaco, and Princess Diana over the years. His nonroyal subjects were just as impressive—Elizabeth Taylor, David Bowie, Laurence Olivier, and J. R. R. Tolkien all posed for Lord Snowdon at one point or another.

Ben Daniels, most known for his roles in Jesus Christ Superstar Live, House of Cards, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, played the 1st Earl of Snowdon through season four. Season 3 followed the complicated relationship between him and Princess Margaret.

Season 4 of The Crown went deeper into Queen Elizabeth’s life, and focused on the much-examined relationship between Elizabeth’s son Prince Charles and Princess Diana, with Netflix casting newcomer Emma Corrin to play Lady Di. Emma said of the part, “Princess Diana was an icon and her effect on the world remains profound and inspiring. To explore her through Peter Morgan’s writing is the most exceptional opportunity and I will strive to do her justice.”

Despite booking the coveted role for season 5—and being a Lady Di doppelgänger—actress Elizabeth Debicki had doubts about whether or not she'd be able to pull off the role. "I think in the very beginning that did overwhelm me, the idea of this kind of collective [of Diana disciples] out there," she told British Vogue. After reading the scripts, however, the nerves started to disappear. "This isn't meta. These are characters," she continued. "It's a part."

On season 2 of The Crown, Alice Hewkin played Jacqui Chan, an actress and dancer who dated Antony Armstrong-Jones for years. According to Tony’s biographer, Anne de Courcy, Jacqui was “Tony’s first real love” and was even invited to his and Princess Margaret’s wedding. The scene of Jacqui getting ready for the wedding while staring at an old photograph of herself and Tony in episode 7, “Matrimonium,” is both chilling and emotional, a far cry from the steamier, intense moments she shared with Tony earlier in the episode.

If The Crown’s Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, looks familiar, it’s probably because the actor Greg Wise played Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility. (Fun fact: Sense and Sensibility also starred the great Emma Thompson, who happens to be Greg’s wife of nearly 15 years.) In real life (and as shown on The Crown), Prince Philip’s Uncle “Dickie” became a great mentor to Philip and Queen Elizabeth’s son Prince Charles. Tragically, though, the mentorship ended in 1979 when Mountbatten and members of his family were assassinated by the Provisional IRA while the group was fishing in Ireland. Mountbatten received a ceremonial funeral at Westminster Abbey, which included a reading from Prince Charles.

German actress Leonie Beseech played Prince Philip’s older sister Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark. As shown in “Paterfamilias” (season 2, episode 9), Cecilie, her husband, their two sons, and her mother-in-law were killed in a plane crash in 1937 when the group set off from Germany to attend a family wedding in London. Cecilie was eight months pregnant at the time of the crash.