Who played Queen Elizabeth II? All the actresses who took on the royal role
As prestige parts go, Queen Elizabeth II had been a juicy one for actors over several decades.
The latest high-profile entry in the ranks is Imelda Staunton (whom you may remember as Dolores Umbridge from the “Harry Potter” movies), who’s playing the royal in seasons five and six of Netflix’s hit drama “The Crown” (the fifth is set to premiere in November).
Her majesty has also been a frequent character cameo in comedies and parodies.
In honor of her 70-year reign, The Post takes a look back at the many incarnations — from the memorable to the cheeky and the semi-biopics to the downright fictional — and the famous actresses and actors who have portrayed Her Royal Highness, who died at 96.
Claire Foy on ‘The Crown’
Foy won an Emmy for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in seasons one and two of the acclaimed Netflix series, which focused on the monarch’s early years and her nascent marriage to Prince Philip (Matthew Smith).
Freya Wilson in ‘The King’s Speech’
Wilson plays the child Princess Elizabeth in this World War II-set 2010 Best Picture Oscar winner, in which Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth’s father, George VI, who learned to overcome a stammer.
Helen Mirren in ‘The Queen’
Mirren’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in this 2006 drama has become the standard-bearer for the role. Stephen Frears’ film follows the monarch in the time around the death of Princess Diana.
Sarah Gadon in ‘A Royal Night Out’
This 2015 indie comedy is a fictional imagining of a teenage Elizabeth (Gadon) and her sister Margaret (Bel Powley) escaping their royal guards on Victory in Europe Day in 1945 and getting to know the locals.
Olivia Colman on ‘The Crown’
Oscar winner Colman lived up to the high bar set by Foy, as she took on the role of the Queen in the third and fourth seasons of the series, set in her middle age.
Emma Thompson in ‘Playhouse Presents’
In a 2012 episode of the Sky Arts series titled “Walking the Dogs,” Thompson plays the queen in a plot riffing on a true story, in which an intruder (Eddie Marsan) gets into Buckingham Palace and chats with the monarch, whose guard has stepped away to — as the title suggests — walk her corgis.
Neve Campbell in ‘Churchill: The Hollywood Years’
In this 2004 parody of dramatic WWII films, Christian Slater plays Winston Churchill as a Bruce Willis-esque action hero. Campbell’s Elizabeth has an over-the-top posh British accent and finds herself in the middle of various slapstick scenarios, including getting whacked in the face by a Nazi salute.
Julie Walters in ‘The Queen’s Corgi’
This animated 2019 kids’ movie focuses more on the dog than the queen, but British actress Walters aptly voices the royal, who famously cherishes the stubby-legged canines (she has reportedly owned more than 30 of them in her life).
Jane Alexander in ‘William & Catherine: A Royal Romance’
American actress Alexander plays the queen in this schmaltzy Hallmark version of the courtship and marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Maggie Sullivun in ‘Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance’
Sullivun (“To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You”) plays the monarch in Lifetime’s film, a follow-up of sorts to the hit Will and Kate romance, this time centered on the more unorthodox Harry and Meghan. It spawned two sequels, also featuring Sullivun: “Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal” and “Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace.”
Jeannette Charles in ‘Austin Powers in Goldmember’
Charles is the reigning champ of comedic Elizabeth impersonators, having played the monarch in “The Naked Gun,” “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” the Beatles satire “The Rutles” and many more — including the 1975-set “Austin Powers” sequel, which was released in 2002.
Cate Blanchett on ‘Family Guy’
Blanchett bucked her serious-actress rep with a cameo as the voice of the monarch on Seth MacFarlane’s irreverent cartoon.
Rosemary Leach in ‘Margaret’
This BBC drama centered on the last part of the reign of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Lindsay Duncan), with Leach (“A Room With a View”) playing Elizabeth.
Jennifer Saunders in ‘Minions’
Saunders (“Absolutely Fabulous”) voiced Elizabeth in this “Despicable Me” sequel. In 2002, Saunders turned down the Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth. “We thought, ‘There’s a lot of people who deserve these things,’ and for us to get it sort of made it a mockery. There are people who work for the NHS or do great charity work and we hadn’t really done anything. It was silly,” she told Best Magazine.
Eddie Izzard in ‘The Simpsons’
The transgender comic voiced the queen (as well as Prince Charles) in a 2010 episode of “The Simpsons,” titled “To Surveil With Love.”
Scott Thompson in ‘The Kids in the Hall’
This Canadian sketch show is known for its versatile male members playing female roles, and Thompson — who was one of the first openly gay comics — played the queen in multiple sketches over the years.
Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘The Audience’
In 2013, Helen Mirren once again took on the role of the queen on Broadway in Peter Morgan’s stage play “The Audience”; two years later, Thomas played the part onstage in London.
Fred Armisen on ‘Saturday Night Live’
Armisen played a salty Queen Elizabeth in multiple sketches during his tenure on “SNL,” including opposite Anne Hathaway in “Kate Middleton Meets the Real Royal Family,” Katy Perry in “Pippa Visits the Queen” and Elton John in “Elton John and the Royal Wedding.”
