- Netflix’s original series “The Crown” is based on the real-life royal drama behind Queen Elizabeth II’s reign as the British monarch.
- The upcoming third season features an all-new cast, to reflect the aging of the characters.
- Here’s how the actors, both old and new, look in real life compared to their regal on-screen personas.
The first season of Netflix’s original drama “The Crown,” a retelling of Queen Elizabeth II’s rise and reign as the British monarch, cost $100 million to make. That makes it one of the most expensive TV series of all time, just behind HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
But it certainly seems like the investment is worthwhile. “The Crown” is adored by critics and has picked up two Golden Globes. The upcoming third season – featuring an all-new cast, to reflect the aging of the characters – is expected to be released sometime in 2019.
Part of that monster budget goes to dressing the cast in a wild number of transformative period costumes. Check out how the actors, both old and new, look in real life compared to their regal on-screen personas.
Caroline Praderio contributed to an earlier version of this post.
Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth II in the early days of her reign.
Claire Foy auditioned for the role while she was six months pregnant, wearing a tiara, gloves, and gown.
Foy is equally regal in real life.
Foy won a Golden Globe for her work in "The Crown," and actually thanked the real Queen Elizabeth in her acceptance speech.
"I really, really, really wouldn't be here if it wasn't for some extraordinary women, and I'm going to thank them. One of them is Queen Elizabeth II," he said. "She has been at the center of the world for the past 63 years, and I think the world could do with a few more women at the center of it, if you ask me."
Olivia Colman has taken over the lead role for season three.
Queen Elizabeth II is a mother of four children on season three.
Colman rocks a stylish pixie cut offscreen.
"I'm so thrilled to be part of 'The Crown,'" Colman said in a statement. "I think Claire Foy is an absolute genius. She's an incredibly hard act to follow."
Matt Smith played Prince Philip, who married Elizabeth when she was still a princess.
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip first met in 1934 at the wedding of Princess Marina and Prince George, according to the Royal Family's official website. They got married on November 20, 1947.
In real life, his hair is much darker.
Matt Smith was the source of a media firestorm and online outrage when it was revealed that he was paid more than Foy. He responded by speaking out in support of equal pay.
Read more: 11 of the most alarming examples of Hollywood's gender pay gap
Tobias Menzies will play an older Prince Philip.
Today, the real Elizabeth and Philip have been married for an incredible 71 years.
You might recognize Menzies from "Game of Thrones."
He plays Edmure Tully, the brother of Catelyn Stark and uncle of Sansa, Arya, and Bran - but hasn't been seen since season six.
Erin Doherty has been cast as Princess Anne on season three.
Doherty will play an older Princess Anne, the only daughter and second child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
"To be a part of 'The Crown' feels both special and surreal," Doherty wrote in a statement. "There is such a special dynamic within Princess Anne that I am incredibly grateful to be able to explore. She is a woman of great strength and heart - I feel privileged to fight her corner."
Josh O'Connor will portray an all-grown-up Prince Charles, the heir to the throne.
Prince Charles is the eldest child of the royal couple. He was invested as Prince of Wales by the Queen on July 1, 1969.
"Seasons three and four will follow some of the most turbulent events in the Princes of Wales's life and our national story and I'm excited to be bringing to life the man in the midst of it all," he said in a statement.
Netflix recently confirmed that Emma Corrin has been cast as the late Princess Diana.
Lady Diana Spencer - who became Princess Diana following her marriage to Prince Charles - might not show up in "The Crown" until late season three or season four. The real Diana met Prince Charles in 1977, when he was dating her older sister, and they got married after a brief courtship in 1981.
"I have been glued to the show and to think I'm now joining this incredible talented acting family is surreal," Corrin wrote in a statement. "Princess Diana was an icon and her effect on the world remains profound and inspiring."
Vanessa Kirby portrayed Elizabeth's younger sister, Margaret.
Princess Margaret was entangled in a forbidden romance throughout season one. The relationship was one of the biggest scandals in royal family history.
Kirby opts for blonde hair in real life.
Vanessa Kirby has also appeared in "Jupiter Ascending" and "Mission: Impossible - Fallout."
Helena Bonham Carter will take over the role as Princess Margaret on season three.
"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," she said in a statement. "The only thing I can guarantee is that I'll be shorter than Vanessa."
Carter is well-known for iconic roles in movies like "Fight Club" and the "Harry Potter" series.
"The Crown" won't be Carter's first forray into the Royal Family: She won an Oscar for "The King's Speech," in which she played Queen Elizabeth II's mother.
Ben Miles played Peter Townsend, Margaret's controversial lover.
When Margaret asked for her sister's permission to marry Townsend, Queen Elizabeth II refused. Because he was previously divorced, the Church of England and Parliament were reportedly against the match, despite the public's support.
In real life, Miles has gone gray gracefully.
He is also known for his roles in "V for Vendetta" and "Speed Racer."
Matthew Goode joined the cast as Margaret's future husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, on season two.
Three years after announcing that she wouldn't marry Townsend, Margaret married Armstrong-Jones, who later became known as Lord Snowden.
The couple's love story had some scandalous twists and turns.
Goode, who's appeared on "The Good Wife" and "Downtown Abbey," is actually a brunette.
He has also appeared in films like "Leap Year," "Stoker," and "The Imitation Game."
Ben Daniels will portray an older Armstrong-Jones.
After the birth of their second child in 1964, Armstrong-Jones reportedly began sleeping with other women while away on photographic assignments, according to The Evening Standard.
Daniels apparently prefers to sport some facial hair.
Daniels has starred in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and on "House of Cards."
Eileen Atkins played Queen Mary, Elizabeth and Margaret's grandmother.
The real-life Queen Mary died in 1953.
In real life, she's an accomplished stage actress who was named a Dame by the real queen in 2001.
Atkins has recently starred in "Magic in the Moonlight" and "Paddington 2."
Victoria Hamilton played the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother is the affectionate name given to Elizabeth and Margaret's mother, who was was the wife of King George VI.
Hamilton has traded old-fashioned finger waves for a blonde pixie cut.
Hamilton starred in the 1999 film "Mansfield Park."
Marion Bailey will play the Queen Mother on season three.
"Wonderful to be joining 'The Crown,'" she said in a statement. "It's a brilliant show and we have a tough act to follow but what a gift to be playing the fascinating and greatly loved Queen Mother."
Jared Harris played King George VI, Elizabeth and Margaret's father.
King George VI reluctantly claimed the throne in 1937, after his older brother gave it up in order to marry an American socialite.
His daughter Elizabeth became queen directly following his death in 1952.
Offscreen, Harris usually grows out his beard.
Harris played another king, the infamous Henry VIII, in "The Other Boleyn Girl."
Alex Jennings played King Edward VIII, the older brother of King George VI who abdicated the throne in 1936.
Directly after his father died in 1936, Edward VIII took the throne. Less than a year later, in a scandalous, unprecedented move, he renounced the throne in order to marry an American divorcee.
Jennings wears glasses in real life.
Jennings has also starred on recent TV series like "Unforgotten" and "Victoria."
Wallis Simpson, Edward's wife, was portrayed by Lia Williams.
Simpson, an American socialite, was divorced twice before she fell in love with the royal. After Edward abdicated the throne for her, they married in 1937 and stayed together until Edward's death in 1972.
Williams looks sophisticated on the red carpet with a blonde pixie cut.
Williams is known for films like "The Foreigner" and "The Missing."
Greg Wise played Lord Louis Mountbatten, who served in the Royal Navy.
Mountbatten was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
Wise closely resembles his onscreen persona.
You may recognize Greg Wise from "Sense and Sensibility" or "Johnny English."
John Lithgow — season one's only American actor — played Prime Minster Winston Churchill.
Churchill was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, and again from 1951 to 1955.
Lithgow wore a fat suit to portray the storied politician.
Lithgow appears in the 2019 horror movie "Pet Sematary."
Churchill's wife, Clementine, was portrayed by Harriet Walter.
According to the History channel, "Winston himself credited [Clementine] as the primary driver behind his astonishingly successful life."
Walter, who looks much younger in real life, was also named a Dame by the actual queen.
Walter portrayed Dr. Kalonia in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Jeremy Northam plays Anthony Eden, the British politician who succeeded Churchill as Prime Minister.
Eden succeeded Churchill in 1955.
The real Northam usually opts for a clean-shaven face and glasses.
Northam acted alongside Gwyneth Paltrow in "Emma" and Sandra Bullock in "The Net."
On season two, Anton Lesser portrayed Harold Macmillan, the Prime Minister who succeeded Eden.
Harold Macmillan took over as Prime Minister when Sir Anthony Eden resigned in 1957.
Lesser is fairly camera-shy in real life — but here's how he looked a few years ago, during an interview about his role as Qyburn on "Game of Thrones."
Watch the whole interview from Flicks And The City right here.
Jason Watkins has been cast for season three as Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
According to CNN, Wilson was the first prime minister from a lower-middle-class background during Queen Elizabeth II's reign and they got along well.
Michael C. Hall and Jodi Balfour made a brief appearance on season two, playing US president John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie.
"The Crown" portrayed the late former president as a high-functioning, charismatic drug addict.
"You have to in some way honor that without mimicking him," Michael C. Hall told Entertainment Weeky about the role. "It's a challenging thing, I know that on the show they certainly encourage people to honor the spirit of the people they're playing but don't encourage straight-up mimicry. So I didn't feel too bound by that."
Minus Balfour's iconic Jackie Kennedy hairdo, the two look fairly similar to their historic characters.
Hall is best known as the titular character on Showtime's "Dexter." Balfour has a role on the newest season of HBO's "True Detective."