Claire Foy & Olivia Colman’s The Crown Season 6 Cameos Explained

Spoilers are forward for The Crown‘s collection finale.

In The Crown‘s closing moments, viewers are handled to poignant appearances from former Queen Elizabeth II actors Claire Foy and Olivia Colman. The duo’s The Crown season 6 cameos assist convey closure to Netflix’s long-running collection. The Crown‘s rotating solid of characters all the time offered powerhouse performances, however there is no denying simply how satisfying it’s to see Foy and Colman standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Queen Elizabeth’s closing actor, Imelda Staunton. Queen Elizabeth spends the majority of the present’s closing episode planning her personal funeral — one thing that would not come to move for many years — and getting ready for Charles’ (Dominic West) marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams).

After The Crown‘s royal household takes marriage ceremony footage and the crowds fade away, Queen Elizabeth spends a closing second along with her long-time husband, Prince Phillip (Jonathan Pryce), in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Fort. Standing of their future closing resting place, the couple have a significant alternate concerning the finish of the monarchy’s relevance. Phillip tells Elizabeth she must rule for so long as she lives; nobody else is well-equipped sufficient for the job. “We’re a dying breed, you and I,” Phillip tells Queen Elizabeth. “…The celebration’s over.“ Phillip leaves Queen Elizabeth within the chapel, however, due to The Crown‘s cameos, she is not alone.

Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth Has Conversations With Her Youthful Selves In The Crown Season 6 Finale

When Prince Phillip leaves Queen Elizabeth alone in St. George’s Chapel, she takes within the house, her thoughts nonetheless dwelling on the funeral she deliberate for herself. After a second, an unseen bagpipe participant begins an unmistakable funeral dirge. It turns into clear that the musician is a figment of Elizabeth’s creativeness. When she turns round, a coffin rests within the heart of the chapel. In fact, given the crown and scepter laid atop the casket, it is not simply any coffin — it is Queen Elizabeth II’s future coffin. Within the chapel she commissioned for her father’s burial a long time earlier, The Crown‘s protagonist briefly imagines how her meticulously deliberate funeral will unfold.

The Crown season 6, half 2 provides a fourth Elizabeth actor to the combination: Viola Prettejohn performs a teenage model of the character, earlier than she takes the throne. Prettejohn’s model of Elizabeth, carrying her army garb, stands within the chapel and salutes Staunton’s queen, who returns the gesture. In a soon-to-be iconic shot, Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth II stands in entrance of the altar. Behind her, on both facet, two out-of-focus figures are wearing black mourning attire. When the digicam focuses on the figures, it is clear that they are Olivia Colman and Claire Foy — Queen Elizabeth’s extra recognizable youthful selves from earlier seasons of The Crown.

Claire Foy & Olivia Colman Return For The Crown’s Remaining Shot

Apparently, though Claire Foy and Olivia Colman return for one in every of The Crown‘s closing photographs, neither actor has any traces. Actually, after Phillip leaves the chapel, the present’s closing sequences are simply set to music, leaving the viewer to place all of the symbolism collectively. Given simply how a lot of a breakout position Queen Elizabeth was for Foy, it is satisfying to see the actor reprise the position one final time, even when it is simply in cameo type. Colman, in the meantime, performed Elizabeth throughout the peak of The Crown‘s success. Staring forward, arms folded, the youthful Elizabeths don’t comply with Staunton when she takes the lengthy stroll out of the chapel.

The Actual That means Of The Crown Ending With 3 Generations Of Queen Elizabeth Standing Collectively

Though Claire Foy and Olivia Colman’s The Crown season 6 cameos are short-lived, their shared scene is extremely highly effective. Although The Crown‘s closing season culminates in a marriage, it is nonetheless a tragedy. It marks the top of many issues, however, most importantly, the top of the royal household as they had been as soon as perceived. When Prince Phillip finds Queen Elizabeth within the chapel, he makes an offhand comment about her being there, and Staunton’s character replies, “Right here I nonetheless am.” In his closing alternate with Elizabeth, Phillip goes on to say that the system would not make sense to anybody exterior of it — or within it, honestly.

Queen Elizabeth’s imagined loss of life in The Crown is not nearly her — it is concerning the loss of life of the monarchy. Elizabeth was born for her royal position, however she’s the final of outdated monarchs. The Crown has all the time positioned itself as a chronicle of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. It has additionally been made clear that weathering change has by no means been the monarchy’s robust go well with. Claire Foy and Olivia Colman’s cameos, which sees them becoming a member of Imelda Staunton, is poignant as a result of it is a second out of time. The cameo permits three generations of Queen Elizabeth II to face collectively and envision the top — of Elizabeth, of the monarchy, and of The Crown.