Imelda Staunton was 'perfect' in first take of late Queen's speech on Princess Diana's death

Imelda Staunton recreated the late Queen’s speech following Diana’s death in a “perfect” first take, one of The Crown directors has revealed.

The actress, who plays the former monarch on the hit series, said she listened to recordings of Queen Elizabeth II’s original broadcast, which was done live on the six o’clock news, multiple times before getting it just right.

Christian Schwochow, who directed two episodes of the sixth and final season of the Netflix show about the Royal family, said: “We shot this scene in the studio, with just one camera angle - just like back then on TV.

“There was a lot of concentration and Imelda was very well prepared. Even the first take was perfect — she put everything into this performance, just like a live recording. It was magical.”

The German director and executive producer added that he too had watched the original speech “many times” before shooting it, saying that this specific scene was “particularly intense” to do.

‘Huge sense of responsibility’

Staunton, 67, who has played the late Queen since season 5 of The Crown, said she felt a “huge sense of responsibility” while preparing for and filming this particular scene of the latest season, the first part of which comes out later this week.

“It was an incredibly powerful address to the nation which many people remember,” she said. 

“The significance of that was not taken lightly by anyone involved, and I spent a lot of time listening to recordings of the real speech, as I needed to be as accurate as I could be with the extremely sensitive subject matter.”

In the famous speech, broadcast by the BBC, the late Queen addressed the nation for the first time since Diana, the late Princess of Wales, had died suddenly alongside Dodi Al-Fayed after a car chase with paparazzi in Paris.

She remarked on the outpouring of an “overwhelming expression of sadness” in the country, and paid tribute to the “exceptional and gifted” Diana, calling her death an “exceptional loss”.

The broadcast played a significant role in changing the national mood and resulted in the dissipation of the immediate crisis that had taken place after the shock of her death.

Unlike other speeches given by her late majesty, the live televised address in September 1997 was formulated from her own thoughts and words.

Ms Staunton’s comments come ahead of the release of part one of the sixth and final series of the Netflix show on Thursday, with the next batch following on December 14. 

Previously, Ms Staunton has said she felt “more comfortable” playing the late Queen for this season, after playing her in the former one.

“I love her stillness and her ability to not be thrown by everything that must have constantly - throughout her whole life - gone on around her,” she said.