The Crown back in Netflix’s top 10 most watched after Queen’s death

The Crown has been launched back into Netflix’s top 10 lists in several countries, in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death last week.

On Thursday (8 September), Buckingham Palace announced that the British monarch had died peacefully at Balmoral, aged 96.

Shortly after the queen’s death was announced,The Crown showrunners announced that production on the show’s sixth and supposedly final season had been suspended on Friday (9 September), as a “mark of respect” for Britain’s longest-serving monarch.

“Filming will also be suspended on the day of Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral,” a source close to Netflix told Variety, after showrunner Peter Morgan called the Emmy-winning drama a “love letter to her”.

Nonetheless, the Netflix series – which follows the life of Elizabeth II from prior to her coronation – appears to be experiencing a surge in popularity in several regions, including Argentina, Sri Lanka, and the UK.

As of Sunday (11 September), The Crown was trending at No 3 in the UK and No 4 in the US. It claimed the No 1 spot on the Top 10 list of television shows in Ukraine, according to data collated by FlixPatrol, at the time of writing.

But did the Queen ever watch The Crown? While King Charles III’s friends have criticised the show for “presenting fiction as fact”, it was reported in 2017 that the drama was a hit with the late sovereign, who was said to have watched the first season after being encouraged to do so by her son and daughter-in-law, the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

The role of the Queen on Netflix’s show has been played by actors Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and, most recently, Imelda Staunton.

Colman, who played Elizabeth II for two seasons on The Crown, paid tribute to her during a recent appearance at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

She told Variety: “[The Queen] made a promise as a young woman and she absolutely kept it with such dignity. We’re all incredibly impressed by what she did.”

Colman also praised King Charles III’s first speech, in which he promised “lifelong service” and paid tribute to his “darling Mama”, saying: “May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

“From a British point of view, he did it so beautifully,” Colman said.

Follow the latest updates following the death of Queen Elizabeth II here