All Hail the Queen! How Nation’s Sweetheart Olivia Colman Silenced the Doubters and Crowned Herself Television’s Ultimate Royalty in Netflix’s Blockbuster Drama

By FEMAIL REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 18:00 BST, 5 September 2026 | UPDATED: 19:15 BST, 5 September 2026

She is the national treasure who went from scrubbing up laughs in regional comedy to clutching glittering Oscar gold, and when national sweetheart Olivia Colman stepped into the hallowed, impeccably tailored shoes of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for Netflix’s mega-budget blockbuster The Crown, royal watchers and telly addicts alike held a collective, nervous breath.

Could our favourite down-to-earth, giggling national icon possibly pull off the stoic, unyielding gravity of the world’s most famous monarch?

Spoiler alert: Bloody oath, she could.

Looking back at her monumental stint anchoring Seasons 3 and 4 of Peter Morgan’s royal epic, Olivia didn’t just play the sovereign—she commanded the screen with a quiet, devastating brilliance that left us all reaching for the tissues and cheering from our sofas.

Here, MailOnline takes a look back at the majestic, meme-worthy, and utterly spellbinding reign of television’s finest Queen.

Stepping Into Claire Foy’s Giant Shoes: The Ultimate Pressure Cooker

Let’s face it, darlings. Taking over a role from someone as universally adored as Claire Foy—who bagged rave reviews and armloads of gongs for playing the young Queen in Seasons 1 and 2—is the professional equivalent of walking through a minefield in high heels.

When Netflix bosses announced that our Liv—fresh off her triumphs in Broadchurch and The Favourite—was taking over the reins for the turbulent middle-aged years (covering roughly 1964 to 1990), social media went into an absolute tailspin.

Would she be too warm? Too funny? Would we miss Claire’s sharp-jawed intensity?

Naysayers, eat your words. From the very first scene of Season 3, where a slightly older, world-weary Elizabeth gazes into a postage stamp and dryly notes the cruel passage of time (“A great many changes.”)){.inline}—comparing her youthful portrait to her middle-aged reflection—Olivia proved she understood the assignment down to her sensible loafers.

She didn’t try to mimic Claire. Instead, she baked a brand new monarch out of pure grit, subtle eye-rolls, and a staggering masterclass in micro-expressions.

The Look, The Walk, The Silent Scream: How Liv Mastered The Monarch

Playing a real-life living legend is a thankless task, but Olivia approached the Sovereign with the precision of a seasoned brain surgeon and the relatability of your favorite auntie down the local pub.

Royal experts were quick to praise her uncanny physical transformation. While prosthetics were kept to a minimum (unlike some of her co-stars), Olivia captured the heavy, purposeful slouch of a woman weighed down by decades of constitutional burden.

• The Handbag Hold: That signature, white-knuckled grip on her Launer handbag? Mastered.

• The Royal Stride: The brisk, purposeful march across Buckingham Palace parquet flooring that left prime ministers scrambling to keep up? Nailed it.

• The Stiff Upper Lip: The terrifying ability to convey absolute volcanic rage through a single, fractional twitch of her jawline? Pure theatrical genius.

As writer Peter Morgan famously noted, writing for an actress of Colman’s caliber is like handing a Ferrari to a Formula One driver. She didn’t need miles of dialogue to tell us what Elizabeth was feeling; a flick of her eyes during a tense audience with Harold Wilson or Margaret Thatcher told a thousand stories.

That Season 4 Showdown: Standing Toe-to-Toe with the Iron Lady

If Season 3 was Olivia gently easing us into her royal carriage, Season 4 was a full-throttle, high-octane collision course that gave us some of the finest television of the decade.

Enter Gillian Anderson as the formidable Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The icy, passive-aggressive friction between Colman’s monarch and Anderson’s Thatcher became the ultimate Sunday night telly obsession. Who could forget the excruciating Balmoral test episodes, where the stiff-upper-lip aristocracy clashed hilariously and painfully with the middle-class, workaholic PM?

Olivia played the referee of a changing Britain with a tired, weary elegance. When her Elizabeth finally confronts Thatcher over her lack of empathy and divisive policies, the screen practically crackled with electricity. It wasn’t just a political battle; it was a masterclass in acting heavyweight championship boxing.

Behind the Crown: The Relatable Queen Who Can’t Stop Giggling

What makes Olivia a true British treasure—and why Daily Mail readers adore her quite so fiercely—is the glorious contrast between her solemn on-screen duties and her notoriously bubbly, chaotic off-screen personality.

While her co-stars like Helena Bonham Carter (who played Princess Margaret) and Tobias Menzies (Prince Philip) spoke of long, grueling days maintaining royal decorum on set, Olivia was reportedly the ultimate camp counselor behind the scenes.

Cast members frequently spilled that the moment the director yelled “Cut!”, Olivia would burst into her trademark booming, infectious laugh, swearing like a trooper and offering everyone a packet of crisps or a cheeky cup of tea.

Remember her unforgettable, tearful, and utterly unpretentious acceptance speech at the 2019 Oscars when she won Best Actress for The Favourite?

“Any little girl who’s practicing their telly sweep with a telly… you never know!” she beamed, before blowing a raspberry at the prompter.

That exact down-to-earth warmth is what she secretly injected into The Crown. Underneath the crown, the ermine robes, and the centuries of stiff protocol, Olivia made us believe that Elizabeth Windsor was, at her core, a real human being grappling with the impossible intersection of motherhood, duty, and deep loneliness.

Passing the Baton: Why Olivia’s Era Remains the Absolute Pinnacle

As the series eventually marched into its final twilight chapters with Imelda Staunton taking over the final throne-sitting duties, fans across forums and social media frequently look back at the Colman years as the undisputed golden era of Netflix’s royal drama.

Seasons 3 and 4 caught the monarchy at a fascinating crossroads—navigating the swinging sixties, economic gloom, family scandals, and a shifting global stage, all while the Queen herself transitioned from a young mother into a matriarch facing the autumn of her life.

Olivia handled that emotional aging process with breathtaking grace. She showed us a Queen who was tired of fighting family feuds, exasperated by her rebellious children, yet eternally chained to an oath she swore as a young girl.

The Verdict: A Right Royal Triumph

Let’s be honest: television dynasties come and go, but very few performances achieve the iconic, culture-shifting status of Olivia Colman in The Crown.

She took a character so heavily guarded, so scrutinized, and so mythologized, and breathed warm, beating life into her. She made us laugh, she made us weep, and most importantly, she made us look at our coins and stamps a little differently.

So, raise a gin and dubonnet, dear readers. Olivia Colman didn’t just wear the crown—she polished it until it shone brighter than ever before. Absolute royalty, through and through.

What did you think of Olivia’s turn as Her Majesty? Did she outshine Claire Foy, or were you team Staunton till the end? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!