Made in the UK: The Crown
Today sees the international release of Netflix’s anticipated original period series The Crown. This new drama focuses on a young Queen Elizabeth II in an era of political disarray, following her public and private journey as the new leader of one of the world’s most powerful countries.
British talent fit for a Queen
Produced by Left Bank Pictures for Netflix, The Crown has taken full advantage of the wealth of talent the UK has to offer. Onscreen, actor Claire Foy (The Lady in the Van) takes the titular role of Queen Elizabeth while Matt Smith, best known as the eponymous Doctor Who, plays opposite as the Duke of Edinburgh.
Written by internationally renowned screenwriter Peter Morgan CBE (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) the series was helmed by a succession of British directors including Benjamin Caron (Sherlock), Philip Martin (The Tunnel), Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane) and Oscar-nominated Stephen Daldry (The Reader, The Hours) who also is an executive producer. Producers included Andrew Eaton (Rush) and Faye Ward (Suffragette, The Other Boleyn Girl).
Casting of the series was overseen by industry veteran Nina Gold (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Martian) while production and costume design were supervised by Martin Childs (Shakespeare in Love) and Michele Clapton (Game of Thrones) respectively. The score was composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams (Wonder Woman, The Legend of Tarzan) and The Crown’s VFX was managed by UK studio One of Us, lead by VFX supervisor and studio director, Tom Debenham.
UK locations are a crowning glory
Location manager Pat Karam (Legend, Everest)- a further example of UK talent- benefitted from the vast and diverse range of locations available within the UK. Historical buildings in London, south east England and Scotland were all used to represent famous political and historical residences. These included Blythe House, West Kensington and Lancaster House, St. James in London, Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, Englefield House in Reading, Waddeston Manor in Buckinghamshire and New Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire.
Impressive exterior locations throughout the UK were also used, including Greenwich’s Old Naval College, Loseley Park in Surrey, Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire, and Aberdeenshire’s Cruden Bay. The series was also filmed at Elstree Studios, situated just 20 minutes outside London.
The full series of The Crown is available on Netflix now.
For further information on the series, and on production in the UK, take a look at our UK in Focus magazine.
