Born To Reign Olivia's Majestic Rise

The one-time cleaner is now the Queen!

We have a new queen – at least on the small screen! Olivia Colman has stepped into the role in the popular Netflix series The Crown and admits that while she’s not a fan of studying, she had to do a lot in order to play Queen Elizabeth – and could now win Mastermind on the subject of Her Majesty!

“I don’t really enjoy research, but for this I had to accept it,” admits Olivia. “I can’t just sit like me, I have to sit like her and look like pictures of her. They had to teach me how to walk – I’m really terrible at that, I have no physical awareness. I walk a bit like a farmer one of the directors said!”

She also had to learn to talk “posh”, but there was one thing she couldn’t change – the colour of her eyes. Both the Queen and Claire Foy, who played the role in the previous two seasons, have blue eyes, while Olivia’s are brown. The production crew attempted contact lenses, but “it was basically like an exorcism”, she tells and they were forced to give up on the idea.

Transforming into the monarch was a team effort, with the wig taking more than an hour to get on, and every single outfit was handmade. But despite the amazing sets and big budgets, her favourite scene to film was in nature.

“A highlight was to have another go at riding horses,” the 45-year-old shares. “And I did get to have an amazing magical moment with a foal.”