Starring Claire Foy as Elizabeth II, The Crown will look at each decade of our current Queen’s reign, and how her life intertwines with that of the political ruling class.

Ex-Dr Who star Matt Smith plays Prince Philip, and US comedy veteran John Lithgow appears as Winston Churchill, wearing prosthetics and heavy make up.

Each season of The Crown will explore a different decade of the Queen’s reign, looking at the political rivalries that defined the history of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, as well as the personal dramas going on behind the closed gates of the royal palaces.

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning UK monarch, having sat on the throne for nearly 65 years (Queen Victoria almost made it to 64 years).

The Crown goes right back to the moment Elizabeth changed from a princess to a queen: the death of her beloved father, George VI, in 1953.

The 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth was in a Kenyan treehouse on holiday with her husband Prince Philip, when she received news of George’s death.

“It’s not just the story of a family, but the story of post-war Britain,” says Stephen Daldry.

“Are you my wife or my Queen?” Philip memorably asks Elizabeth in an early scene, before the boundaries between the private and the public have bee established.

On the other hand, with the sympathetic wisdom born of age, Churchill says to Elizabeth, “Never let them see that carrying the crown is often a burden.”

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