Matt Smith says Queen Elizabeth II watched ‘The Crown’ on a projector.

Matt Smith says Queen Elizabeth II watched ‘The Crown’ on a projector

Matt Smith says Queen Elizabeth II watched ‘The Crown’ on a projector

The 39-year-old actor - who played Her Majesty’s husband Prince Philip for the show’s first two seasons - revealed that the late 96-year-old monarch was a big fan of the fictionalised version of her life and made it a part of her weekend ritual, according to what her grandson Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex told him.

While appearing on the ‘Today’ show on Thursday (15.09.2022), he said: I met the now-King Charles, I told him that he had fabulous shoes … and then I met Harry once at the Polo.

“He walked up to me and he went, ‘Grand-dad,’ because he watched the show. I heard the Queen had watched it, yeah, and she used to watch it on a projector on a Sunday night, apparently.”

Matt shared that his character the Duke of Edinburgh - who died aged 99 in April 2021 - was not such a fan of the Peter Morgan-created period drama.

He said: “A friend of mine sat next to him at [a] dinner once and he asked him. Actually, I think Philip asked my friend if he made ‘The Crown.

“My friend couldn’t resist. By the end of the meal he was like, ‘Philip, I have to ask, have you watched “The Crown”?’ And [Philip] apparently turned around to him [and said], ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’”

The ‘House of Dragon’ star’s anecdotes come after the death of the Queen last Thursday (08.09.2022), which has prompted a period of national mourning in the UK and wave of tributes from all corners of the globe.

Claire Foy - who snagged both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for playing the monarch who reigned for more than 70 years opposite Matt - was one of them, admitting she was “honoured” to play the Queen.

She said: "I think that she was an incredible monarch.

"She united people and she was a massive symbol of continuity and dignity and grace."

"My main feeling is just thinking about her as a mother and a grandmother and a great-grandmother, really, and I'm very honoured to have been a teeny tiny, small part of her story."

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