Imelda Staunton was spotted for the first time on the set of The Crown series 5 on Monday, where she was settling into her role as Queen Elizabeth II.

Imelda Staunton, who is taking over the role of the United Kingdom’s longest reigning queen from Claire Foy (seasons 1 and 2) and Olivia Colman (seasons 3 and 4) on the Netflix drama, channeled the monarch to perfection while filming in Macduff, Scotland.

The Harry Potter actress was spotted wearing a turquoise shirt and skirt, black Hunter boots, and a simple pearl necklace.

The extravagant drama’s filming is said to have begun earlier this month in the UK, with a fresh cast making their debuts as members of the royal family.

The Queen famously arrived at Macduff with Prince Philip on the Royal Britannia on August 4, 1961 – but series five covers the monarch’s reign from the 1990s to 2003, with Imelda seeming to recreate a 2003 royal visit to Belfast.

Staunton wrapped up in a black jacket and a cap covering between shoots to protect her outfit.

The actress’s hair was professionally groomed for the parts as well, and she was shielded from the weather with a hairnet, which she removed once she was securely inside.

She was spotted jumping into a boat and donning a life jacket alongside her co-stars on the River Deveron in scenes recorded only days after Netflix released the first photograph of the acclaimed actress in character.

The fresh images arrive only days after The Crown’s official Instagram posted the first photograph of Staunton as Queen Elizabeth.

The image was touted by Netflix as “an early glimpse of our new Queen Elizabeth II.”

An early glimpse of our new Queen Elizabeth II, Imelda Staunton. pic.twitter.com/ZeMSA1hDnv

— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) July 30, 2021

Actor Andrew Havill was also seen filming in a slick grey suit, however his role in the new show has yet to be revealed.

Staunton discussed the “extra challenge” of playing a more modern version of the Queen in season 5 with BBC radio’s Woman’s Hour host Emma Barnett in January.

Imelda Staunton in The Crown | CREDIT: SPLASHNEWS.COM

“I think my sort of extra challenge, as if I needed it, is that I’m now doing the Queen that we’re a little more familiar with,” Staunton explained.

“With Claire Foy, it was almost history and now I’m playing one that people could say ‘she doesn’t do that,’ ‘she’s not like that,’ and that’s my personal bête noire,” she continued.

Imelda Staunton confessed earlier this year that she was “terrified” to take on the role of the modern-day Queen, with the final sixth season of The Crown scheduled to bring the royal family’s story up to the current day.

‘When Claire Foy was in the first series, to all of us that felt like history,’ she told The Sun’s Bizarre.

‘Then following on from that with Olivia Colman, again it seems like history.

‘Now we start in 1991 playing someone much more recent. That’s the extra challenge I have, people saying, “Oh, I don’t think she’s like that at all”.’

Residents of four streets in the Aberdeenshire town got a letter last week informing them that cast and crew will be arriving on August 2 to shoot at the harbour, according to the Press and Journal.

While playing a more modern-day Queen may be challenging, Colman believes Staunton is well-prepared because she has already honed her royal walk.

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