London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

‘As soon as I put the wig on, people changed’: Stella Gonet on playing the Queen

‘As soon as I put the wig on, people changed’: Stella Gonet on playing the Queen

Scottish actor who played the monarch in recent film Spencer on what she learned about the Queen from the experience

Stella Gonet played the Queen on the big screen in Pablo Larraín’s Spencer, a drama set over Christmas in Sandringham in 1991, starring Kristen Stewart as Diana. Gonet reveals how she channelled the monarch for the role – and what other people’s reactions taught her about the real woman.

As soon as I’d come out of makeup with the wig on, people changed totally towards me. It was extraordinary. “Can I get you anything? Can I do anything for you? Are you all right?” Normally people are very tactile with me but they’d suddenly move out of my way. There was just immediate respect. It was as if I was on a little horse that meant they couldn’t get too close.

The German chap who owned the Rolls-Royce we were using was a passionate royalist and so thrilled. He couldn’t believe it when he met me. He just thought I was the Queen. I thought: “This is just insane. I can’t turn round in broad Scots and say: ‘Don’t be silly! I’m just pretending.’ People seemed to really love and respect her.

I found the opposite with Margaret Thatcher, who I played for ages on stage in Handbagged, Moira Buffini’s play, with Marion Bailey as the Queen. She was just so divisive. Even my sister said: how could you play her?

Thatcher was totally devoted to the Queen. She’d do this incredible curtsey; almost prostrate herself in front of her. I think she desperately wanted to know the Queen, but they were poles apart. She wanted the same handbags, and the longer Thatcher’s reign went on, the higher her hair would get.




The Queen always seemed much more fun than Thatcher, and in preparing for Spencer I thought: yes, she really did have a sense of humour, which we didn’t see very often. She was quite funny, whereas Thatcher just never got a joke.

I think the Queen’s longevity was partly down to having other interests, in particular that huge passion for dogs, horses and the outdoors – as well as those very strong intimacies with her mother and sister and Prince Philip. The arts: not so much. Not a great deal of poetry in there. I don’t think she ever really wanted to go to the theatre.

She was practical. In Spencer, it’s always freezing at Sandringham. I’m sure that’s right; the one-bar electric fire. The film also shows how devoted to her father she was, keeping up George VI’s tradition of weighing guests when they’d arrive for Christmas, and again when they’d leave.

I found it difficult to get her voice, because she was so posh, and her walk was also hard. She carried herself incredibly well, even at the end. She had very good gait. I think it was all that horse riding. You’d see her meeting all these extraordinary people and – nothing. Then you see her at the Derby, charging down to watch!

I also noticed that she’d always ensure her hat was always very far up her head, so her face wasn’t covered. She felt people needed to see her. I think she had huge loyalty to her duty and her people. She took her job at a very early age and did it incredibly devotedly. I think it’s going to be very empty now. I can’t see the monarchy carrying on. But then I’m Scottish, so I can’t really talk about being a royalist.

Gonet and Marion Bailey in Handbagged.


The only brief moment I had to compare with that experience of the temperature changing was in the early 1990s, when I was in a Sunday night series called The House of Elliot. I didn’t really talk to anyone about it when we were shooting; I considered myself a theatre actor and in those days you weren’t sure whether one should do telly, which I know now seems ridiculous. I was hanging out the washing one Monday morning and my next door neighbour said: “Oh my goodness! You shouldn’t be doing that.”

I had suddenly become a different person because I’d been in that little box in their living room the night before. I remember thinking: that’s weird, how bizarre. How many performances I’d done on stage – nothing, ever. People might ask you to sign a programme but, suddenly, I shouldn’t be hanging out the washing.

I think a whole life of that must be very difficult. To live totally for others. To always be on show. Can you imagine? Horrible. I might not be a royalist but I was a huge fan of the Queen. It was an honour to play her.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
×