‘The Crown’s Queen Elizabeth paid less than her prince

LOS ANGELES: Even royals, it seems, may suffer from the gender pay gap.

British actress Claire Foy, who starred as a young Queen Elizabeth in the critically acclaimed Netflix series The Crown, was paid less than her co-star, Matt Smith, according to the television show’s producers.

In the latest example of pay disparity in the entertainment industry, Hollywood trade publication Variety reported on Tuesday that The Crown producers Andy Harries and Suzanne Mackie told a television industry conference in Jerusalem that Smith, who played a young Prince Philip, was paid more than Foy for the first two seasons of the show.

Foy, 33, won a Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild awards for her nuanced portrayal of Britain’s monarch in the 1950s and 1960s. Smith, 35, was not similarly honoured.

The pay difference was due to Smith coming into the show after a six-year stint as Dr Who on television, the producers said. They did not give details of the gap.

The producers said they would rectify that in the future.

“Going forward, no one gets paid more than the queen,” Variety quoted Mackie as saying.

Foy, however, will not be reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth. British actress Olivia Coleman is stepping in to play the older monarch as upcoming Season 3 of the show moves into the 1970s. Prince Philip will also be played by a different actor.