Crown star films disaster
AWARD-WINNING actress Olivia Colman has been pictured recreating the Queen’s visit to Aberfan in 1966, as Netflix drama The Crown films in Wales.
AWARD-WINNING actress Olivia Colman has been pictured recreating the Queen’s visit to Aberfan in 1966, as Netflix drama The Crown films in Wales.
Filming for the show’s third series has taken place at various locations in South Wales so far, with an episode in the upcoming third series covering the Aberfan disaster.
In October 1966, 116 children and 28 adults died in the village when a colliery spoil tip collapsed and engulfed Pantglas Junior School and surrounding homes. October 2016 saw the 50th anniversary of the disaster.
Colman – who takes over the role of the Queen for the upcoming series – has been pictured fiming some 12 miles away in Cwmaman, near Aberdare, recreating the Queen’s initial visit to Aberfan in the days following the disaster.
In Cwmaman, the empty Glynhafod Junior School – vacated due to a new school opening in the area – has doubled up as Pantglas Junior School for filming scenes directly before the disaster.
Dressed in an orange coat with a fur trim, mirroring what the monarch wore on her first visit alongside the Duke of Edinburgh, Broadchurch actress Colman can be seen on location in a terrace street in the Valleys village carrying a posy.
The Queen has visited Aberfan several times throughout her reign, the first visit coming nine days after the Aberfan disaster.
In total, she made four visits to the village. In 1973 she was there to open a memorial centre, again in 1997 to plant a tree in the Memorial Garden, and most recently in 2012.
Her initial and later visits were welcomed by the community. During her first visit, she promised she would return to open the school when it was rebuilt.
In 2012 she did just that during her Diamond Jubilee tour of South Wales. Prince Charles delivered a personal message to the people of Aberfan from the Queen when he visited the village to mark the 50th anniversary of the disaster in 2016.
The episode being filmed in Wales, due to air late next year, covers the period from the day of the disaster through to the Queen’s visit.
Series one and two covered the early years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, from 1947 until 1963. The lead roles of the Queen and Prince Philip were originally played by Claire Foy and Matt Smith.
Now, Colman will play the Queen, while Tobias Menzies takes the role of Prince Philip.