The Crown viewers stunned by surprise cameo in season four

‘She never misses a beat as Queen Elizabeth!’ one user wrote

WARNING: Spoilers for season four of The Crown

Audiences were shocked to see Claire Foy make an appearance in season four of The Crown.

It has been three years since Foy first portrayed a young Queen Elizabeth II in seasons one and two of Netflix’s hit drama. The role was then taken over by Olivia Colman in 2019.

Fans of the show were delighted to see the actor make a surprise cameo in the show’s fourth series that aired yesterday (16 November).

The 36-year-old featured in a flashback scene during episode eight, which depicted the then-princess’s 21st birthday.

Fans of the programme tweeted their excitement at seeing Foy back on screen in her most famous role. One user wrote: “Good to see Claire Foy back in the role of the Queen, even if it’s just for a short while.”

Another added: “Claire Foy is so supremely talented! She never misses a beat as Queen Elizabeth!” While a third said: “Seeing Claire Foy was otherworldly.”

One user wrote: “I had missed the performance of Claire Foy so much.”

The British actor won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for her leading role in The Crown.

Claire Foy and Vanessa Kirby as Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in Netflix’s The Crown (Netflix)

In 2018, it was revealed that her co-star Matt Smith – who starred opposite her as Prince Phillip – was paid £10,000 more than Foy per episode.

Netflix defended the pay gap by claiming that Smith was paid more due to the fact he was a bigger name. The streaming giant did, however, reportedly pay Foy approximately £200,000 in back pay after news of the salary disparity surfaced.

Foy told Porter Edit in 2018: “I was deeply hurt by it because I’d been working on that show for two years.

“I loved everybody on it and then I realised there’s been a big, fat, dirty secret that nobody’s ever talked about.”

The Crown season four is available to watch on Netflix now.