Netflix's The Crown suspends filming as show mourns the Queen

The screenwriter of Netflix series The Crown has announced that filming is been suspended following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The drama, a fictional retelling of the Royal family's history starting from the death of the late Queen's father, George VI, in 1952, has won multiple awards across its four seasons.

It's also become one of Netflix's most streamed shows - although The Crown has also been criticised for historical inaccuracies.

British screenwriter Peter Morgan described it as a "love letter" to the late monarch following her death on Thursday.

"I’ve nothing to add for now, just silence and respect. I expect we will stop filming out of respect too," he said in an email to the American magazine, Deadline.

A spokesperson for Netflix later confirmed that production on series six had been suspended.

It's not clear if plans to release season 5, scheduled for November, will also be delayed.

Who has played the Queen?

Three actresses have, or will, play the Queen in The Crown. Claire Foy portrayed a young monarch in the first two seasons, with Olivia Coleman a more mature Queen in seasons three and four.

Imelda Staunton - perhaps best known for playing Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter franchise - has been filming the part for the upcoming season five and six.

Morgan also wrote The Queen, which starred Helen Mirren in 2006.

On her Instagram, Mirren said she was "proud to be an Elizabethan."

"We mourn a woman, who, with or without the crown, was the epitome of nobility."