Claire Foy plays Queen Elizabeth II in the early days of her reign.
Here's what the Queen really looked like at her coronation in 1953. She was 25 years old.
Matt Smith plays the queen's husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
This is what Prince Philip looked like when he married Elizabeth in 1947.
These young actors portray Elizabeth and Philip's two oldest children, Prince Charles (future father of Prince William and Prince Harry) and Princess Anne.
Here's a picture of the adorable royal siblings in 1952.
Vanessa Kirby portrays Princess Margaret, the queen's younger sister.
Here's a young Margaret at a ball in 1949.
Victoria Hamilton plays Queen Elizabeth I — the mother of Margaret and Elizabeth II.
Here's the real Elizabeth I in 1949. She lived to be an impressive 101 years old.
Eileen Atkins plays Queen Mary, Elizabeth II's grandmother and wife of King George V.
The real-life Queen Mary died in 1936, four years after this portrait was taken.
Jared Harris plays King George VI, Elizabeth II's father. He claimed the throne in 1937 after his older brother gave it up in order to marry an American socialite.
Here's the king at his coronation in 1937. Elizabeth II became queen directly following his death in 1952.
Alex Jennings plays King Edward VIII, who stepped down from the throne in 1936 to marry a divorced American. It was a scandalous, unprecedented move.
Edward's reign didn't even last a full year. Here he is after the abdication, in 1940.
Lia Williams plays Edward VIII's wife, Wallis Simpson. She was divorced twice before she married the royal.
Williams looks remarkably like the real Wallis Simpson, pictured here in 1936.
Ben Miles plays Peter Townsend, an officer in the British Royal Air Force who had a controversial romance with Princess Margaret.
This is what Townsend looked like in real life.
Greg Wise portrays Prince Philip's uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten, who served in the Royal Navy.
This is Mountbatten in 1943.
John Lithgow plays British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Lithgow had to wear a fat suit to portray the politician.
Jeremy Northam plays Anthony Eden, a British politician who eventually succeeded Churchill as Prime Minister.
Northam nailed the real Eden's distinctive mustache.
Harriet Walter portrays Churchill's wife, Clementine.
This is the real Clementine in 1944.
