Lesley Manville thought she would be cast as The Queen for The Crown

Lesley Manville was confused.

Lesley Manville has said that, prior to being chosen to play Princess Margaret in the upcoming fifth season of The Crown, she "thought" she would be playing Queen Elizabeth II.

Before Imelda Staunton won the role, the actress, 66, was confident she'd be portraying the late matriarch when she was asked to meet with writer Peter Morgan.

She explained that she doesn't consider herself "glamorous," therefore at first she wasn't sure if she could become the late sovereign's sister.

“When my agent called and said, 'Can you go to Peter Morgan's house on Monday?' - that's how it happened for me, and I think it happened for Imelda - I never thought of myself as a Margaret. My immediate thought was the Queen, the Queen! The Mum star told The Times.

She added, “My agent said, 'He wants to talk to you about playing Margaret.' I thought, 'Hang on a minute. Margaret? I can't do Margaret.”

Lesley came to the conclusion that while she doesn't perceive herself in that way and acknowledges that she has a "problem with her own self-image," she was "very chuffed" to accept the role.