Haydn Gwynne, who played Lady Susan Hussey on The Crown, has died, according to Variety. According to a statement from her agent, she had recently been diagnosed with cancer. She was 66 years old.
“It is with great sadness we are sharing with you that, following her recent diagnosis with cancer, the star of stage and screen Haydn Gwynne died in hospital in the small hours of Friday 20 October, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family and friends,” the statement reads. “We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton Hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks.”
Gwynne had a long and varied screen career, most notably appearing as Alex on the U.K. series Drop The Dead Donkey in the ’90s, for which she earned a BAFTA nomination. More recently, she played Queen Camilla in the comedy The Windsors, a complement to her time on The Crown. The actor was particularly prolific onstage, earning multiple Olivier nominations over the years in addition to a Tony nomination for Billy Elliot, in which she played the teacher Mrs. Wilkinson on both London’s West End and on Broadway.
The performer was remembered by both friends and fans, including Jack Thorne (Enola Holmes); Gwynne starred in his play When Winston Went To War With The Wireless last year. “Haydn was the kindest, loveliest soul and a wonderful performer. She gave everything to everything,” he wrote on Twitter/X. Helen Mirren, who starred alongside Gwynne in a play by The Crown’s Peter Morgan, posted her own tribute on Instagram. “Haydn was a delight as a person and a consummate dedicated actress. I had the huge pleasure of sharing the stage with her, in the play “The Audience” where, much like the original characters, (Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher) we danced a delicate dance together,” Mirren wrote. “She was both funny and serious at the same time, a brilliant balancing act that her whole career exemplified. We will miss her very much.”