Claire Foy bids farewell to The Crown in Emmys acceptance speech

Claire Foy's two-season reign as The Crown's Queen Elizabeth II has finished on a high note at the 2018 Emmys.

The English actress, 34, won the Lead Actress in a Drama Series gong for her portrayal of the monarch in the second season of Netflix's royal historical drama.

Foy and her co-stars - including Matt Smith, who plays Prince Philip - will all be replaced with a new cast in The Crown's upcoming third season, which depicts the Royal Family during a later period of the 20th century.

"I had the most extraordinary two-and-a-half years of my life - I'm not going to cry - on this program," she began.

"I was given a role that I never thought I'd get the chance to play, and I met people who I will love forever and ever and ever, which makes me so, so proud.

During her on-screen reign, Foy portrayed Queen Elizabeth in the leadup to her coronation in 1953 and the decade that followed it.

The Crown's first season, released in 2016, covered events in the years between 1947-1955, while Season Two explored the period of 1956-1963.

Tobias Menzies, known for his roles in Outlander and Game of Thrones, will replace Smith as the Duke of Edinburgh, while Helena Bonham Carter will assume Vanessa Kirby's role as Her Majesty's sister, Princess Margaret.

The Crown was up for five Emmys this year, including Best Supporting Actor and Actress for Smith and Kirby, and Best Drama Series.