Olivia Colman ineligible for Emmy as Queen Elizabeth in 'The Crown'

Olivia Colman, an Emmy winner, portrayed Queen Elizabeth in the series finale episode of Netflix's monarchy drama. However, she is ineligible to submit in the guest drama actress race by a margin of only a few seconds.

On the other hand, Claire Foy, who plays Queen Elizabeth in her younger years and appears in the same episode, is eligible and will be the only guest submission for the series. She is aiming for her second win in the category.

The episode "Sleep, Dearie Sleep," penned by Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Daldry, runs for a lengthy 72 minutes, making it the longest episode of the six-season series.

In the closing scenes of the series, Imelda Staunton's portrayal of Elizabeth reflects on the triumphs and challenges of her reign while contemplating passing the crown to Charles.

Earlier this year, the Television Academy revised the rules for guest acting submissions, specifying that "A brief cameo appearance is not eligible for entry."

The rules also specify the criteria for a guest performer, stating that they must have a minimum of 5% stand-alone and contiguous screen time (where the performer is engaged in the scene, whether on or off camera) in the submitted episode to be eligible.

The TV Academy stated that the rule adjustment was made “to ensure that a guest performer’s role is significant to the episode being submitted.”

Colman would need three minutes and 36 seconds of screen time to be eligible, but she falls short of this requirement.