Elizabeth

Elizabeth is one of the ladies of the Russian court that young Catherine finds herself thrown among on arrival — worldly, unbothered, and openly cynical about the palace's rules and rituals. She drinks freely, speaks her mind without apology, and treats the court's absurdities as something to be laughed at rather than feared, offering Catherine a wry education in how to survive.

Belinda Bromilow plays Elizabeth with a marvelous, unhurried disregard for propriety, turning throwaway lines into the funniest moments in a scene simply through timing and deadpan delight. Against the show's satire of court manners, she's the character who already sees the joke, and her friendship gives Catherine — and the audience — someone gloriously unimpressed by power.