The Royal Family are incredibly important people and are regularly immortalised in film and TV. From The Crown to Elizabeth, there have been some incredible and sometimes Oscar-winning portrayals. Here are our picks of some of the best portrayals of royals in the movie world.
Elizabeth – Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett was nominated her first Oscar for her role as Elizabeth I, in the 1998 movie Elizabeth.
The film follows the early years of Elizabeth’s reign, showing her elevation to the throne after the death of her half-sister Mary I, and the various plots against her.
Blanchett’s performance was acclaimed, leading to a second film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
The King’s Speech – Colin Firth
The King’s Speech, which is far more based in the modern day, saw Colin Firth take home an Oscar after two nominations.
Firth played George VI, in a film which showed the monarch’s unique struggles with speech-making as he prepared to deliver one of the most devastating speeches ever – the declaration of war against the Nazis in 1939.
The Oscar Best Picture winner follows the relationship between the King and his language therapist, Lionel Logue, on whom the King relies when his brother abdicates the throne, thrusting him into the limelight.
The Queen – Dame Helen Mirren
King George VI’s daughter, our beloved Elizabeth II, is depicted in The Queen by Dame Helen Mirren, earning her a well-deserved Oscar.
The film follows the events surrounding Princess Diana’s death in 1997, and the battle between Buckingham Palace, Prince Charles and the then-prime minister Tony Blair on how the Crown should deal with the incident.
The movie gained praise all over the world, and saw actor Michael Sheen play Blair for the second time, a role he reprised for a third time in The Special Relationship some time after.
The Young Victoria – Emily Blunt
Queen Victoria was the longest reigning monarch in England, until Queen Elizabeth II superseded her.
The Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt, shows the life of the young monarch and her marriage to Prince Albert, who became her Prince Consort.
The film was not so lauded as the others mentioned in the list, however, it shows the difficult beginnings of her life and was produced by none other than the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.