Like modern-day movie stars, the British Royal family has enjoyed increasing exposure on the big and small screen these past years.
With the coming coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, we’ve compiled a list of the best films and television shows about the Royals.
It’s the perfect way to get you in the mood for all the pomp and pageantry that is set to unfold over the coming days.
1) The Crown (2016-2023)
Peter Morgan’s peerless drama about the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II has become one of the most-watched shows ever on Netflix. Deep diving into the Windsors, this trawl through 20th Century British history as seen from Buckingham Palace is compelling viewing.
Claire Foy, Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton offer imperious performances of the Queen at different ages, although they are hardly alone.
Season 6 has just wrapped and will bring one of the great shows of the modern era to a close later this year, with the romance between Prince William (Ed McVey) and Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy) to be featured.
2) The King’s Speech (2010)
We’re used to seeing modern "Royals in crisis" stories, but here comes one from the 1930s by director Tom Hooper. After the death of King George V in 1936, a constitutional nightmare arises with the sudden abdication of his eldest son, Edward VIII, who wants to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson.
And so it’s left for his younger brother Bertie (Colin Firth) — the future King George VI — to take to the throne and overcome his terrible stammer, with the help of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Winning four Oscars, including Best Picture, it was an astounding way for Firth to claim his first Academy Award.
3) The Queen (2006)
Before there was The Crown, there was The Queen, Peter Morgan’s dry-run-of-sorts for the Netflix show. Starring Dame Helen Mirren — who won an Oscar for her marvellous portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II — it covers the few days that followed the death of Princess Diana, as the nation mourns, while the Royals are left floundering.
Addressing the idea that the monarchy was out of touch, it was a daring script. Michael Sheen co-stars as Labour PM Tony Blair, having already played the British politician in the Morgan-scripted The Deal, but it was Mirren’s turn as Her Majesty that humanised one of the world’s great figureheads.
4) A Royal Night Out (2015)
So the story goes, on VE Day — May 8, 1945 — Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth went out into London to mingle with revellers celebrating the end of the Second World War.
Here, in Julian Jarrold’s comedy, that idea is embellished with charming results. Sarah Gadon plays Elizabeth, who was 19 at the time, while Bel Powley is Margaret, who was 15 at the time. The latter slips away from her sister and ends up in the hedonistic world of the capital's nightclubs.
Rupert Everett is superb as King George VI, but it’s the two young actresses who turn this into a winning fantasy — a right Royal "what if?" story.
5) Mrs Brown (1997)
The film that arguably turned Judi Dench into a movie star, Mrs Brown led to the first of eight Academy Award nominations for the actress, and there’s no question, it’s one of her finest performances.
Casting her as Queen Victoria, bereft after losing her beloved Prince Albert, the film focuses on the monarch’s tender relationship with John Brown (Billy Connolly), a trusted Scottish servant of her late husband.
Director John Madden worked again with Dench a year later for Shakespeare In Love, casting the actress as Elizabeth I — a performance that would win her an Oscar.
6) Spencer (2021)
Chilean director Pablo Larrain created a stirring portrait of Princess Diana as she spends Christmas at Sandringham with the Royals, feeling increasingly isolated and fragile.
Kristen Stewart, who was Oscar-nominated for her performance, brings a real vulnerability and vitality to her Diana. The insights into the machine that it takes to run a Royal household in Steven Knight’s script are also illuminating — especially the military-like zeal it takes to run the kitchen.
And as endings go, the moment Diana leaves with young William and Harry, blasting All I Need is a Miracle by Mike + The Mechanics from her car stereo is nothing short of euphoric.
7) The Young Victoria (2009)
Like Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria’s early years have been well-represented on screen — most recently in the show by Daisy Goodwin, Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman.
Yet this film dramatisation of the turbulent beginnings of her reign eclipses all others. Scripted by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes and produced by Martin Scorsese, it stars Emily Blunt as Victoria and Rupert Friend as Albert, alongside a host of British acting stalwarts. Sandy Powell’s Oscar-winning costumes are also a triumph.
8) The Princess (2022)
Arriving shortly before the 25th anniversary of Diana’s tragic passing, when she died in a car accident in Paris alongside Dodi Fayed, Ed Perkins’s documentary is a potent reminder of her life story.
Diana documentaries are ten a penny, but this archive-led film brilliantly patches together her life in the public eye.
From shots of Lady Diana Spencer, as she shyly makes her way to her car shortly after her engagement to Prince Charles is announced, through to the infamous BBC interview with Martin Bashir, where she alludes to Charles’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, Perkins somehow makes the familiar feel fresh.
9) Elizabeth: A Portrait In Parts (2022)
Another archive-driven film, this one was released as Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. With some footage more than 90 years old — a shot of her shaking hands as a child — this celebration of her life and her reign features some incredible material.
Although one segment, "Horribilis", does deal with the year 1992, when the Royals were rocked with scandals, it’s largely a warm tribute to the late queen. Directed by Roger Michell, in what was the last film before he unexpectedly died, it’s a playful and intimate portrait of the world’s most famous monarch.
10) Victoria and Abdul (2017)
Stephen Frears, who directed The Queen, came back for a second Royal blow-out. As did Judi Dench — two decades after playing Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown, she returned to the role with even more gravitas.
Here, she plays Victoria approaching her Golden Jubilee, who develops a friendship with Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk who has been sent to present her with a token of appreciation from British-ruled India.
Even thought it is not as impactful as Mrs Brown, Frears’s no-nonsense direction and Dench’s dry wit make for an elegant combination.
