Real-Life Royals on Film
In the history of Hollywood, royalty and nobility has always been a very popular subject. There are some amazing performances from actors and actresses alike, depicting the life of real-life royalty, especially British nobility. Here is my list of films depicting real-life royals from my film collection. An observation within this list; only two performers won their Oscar for portraying the character they played. Another observation is there are two actresses who made cinematic history playing a famous queen twice. Note...though IMDb has a list order, all of these films hold a special place in my collection.
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- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettLiz GilesRod CulbertsonThe early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.This was the first time I ever saw Cate Blanchette on-screen. Her Elizabeth is mesmerizing. For me, the watershed moment is when Elizabeth undergoes a transformation to become, "The Virgin Queen." The last line of this film gives me chills every time, "Observe Lord Burley, I am married...to England."
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettClive OwenGeoffrey RushA mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada, and romantic disappointments.Nine years after Blanchette portrays Elizabeth R, she does the sequel, which covers the Queen and her dealings with the Spanish Armada. Here, as well as the first film, Blanchette is so on point that she transcends and shines as the Queen. My favorite line, "I do command the wind!" Cate Blanchette goes down in cinema history to become the second actress to play Elizabeth R twice.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.After watching this film, I understood more about the father of the current queen of England and what he went through. Having heard him speak in a documentary years before this film was released, I have a better understanding of him now. A little trivia...this film was being written while his wife, the Queen Mother, was still living. She gave her consent to this film but asked that it not be released until after her death. Firth, like Dame Helen Mirren, would win an Oscar for his work in this film, making him the second performer to win an Oscar for portraying a member of the House of Windsor in the 21st Century. In addition, Firth is the first actor to win an Oscar for playing a king within the House of Windsor in the 21st Century.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsGreta GarboJohn GilbertIan KeithQueen Christina of Sweden is a popular monarch who is loyal to her country. However, when she falls in love with a Spanish envoy, she must choose between the throne and the man she loves.Only the "Swedish Sphinx" could bring the story of her country's queen to the screen. The story of a queen and all she sacrificed in order to serve her people and her country is one for the ages. The most legendary scene in this film and in the film career of Garbo appears at the very end; Garbo is on the deck of her ship, as it sails away, is just gazing out at the shore with no dialog as the wind blows through her hair. That's the Garbo Effect!
- DirectorCharles JarrottStarsRichard BurtonGeneviève BujoldIrene PapasKing Henry VIII of England discards one wife, Catharine of Aragon, who has failed to produce a male heir, in favor of the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn.Unassuming, quiet and poised are what Genevieve Bujold brought to this film, which is the story of the Queen who ruled beside King Henry XVIII. Even though this film is about her, Richard Burton's turn as Henry to her Anne is one of the most stirring portrayals of these titular royals ever. While there were no winners or losers in the battle for the throne, the audience is clearly the winner for watching this film.
- DirectorJohn FordLeslie GoodwinsStarsKatharine HepburnFredric MarchFlorence EldridgeThe recently widowed Mary Stuart returns to Scotland to reclaim her throne but is opposed by her half-brother and her own Scottish lords.Three years after Garbo gave us her royal performance as Queen Christina, enters the Great Kate as Mary, Queen of Scotland. Her performance is everything and then some. She shows us the trials and tribulations of Mary and her dealings with her English cousin, Elizabeth R; her courage, conviction and belief that she was the rightful heir to the throne.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBette DavisErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandA depiction of the love/hate relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex.Another great actress to portray Elizabeth R is Bette Davis. Here, she co-stars with Errol Flynn, the Lord of Essex, one of her many frequent co-stars at Warner Bros. Bette is coy, powerful, flirty and loving every minute of it. This film goes down in the archives as the first time Bette was filmed in color.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsBette DavisRichard ToddJoan CollinsSir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd) overcomes court intrigue to win favor with Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis) in order to get financing for a proposed voyage to the New World.Bette's second time as Elizabeth R. Davis had the honor of playing the noble queen twice and is the first actress in Hollywood to do so. This film is one of those rare moments Davis was ever filmed in color during the Golden Era in Hollywood. There are times in her performance when Davis hams it up but its worth seeing how she approaches playing a character twice. By the way, I do believe this is the only time Davis has ever portrayed the same character twice in her career.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeJulien DuvivierStarsNorma ShearerTyrone PowerJohn BarrymoreThe tragic life of Marie Antoinette, who became queen of France in her late teens.Norma Shearer as Marie, a member of the powerful Hapsburg Dynasty who becomes the Queen of France, is one of my favorite performances of Norma Shearer. This film marks the only time in Shearer's career she portrayed real-life royalty. She's ravishing in this tour-de-force as the ill-fated queen. For me, there are no other actresses who could play this role.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsHelen MirrenMichael SheenJames CromwellAfter the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.Dame Helen as the current Queen of England? Yes, indeed! Dame Helen was so on point with Her Majesty's mannerisms and her dialect, I sometimes forgot I was watching a dramatic film on her life and not a documentary! Trivia...with this film's release, Queen Elizabeth's life has been portrayed on film from her childhood (The King's English) to an adult. Note, Mirren won an Oscar for work in this film and to date, the only actress that has so far.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsVanessa RedgraveChristopher PlummerFranco NeroA German princess is chosen to marry the heir to the Russian Throne, but faces plots and intrigues against her.I had to throw in this film as an honorary mention. Actress Vanessa Redgrave commands the screen as Empress Elizabeth. Julia Ormond is brilliant as the teenager, Princess Sophie who becomes Catherine the Great of all the Russias. There's an amazing balance of power between these two actresses, which makes this film one of my favorites. Each actress works so well off the other and commands the screen. While Redgrave commands the first hour and half of this miniseries, Ormond commands the second hour to the end. Above all, despite the amazing cast, these two actresses own this film.