We’ve always had a fascination with royalty as a source of mockery, admiration, criticism, pride, and overall interest. The lives of the people we refer to as “royals” are notable for their convergence of wealth, historical significance, and public fascination. This sub-genre resides at the crossroads of numerous popular genres, including biopics and period dramas, with thematic forays into the supernatural and comic. However, if you focus this story on a woman whose political authority is suddenly placed in direct conflict with her social status, you’ve got yourself a considerably more intriguing story. We’ve compiled a list of our best female royalty films featuring real-life female royals.
1. Spencer (2021)
Director- Pablo Larrain
Sandringham Estate, Norfolk, December 1991. With Christmas Eve approaching, Diana Frances Spencer, The Honourable Princess Diana of Wales, is attempting to rediscover her lost self. Despite her husband Prince Charles’ deteriorating relationship and illicit affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Princess Diana reunites with her boys, Prince William and Prince Harry, after years of attempting to live up to expectations. She tries to keep her chin up as she prepares for the upcoming holiday festivities in one of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II’s royal residences. Princess Diana begins to see vivid visions of unfavourable and prophetic omens of adultery and divorce as awful rumours of infidelity. Hence, divorce take a heavy toll on her marriage and increasingly fragile mental state.
2. Marie Antoinette (2006)
Director- Sofia Coppola
“All eyes will be on you,” Maria Theresa, the Austrian Empress, tells Marie Antoinette, her youngest daughter. The film is an impressionistic portrayal of Marie Antoinette’s life as a young queen in the rich and quirky court of Versailles. All aimed at a teen audience. The story follows Marie Antoinette as she grows up from a teen bride. Following to a young lady and eventually Queen of France.
3. The Favourite (2018)
Director- Yorgos Lanthimos
Abigail Hill is a mud-covered former aristocrat. She arrives to the palace with nothing to beg for a job against the backdrop of the costly War of the Spanish Succession in early-eighteenth-century England. With the petulant monarch’s close confidante, Sarah Churchill, covertly running the kingdom and an unwell Queen Anne largely caring to her fluffy herd of bunnies. It won’t be long before the castle’s newest scullery maid senses a wonderful opportunity to recover her status. The furious female adversaries now have no choice but to conduct a quiet struggle for the attention of the sorrowful empress. Among insatiable ambition, imaginative emotional manipulation, and hidden personal agendas.
4. Elizabeth (1998)
Director- Shekhar Kapur
When the catholic Queen Mary died, Elizabeth took her place as Queen. But Mary, the Protestant half-sister, was not ready to put her Catholic half-sister to death. The new queen is surrounded by advisers, some of whom are friendly. While others scheme to restore the Catholic dynasty by whatever means necessary. She is also under pressure to marry and have an heir, but her lover, Lord Robert Dudley, is deemed unsuitable. Elizabeth recognises that she must make several crucial decisions, the most significant of which is who will rule England.
5. The Queen (2006)
Director- Stephen Frears
The Labour Party, led by new Prime Minister Tony Blair, beat John Major’s Conservative Party on May 2, 1997. Princess Diana’s untimely death in a horrific car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997, plunges the United Kingdom into grief. Undermining the fundamental foundations of the democratic system. The Royal Family’s popularity plummets as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip retreat to Balmoral Castle. Treating Diana’s death as a private matter and refusing to accept England’s spontaneous outpourings of compassion and support. Then, Tony Blair found himself between a rock and a hard place, attempting to persuade Queen Elizabeth II. As well as Diana’s ex-husband, Prince Charles, to recognise the importance of the People’s Princess. Also, to acknowledge the public’s demand for an overt expression of mourning.
6. The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Director- Justin Chadwick
The failure to produce a male heir is causing marital strife for King Henry VIII of England and his wife Katherine of Aragon. Henry calls the Boleyn family to his court, including their parents, Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth, as well as their three children, George, Anne, and Mary, all of whom are reaching adulthood. The initial idea was for Anne, the oldest and most outspoken of the Boleyn daughters, to be Henry’s mistress. After some reservations, Anne pursues this relationship in the hopes of marrying into royalty with Henry’s blessing. Henry, on the other hand, has his sights set on Mary, despite the fact that she is already married to the similarly naive William Carey.
Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth’s brother, the Duke of Norfolk, do everything they can to secure a position of privilege in the royal court by having the Boleyn children do whatever the King wants, much to Lady Elizabeth’s dismay. Lady Elizabeth was born into nobility but gave it up to marry Sir Thomas for love. The ultimate desire of Sir Thomas and the Duke is for a Boleyn girl to have a child with the King. Anne and Mary follow separate routes depending on their personalities, which puts them at conflict with Henry, the English people, their family, and each other at times.
7. The Duchess (2008)
Director- Saul Dibb
Georgiana Spencer marries the Duke of Devonshire at the age of seventeen. She quickly understands that hers would be a loveless marriage, with her only goal being to generate a male heir for her husband. She hasn’t had much luck with it, having two daughters and multiple miscarriages, and it will be many years before she succeeds. When her husband begins what turns out to be a longterm affair with her best friend, Bess Foster, whatever bond she has with him crumbles utterly. She does build a name for herself, becoming a political figure and a fashion star in her time.
These films will prove that despite their royal status, these women are able to navigate the world with grace, charm and confidence. I hope that you enjoyed reading about my favorite royalty films about royalty and please share your own in the comments below.
