Royal Films – Queen Elizabeth to Princess Diana
Biopics About Younger Royals and Scandals of the House of Windsor
Apr 1, 2009
While the stories of the ancestors of Queen Elizabeth II have generally been more respectfully and sophisticatedly transformed into biographical movies and miniseries, the lives and love stories of the Queen’s own children have more often been utilized for more sensationalistic biopics.
Although the marriage of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip has produced four children, only the lives of Charles, Prince of Wales and Andrew, Duke of York have been used as the primary subject of television biopics, although Princess Anne and Prince Edward have been portrayed as supporting characters.
Whatever Love Means (2005)
This television movie catalogs the affair, friendship, and adulterous relationship of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, following from their first meeting to the marriage of Charles and Diana.
It is told with sympathy toward Charles and Camilla, and it was made near the time of their real-life wedding. Made as half of a pair of television movies about denied royal romance, Wallis & Edward about Charles’ great uncle who abdicated in order to wed a divorcee first aired in close conjunction.
Ironically, the television movie cast Laurence Fox as Prince Charles. Son of actor James Fox, Laurence’s uncle, actor Edward Fox had won critical acclaim for portraying Prince Charles’ great uncle, the abdicated Edward VIII in the 1970s miniseries Edward and Mrs. Simpson.
The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (1982)
This very sappy television movie was made shortly after the birth of Charles and Diana's elder son, Prince William. Since it portrays the union as a romantic love story, the film has not been repeated in recent years or released for purchase.
The casting is perhaps the most interesting aspect. Catherine Oxenberg, herself descended from the royal family of Yugoslavia, plays Princess Diana, and Old Hollywood movie-stars Olivia de Havilland and Stewart Granger play the Queen Mother and Prince Philip.
Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story (1982)
Another television movie made during the early years of the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, it again depicts the courtship of Lady Diana Spencer by the Prince of Wales.
The production is still stereotypically sentimental, but it is working from a much more plausible scripted version of events than the last television movie. The acting is superior to the previous production, featuring respected British actors such as Margaret Tyzack as Queen Elizabeth II and David Langton as the doomed Mountbatten.
The Women of Windsor (1992)
As the title suggests this television biopic is about the female figures of the Royal House of Windsor. Being made during the “annus horribilis” of Queen Elizabeth II, it most focuses on Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York.
Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After (1992)
Made hot on the heels of the separation of Charles and Diana, the miniseries catalogs their marriage up to the separation of Charles’ younger brother Andrew and his wife, Fergie.
Interestingly, Catherine Oxenberg, who previously played Diana in the television movie most asserting the affection between Charles and Diana, reprised the role of the princess in this miniseries.
Diana: Her True Story (1993)
Based on the Andrew Morton book which is said to have finished the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the miniseries portrays many of the events famously reported in the tabloids about the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
It briefly shows the childhood of Diana Spencer, proceeding to follow her life from her courtship to separation with Prince Charles. It is sympathetic to Diana and an entertaining story, but there is no way to know its level of accuracy.
Diana is played by Kristen Scott Thomas’ sister Serena Scott Thomas.
Fergie & Andrew: Behind the Palace Doors (1992)
This biopic follows the story behind the courtship, marriage, and seperation of Queen Elizabeth II’s younger son Prince Andrew to commoner Sarah Ferguson, often called “Fergie.”
Princess In Love (1996)
Based on a book by Captain James Hewitt, the television biopic depicts an interpretation of the relationship between Captain Hewitt and Princess Diana.
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