21 Movies to Watch If You Can't Get Enough of the Royal Family
If looking at cute photos of Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their adorable children just isn't enough to fill your obsession with the royals (we totally get it), why not grab some popcorn, plop down on the couch, and cozy up with some of Hollywood's best attempts at capturing the allure, secrecy, and forbidden love that goes along with being royal. From Princess Mia Thermopolis to Princess Diana, check out some of our favorite flicks featuring various members of the aristocracy (both fictional and otherwise) here.
The Young Victoria
A teenage Princess Victoria (Emily Blunt) is the only legitimate heir of England's King William and therefore receives pressure on all sides about how to go about her future. With her mother (Miranda Richardson) trying to persuade her to sign a regency order, and her uncle conspiring to fix her up with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend), Victoria navigates her family's political machinations and a blossoming romance as best she can.
Where to watch: iTunes
Hyde Park on Hudson
Bill Murray and Olivia Williams star as Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in this biography, which trails the interactions they have with the British king and queen (Samuel West and Olivia Colman), who visit the US leaders in New York for a weekend while war with Germany draws ever closer. With Laura Linney serving as a narrator of sorts, it's not to be missed.
W.E.
Madonna directed this dark film about a dissatisfied New York housewife named Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish), who finds herself obsessed with the scandalous romance that occurred between England's Edward VIII (James D'Arcy) and American divorcee Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough). As her marriage crumbles, she becomes more and more drawn to Wallis's side of the story, and her life gets even more complicated. It's not the greatest movie in the world, but the chemistry between Cornish and Oscar Isaac is undeniable.
Where to watch: iTunes
Anastasia
This 1997 animated classic uses the vocal talents of John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, and Meg Ryan to tell a fictionalized, musical tale of the real-life story of the fallen Romanov empire. Anastasia, the missing, amnesia-afflicted Russian princess who fled the palace as a young girl after the evil sorcerer Rasputin killed most of her family, is aided by two con men on a journey to find her grandmother.
Marie Antoinette
Sofia Coppola's pastel-themed version of the life of ill-fated Austrian teenager-turned-Queen of France (Kirsten Dunst) packs in plenty of powdered wigs, romance, and cake on the way to revealing how and why Marie Antoinette lost her head in the French Revolution.
Where to watch: iTunes
The Madness of King George
Watch an aging King George III (Nigel Hawthorne) spiral into a dementia-driven madness as his devoted wife (Helen Mirren) and the prime minister (Julian Wadham) attempt to keep him in line and save the kingdom in this 1994 dramedy.
Where to watch: iTunes
Anna Karenina
Keira Knightley, the queen of period dramas, adds another to her list with Anna Karenina. She leads the cast as the titular character, the high-society wife of a Russian minister (Jude Law) who finds herself embroiled in scandal when she engages in a passionate affair with handsome soldier Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in 1800s Russia. Bonus: this is one of Oscar winner Alicia Vikander's first big movies!
A Royal Night Out
On the night of V-E Day in 1945 London, raucous celebrations span the city. Future Queen Elizabeth II (Sarah Gadon) and her sister, Princess Margaret (Bel Powley), beg their parents to let them revel in it all just for a few hours and end up having the adventure of a lifetime.
Where to watch: iTunes
Shakespeare in Love
If you haven't seen this enchanting romance, now is the time. Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes star in this perfectly cast love story between a young Shakespeare and noblewoman Viola de Lesseps. Judi Dench also makes an appearance as Queen Elizabeth I, a role that earned her an Oscar despite only being on screen for eight minutes.
The Other Boleyn Girl
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, The Other Boleyn Girl follows Boleyn sisters Mary (Scarlett Johansson) and Anne (Natalie Portman), who both attempt to win the affections of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana).
Where to watch: iTunes
The Iron Lady
Her Highness Meryl Streep steps into the shoes of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in this political drama, which reflects on her later years as a government leader and eventual resignation.
Where to watch: iTunes
The King's Speech
Colin Firth takes on the true story of England's Prince Albert, who is expected to take the throne as King George VI despite a severe speech impediment and fear of public speaking. Luckily his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) recognizes his struggle and hires Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist who's eventually able to help Albert overcome his problems and make one of the most iconic speeches in history.
Where to watch: iTunes
A Royal Affair
Give this Danish movie a chance, because the story of a young queen (Alicia Vikander) falling in love with her physician (Mads Mikkelsen) and igniting a nationwide revolution is a triumph.
Where to watch: iTunes
Lady Jane
This underrated, sweeping historical romance follows Lady Jane Grey (Helena Bonham Carter), the 16-year-old who reigned as Queen of England for nine days.
Where to watch: iTunes
The Queen
See why Helen Mirren took home an Oscar for best actress in 2007 for this movie that offers a personal look at what Queen Elizabeth II's days were like following Princess Di's sudden death. It's one of the few royal movies that have dared to take on current monarchs, but thankfully Mirren knocks it out of the park as the cold and formal, but human, queen.
Where to watch: iTunes
The Princess Diaries
The Princess Diaries might not be the most historically accurate movie on this list (despite a bangin' national anthem, the country of Genovia sadly isn't even real), but the adorable comedy about a high school student (Anne Hathaway) who discovers she's actually a princess will totally fulfill all of your wildest "I wish I was secretly a princess" fantasies.
Where to watch: iTunes
Elizabeth
English monarch Elizabeth Tudor (Cate Blanchett) is tasked with ruling a turbulent England in the mid-1500s. With other countries circling her like vultures, the fierce and intelligent "virgin queen" grows into her title with the help of her secretary (Geoffrey Rush) and a secret lover (Joseph Fiennes).