Pathé Production and Granada present
in association with Pathé Renn, Bim Distribuzione
France 3 Cinéma and Canal+
a Granada Production
THE QUEEN
A STEPHEN FREARS FILM
Helen Mirren Michael Sheen James Cromwell Helen McCrory,
Alex Jennings Roger Allam Sylvia Syms
Biennale Venedig 2006
Beste Schauspielerin Helen Mirren
Bestes Drehbuch Peter Morgan
Film Festival New York 2006
Eröffnungsfilm
Kinostart: 2. November 2006
Dauer: 99 Min.
www.thequeenmovie.co.uk
FILMVERLEIH
MONOPOLE PATHÉ FILMS AG
Neugasse 6, Postfach, 8031 Zürich
T 044 277 70 83 F 044 277 70 89
monika.billeter@pathefilms.ch
www.pathefilms.ch
MEDIENBETREUUNG
Esther Bühlmann
Niederdorfstrasse 54, 8001 Zürich
T 044 261 08 57 F 044 261 08 64
mail@estherbuehlmann.ch
LOGLINE
A taught, intimate and revealing portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family in turmoil during the days
immediately following the death of Princess Diana.
SHORT SYNOPSIS
When news of the death of Princess Diana, undoubtedly the most famous woman in the world, breaks upon a shocked
and disbelieving British public, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II retreats behind the walls of Balmoral Castle with her
family, unable to comprehend the public response to the tragedy. For Tony Blair, the popular and newly elected Prime
Minister, the people’s need for reassurance and support from their leaders is palpable.
As the unprecedented outpouring of emotion grows ever stronger, Blair must find a way to reconnect the Queen with
the British public.
SYNOPSIS
September 1, 1997.The world wakes up to the tragic news that Princess Diana, former wife of the heir to the British
throne and the most well-known woman in the world, has died in a car crash. It’s an event that shocks the public
around the globe. By the following day, floral tributes to the young princess lie outside Buckingham Palace.
But, Buckingham Palace is empty. The royal family, ensconced in Balmoral Castle in Scotland, remains stoic in its
response to the tragedy. Theirs is a world of tradition; where protocol is paramount and public displays of emotion
frowned upon. The family will grieve in private, the Princess’s young sons, William and Harry, protected from the
media’s hungry curiosity at their Scottish home. It’s appropriate, reasons the Queen, that it should be a private matter.
Diana was no longer a member of the Royal family and this is not a matter of state. Even Diana’s family has requested
a private funeral. Prince Charles is deeply shaken by the news and goes to Paris to bring home the body of his former
wife.
The Queen and her family may have retreated behind the walls of Balmoral, but for Tony Blair the event will mark his
coming of age as an international political figure. Just three months into his premiership following a landslide Labour
victory in May, the young prime minister senses something is changing among the British public. The famous British
reserve with its stiff upper lip and sang froid seems to be melting away. In its place comes a wellspring of emotion, an
out-pouring of emotion for the lost Princess, of a magnitude not seen before in Britain. It’s as though the whole nation
has lost a sister, a mother or a daughter. She was, as Blair calls her in a televised press conference the day her death is
announced, “The People’s Princess”.
These words touch few chords with the residents at Balmoral. When Blair suggests a public funeral would be more
appropriate, the Queen bristles as he suggests this might allow the people to “share in the grief”. The very idea makes
her flinch. She reminds him that this is a family funeral and not a fairground attraction.
By Monday, the floral tributes outside Buckingham Palace are several feet deep. Blair’s right hand man Alistair
Campbell is revelling in the idea that the Queen is unable to gauge the mood of the people while Blair is gaining
popularity for his gestures of sympathy, and predicts “Blair steps in to save the Monarchy from itself” headlines. But
the PM cannot help but feel a pang of loyalty. Meanwhile, Charles is giving Blair his full support, eager to distance
himself from the Royals who the press is branding chief culprits in the affair in a bid to deflect blame from itself.
When the Queen is told that the plan is for a public funeral based on the Queen Mother’s and which, to boot, will
include a line-up of popular celebrities whom her late daughter-in-law used to frequent, it is a blow to her authority.
But, it won’t be the only one: there are more concessions to accommodate public grieving for Diana, a public that is
increasingly venting its anger against the family with abusive phone calls to Balmoral. It seems to the Queen that the
Princess is being just as troublesome after death than before. It seems this whole affair has revealed a side to the
British public that the Queen never imagined possible, a side she is at pains to understand. This readiness to give in to
emotion is also infecting her son, Charles, who has begun to test her patience with his spinelessness in the face of
adversity. At least amid the spare beauty of the Scottish countryside that surrounds Balmoral and in the company of
her faithful corgis, she can draw breath; at least this is a world she understands and feels comfortable in.
As preparations for the funeral begin, in anticipation of over two million people descending on London, by Tuesday
there is another issue of protocol that comes up. There are rumbles in the press about the flagpole above Buckingham
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Palace, there’s a glaring absence of a flag at half mast. Blair suggests they fly the flag even though it breaches
protocol. In Balmoral, the Queen and Prince Philip are getting increasingly frustrated at this upstart Prime Minister’s
advice and his son’s weak-willed acquiescence.
By Wednesday, the press is sharpening its attacks on the family. “Show us there’s a heart in the House of Windsor!”
shouts one tabloid; “Time to change the Old Guard!” screams another. The pressure on the royal household is slowly
starting to show and not just with the staff. While out driving in the countryside, the Queen’s car breaks down and,
suddenly alone, she breaks down in a rush of anger, frustration and sadness.
With his aides as well as his wife encouraging him to take up the reformist baton, Blair asks the Queen to come down
to London to face the public and “share its grief”. She objects to any pandering to media pressure; the public, she is
convinced, will soon stop this hysteria and revert to a more dignified British approach to the tragedy. But it seems the
British no longer do things the old way and the realisation that she may be out of touch is slowly dawning on her.
Thursday morning brings good news and bad: the good news is that Blair has soared in popularity, more liked than
Churchill and the bad news is the press headlines, criticising the Queen for her behaviour. It’s too much for Blair, a
man whose monarchist sympathies come to the fore. As the day of the funeral draws nearer, he urges the Queen to
follow a plan of action which might appease the press and the public and avoid a constitutional crisis.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
When Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, few could have predicted the impact the tragedy
would have had on both the British government and the royal family. Certainly, following her separation from Prince
Charles, Diana had made waves for her refusal to sit quietly in the background and disappear from public life.
Although she was the most photographed, and arguably the most famous woman in the world, her untimely death
prompted a sea-change in the British public, its attitude to public displays of emotion and its attitude to the monarchy.
As inspiration for a film, the events surrounding the death of the Princess had everything, a death following a
terrifying car chase by ruthless paparazzi, a young woman cruelly killed in her prime, a controversial love affair cut
short before it could blossom, a public devastated by the news of her death and a press corps accused of causing the
death which was desperately trying to deflect attention from itself.
But, it was a different aspect of these terrible events that inspired producer Christine Langan and Andy Harries,
Controller of Drama, Comedy and Film at British broadcaster Granada to start the process that would lead to the
making of THE QUEEN. The pair had recently produced THE DEAL, the television drama about Tony Blair and
Gordon Brown and the birth of New Labour, written by Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Frears. So successful
was the experience of making THE DEAL that Langan and Harries were keen to team up with Morgan and Frears on
a second project dealing with an aspect of contemporary British society.
This time, however, the film would have a grander, more ambitious cinematic sweep of a feature film. THE QUEEN
would pit the old-fashioned formality of the world of the British royal family, both in the rugged countryside
surrounding their Scottish retreat of Balmoral and in the elegant drawing rooms and private quarters of Buckingham
Palace, against the casual modernity of the newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair and his entourage of slick,
image-conscious aides.
“Andy, Stephen, Pete and I wanted to team up on a film about another great British institution,” says Langan. “The
royal family was an obvious choice and the death of Diana and how the royal family coped with that quickly emerged
as the most promising subject. Diana had been a great cause of tension while she was alive; it was inevitable that her
death would present the monarchy with perhaps the biggest challenge of the past 50 years.”
For Harries, it was the recollection of how the royal family and the Queen reacted to the news of Diana’s death that
proved the deciding factor; the idea of a royal family so preserved by tradition that it couldn’t and wouldn’t break with
protocol to deal with the tragedy.
“What fascinated me about the story of Diana and the Queen,” Harries explains, “was an ageing monarch whose reign
is rooted in Victoriana being challenged by a young princess, who, thanks to a catalogue of bad judgements, was
absorbed into the royal family. Diana had an extraordinary aura about her. I remember the week she died. It was very
strange, weird; there was a terrible stillness, no one quite knew how to react at first. Then the grief started. Was it a
real emotion? Was it a fake emotion? Was it an emotion for her? Was it an emotion for all our other woes?”
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Langan and Harries were confident Morgan had the skill to write a screenplay that was authentic and dramatic and
could broaden the scope of the story to make a gripping feature film. “It was essential that the film get as close to
reality as possible,” says Harries. “Peter is very gifted at negotiating that fine line between what we know happened
and what we imagine happened.”
Morgan was understandably intrigued by the prospect of dramatising the events around Diana’s death for the big
screen. But, it was only when he had started writing that the screenplay began to come into shape. “I was originally
thinking about a multi-character, compendium piece set over 24 hours which looked at various people, both famous
and not, who were all touched by the events of that day in August,” says Morgan. “It soon became clear that the
interesting aspect was how the Royals reacted in the week between her death and the funeral. It was a family in crisis,
locked up in the closed world of Balmoral. The Queen decided that to protect the boys, all televisions and radios were
to be removed. So they were living in a place of total denial. They were bunkered up in an institution propped up by
sycophancy, and they weren’t being told what was going on in London and the country at large. The people were on
the streets clamouring for a reaction from the family and none was forthcoming. During that week, there was a very
strong anti-monarchist feeling, which was stoked by the press which realised the spotlight of guilt was shining in its
direction.”
Focusing on the Royal Family alone would not be enough to make for a compelling piece of cinema. What was
missing was dramatic tension. Thanks to the research carried out by Langan and her team, Morgan looked at the role
Tony Blair, the newly-elected Labour leader of the country, played in the events in the week after Diana’s death. Very
quickly the screenplay for THE QUEEN developed into a story contrasting the old world of the inherited power and
the modern world of democratically-elected power. “It turned into a story about the constitution, leadership and the
balance of power between Prime Minister and the sovereign,” he explains.
“The fascinating part of the story was what went on behind the scenes,” says Langan. “This was a brand new
government and there were huge expectations from the electorate and from political commentators but, four months
into his premiership Blair hadn’t really delivered a striking gesture. Suddenly, with the death of the Princess of Wales,
Blair found a role to play. The key element of the story was the relationship between the Prime Minister and the
Queen and Blair knew that he could be a very important partner in that relationship.”
For Harries, the heart of Morgan’s story was perfect in its simplicity: “On the one hand you have the Queen and the
royal family battening down the hatches in a remote part of Scotland, on the other, you have the young, dynamic Tony
Blair who understood the situation almost immediately. To a certain extent he saves the Royal Family’s future by
getting them to face the demands of a contemporary media and a baying public.”
Stephen Frears, whose credits boast a slew of Academy Award®-nominated films including DANGEROUS
LIAISONS, THE GRIFTERS and DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, needed little persuading in boarding the project.
“It is very hard to find subjects that have some vitality, subjects that haven’t been flogged to death,” says the director.
“By good fortune I’ve had original work for the last three or four years. This project was very appealing to me, partly
because it meant I would be working with Peter Morgan again and partly for the subject matter. The film is about the
conflict between an old world and new world. It’s about tradition, which has been both a strength and weakness in this
country.”
Frears' keen directorial eye is key to the success of THE QUEEN. “When you are dealing with complex and
somewhat controversial matters, you must have a director with gravitas, serious gravitas, and Stephen has that in
spades,” says Harries. “He is a proper director, not just experienced, he’s also incredibly smart. These are all rare
qualities. He’s also a risk-taker; he’s restless and moves from one different type of film to another. He has a genuinely
inquisitive mind; he’s a genuine enfant terrible.”
One of the crucial elements of THE QUEEN is its forensic attention to detail. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the subject
matter, the film was certain to attract censure if it was anything less than scrupulously authentic in what it portrayed,
from how the Queen is served breakfast to how she behaves with her immediate family behind closed doors. As he
was writing the screenplay, Morgan had a team of researchers filtering information, finding sources close to the royal
family and sifting through archive press and television material. It was a process that the team had already used with
considerable success on THE DEAL. Advising them on the royal family were Robert Lacey and Ingrid Seward. A
world-renowned author whose books are meticulously researched and eschew sensationalism, Lacey’s work include
“Royal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” (2002), “The Queen Mother” (1987), “Princess” (1982) and the first serious
biography of the Queen, “Majesty: Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor” (1977). Seward is editor in chief of
Majesty magazine, a well-respected commentator on the royals and had unrivalled access to Princess Diana when she
wrote her best-sellers “The Queen & Di: The Untold Story” (2001) and “Diana: An Intimate Portrait” (1997).
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“I went to see everyone and anyone who would talk,” recalls Morgan. “There are a lot of biographers of both the
Royal Family and the Blairs and they all have their sources from equerries to secretaries to butlers to maids to civil
servants. There’s a lot of material out there; it’s a question of sifting the real from the embellished.”
While issues of etiquette and protocol were straightforward - it was easy to find consensus on how servants addressed
the Queen, for example, Morgan had to tread more carefully when imagining what his characters said particularly in
more private and intimate moments. “Of course, as a writer I have to speculate,” he says. “But, it becomes easier
when, for example, I talk to someone who spoke to Prince Charles on the night of Diana’s death. I know what he said
so I could write that scene fairly accurately. The more snippets of information you gather, the more you can work out
how reliable the sources are in the material you’re using as research.
“My method is to write what I want them to say and then research it,” he continues. “Surprisingly, more often than
not, I got it right. There are scenes that are complete fabrication, the scenes of the Queen in Balmoral estate where she
encounters the stag, but there are others that you can take a very educated guess at. For example, why did Tony Blair
defend the Queen so strongly? Well, we know he’s a political pragmatist, we know he’s rather more conservative than
people think, and we know his mother would have been the same age as the Queen if she’d been alive at the time, and
would probably have similar characteristics to the Queen. So that’s how I can write a scene in which Cherie theorises
about why her husband is behaving as he is.”
Morgan found a true collaborator in director Stephen Frears. “He’s a writer’s director,” says Morgan. “He will pore
over every single word and forces you to go back and make it clearer. He would be constantly asking me what I
thought was going on in a scene. I’d say X, Y and Z, and he’d say that I hadn’t written that. There was an endless
sifting of tone and emphasis and clarification. Very few directors have that same intellectual rigour.”
For his part, Frears is characteristically modest about his contribution. “Most of the rewriting on the film was to do
with telling the story better,” says the director. “I’m always looking for ways to make it easier for the audience.”
THE CAST
It was while he was mulling over the idea of a film about the Queen that Harries was overseeing production on the
sixth award-winning PRIME SUSPECT series starring Helen Mirren. At a read-through attended by all the cast,
looking at Helen, he thought “she’s the Queen of British drama and she looks a bit like the Queen. What a good idea,
Helen as the Queen.”
For Mirren, who has created some of the most memorable characters on theatre, film and television, it was an
irresistible offer. “I thought THE DEAL was a fantastic piece of work so I knew that I would be in very good hands,”
says the actress. “It’s delicate material, dangerous material in a way, so you have to be confident that the people you
are working with have the intelligence and ability to put a story like this on the screen without a cheap betrayal of the
subject.”
Despite her years of experience, Mirren was not afraid to ask for advice from her co-star Michael Sheen whose
performance in THE DEAL she had so admired. He advised her to work closely with dialect coach Penny Dyer from
as early a date as possible so she would feel comfortable with the voice and the mannerisms when shooting began.
She also gathered together the actors who were playing her family in the film, James Cromwell who would play
Prince Philip, Alex Jennings who would play Prince Charles and Sylvia Syms who would play the Queen Mother, at
her house “so that we got used to the sound of each others voices as family and it wouldn’t feel like being with a
whole group of people talking in funny voices.”
Mirren was, like her co-stars, very aware of the pitfalls of playing a real person, particularly one as famous as the
present Monarch. The challenge was negotiating the fine line between giving an accurate portrayal of the person and
tipping over into caricature. “You don’t want the audience caught up in your brilliant impersonation,” she explains.
“You want them to believe who you are and go on your journey with you in an imaginative way. If the impersonation
is too brilliant it can mean the truth is too intrusive; sometimes you have to step back from the truth, because in
theatrical drama it can jar the audience out of their imaginative engagement with what you are doing.”
“I did a lot of research,” she continues. “I’m not very good at mimicry and even if you are the most brilliant mimic in
the world you’ll only capture 50% of what the real person is. Given the iconic status of the Queen, I was terrified. I
was more nervous about this role than almost any other role. The work with Penny Dyer was invaluable. She is quite
extraordinary in her understanding of voice. Then I found a thought that relaxed me, which was to think of myself as a
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portrait painter, what good portraitists do is to bring their own perception of their subject, reproduce that person
through their own personality, their own psychology thus every portrait is different. I looked at all the portraits I
could. Sadly, there does not seem to be a book exclusively of Elizabeth II portraits. There should be."
“Of course you also have to get certain things right, the hair, the hands, the stance, the walk, the voice,” she continues.
“I had photographs of the Queen in my trailer and watched tapes all the time. It was a bit intimidating, because each
time I watched them I would feel I was failing her, failing the inner person and you are constantly trying to get to the
inner person. There was one piece of early film, a simple little thing of about one minute of Elizabeth as a young girl,
about 12, getting out of a car and walking forward to shake someone's hand. I found it very touching. I watched it over
and over. The more I studied her, the more extraordinary she became, as a person, as a psychology because she is so
incredibly iconic and well known and yet we don’t know her at all. She's not like Tony Blair, who’s all forward. She’s
back within herself, but it’s not a neurotic place or a confused place, it’s a very steady place, quite a confident place.
It’s a place of incredible self-discipline and then she steadily comes out from that point and that's the person I was
constantly trying to fight my way towards.”
Working with Stephen Frears was also an incentive to join the film. “Stephen is almost like a conductor, he directs
like a conductor,” explains Mirren. “It’s as if he’s hearing a tune of the film in his head and he’s conducting the shot,
the performance.”
Reprising the role of Tony Blair from THE DEAL is Michael Sheen. One of the UK’s most talented young actors,
Sheen’s compelling performance as the Labour leader-in-waiting in THE DEAL drew rave reviews. But, while he was
playing the same person, the intervening four years had had a significant impact on Blair the man. Not only has he
won the battle for leadership of the Labour Party but he has also just enjoyed an historic landslide in the general
election.
“In THE DEAL, Blair was young and bright-eyed,” says Sheen. “Here, we’re seeing a much more cautious, more
thoughtful character. There’s more weight and reflection in this Blair. He’s certainly more mature. The huge mandate
he won four months before Diana’s death gave him a lot of confidence but he still had some way to go to be
completely at ease with his new role as Prime Minister. Certainly by the end of the film he’s grown in stature and
confidence.”
One of the appeals of the film for Sheen was the challenge of playing a real person. “Strangely, the acting process is
reversed with a role like this,” says Sheen. “If you’re playing a fictional character, then you start from the inside and
the character, voice and mannerisms manifest themselves almost organically. With a real person, you’re starting from
the outside and go in. I watched a lot of video footage and read about Blair and spoke to people about him. I was
looking not just to copy him but to look for those little hooks that give some kind of clue as to what is going on inside
his head. Impersonation is about caricature, usually with a punch-line, whereas what we’re doing here is an emotional
drama. We have to sustain a narrative and you can’t do that if you’re just doing an impersonation. You do a lot of hard
work in research and you let that go when it comes to filming.”
THE QUEEN marks Sheen’s third collaboration with Stephen Frears following MARY REILLY and THE DEAL.
“Stephen constantly prods you to go further, to explore a different area and he brings things out of you that you
weren’t aware of. It’s an incredibly satisfying and rewarding experience but I wouldn’t describe it as a comfortable
experience. His characters are always complex and to get that complexity he is constantly getting you to dig and go
further and further. You are very aware that he is manipulating you but you are happy about it because you trust him.
He is constantly making little remarks. When I was about to do a scene with Helen Mirren, he would say things like
“She’s so scary, isn’t she?” just to create the context that he feels is right for my character to walk into. He has a little
twinkle in his eye but it works.”
There is, for Sheen, also a lighter side to the film. “There’s a lot of humour in the film,” he says. “Peter Morgan’s
writing walks a tightrope of insolence and boldness. What’s great about the script is that it mixes the domestic, the
Blairs eating pasta in front of the television, and the professional, so that hopefully it’s very believable. That should be
amusing because it’s slightly shocking to see these famous people doing ordinary things. Peter and Stephen got those
details right on THE DEAL and they get it right here.”
“On the surface THE QUEEN is about how the royal family dealt with Diana’s death and how Blair advised them,”
concludes Sheen. “But, it’s really a film about values, about a moment in British culture where concepts like duty and
tradition as represented by the institution of the royal family clash with concepts like informality and flexibility, about
recognising the mood of the public and responding, which Blair and New Labour were all about.”
The other key cast members include rising star Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair, veteran actress Sylvia Syms as the
Queen Mother and distinguished stage actors Alex Jennings as Prince Charles, Roger Allam as the Queen’s deputy
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private secretary Sir Robin Janvrin, and Tim McMullan as Blair’s press secretary Alastair Campbell. Perhaps
surprisingly, Frears approached James Cromwell for the part of Prince Philip.
Best-known for his performances in the international hits BABE and L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, James Cromwell had
worked with Frears on the American television drama FAIL SAFE. “I think he needed a straw dog, someone the
British press could take a shot at,” jokes Cromwell. “An American as Prince Philip? Beyond the pale! Stephen was a
little hesitant at first, wondering whether I could pull it off. I think what convinced him was that I had actually met
Prince Phillip and the Queen and performed for them at Whitehall for an event that Phillip sponsors for the World
Wildlife Fund. That gave me some insight into how he speaks and moves. But, mostly I look at the script. What I’m
interested in is finding the humanity behind the presentation. Finding the humanity means making certain assumptions
based on your own sense of humanity and your own choices, which may not be the choices a person in that position
would make.
“My sense of Philip is that he is very deferential and understands his position exactly,” continues Cromwell. “He says
as much as he can and as he feels is necessary and knows when he has to step back. But, there are unanswered
questions. Where does the responsibility for the dysfunction of this family lie? Did she pass over to Philip her
responsibilities as a mother in order to fulfil her responsibilities as a monarch? Was Philip incapable of giving Charles
the kind of love and acceptance that would have made him behave differently? I can’t judge him because as an actor if
I judge him then I separate myself from him and become incapable of playing him.”
For Helen McCrory, the part offered a chance to set the record straight concerning Cherie Blair. Although plenty has
been written about her, most is highly critical and gives a one-dimensional picture of the Prime Minister’s wife - there
is very little footage of her speaking. There is also, perhaps surprisingly, very little filmed footage of Cherie Blair in
conversation.
“I’ve always had sympathy for Cherie Blair,” says McCrory, “and felt she got a very raw deal from the press who
can’t resist printing unflattering images of her. This is a highly intelligent woman who is extremely successful
professionally as a human rights lawyer. I welcomed the opportunity to show her as a loving mother and wife, who is
more than the caricature we see in the media and who is intelligent, instinctive, natural and very funny. From her body
language, I understood that she’s very engaging, very quick to laugh, very relaxed with strangers and it’s often her
rather than Tony who approaches people first.”
With the cast in place, THE QUEEN began filming on September 13, 2005 in Scotland followed by locations in
London and the south east of England. Backing came from Pathé, teaming up with Frears for a second time after their
successful collaboration on MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS, and also joining the project was renowned American
producer Scott Rudin as executive producer.
THE LOOK AND LOCATIONS
One of the most important themes of THE QUEEN is the tension between the old world of tradition and protocol and
the new world of emotion and informality. This contrast informed every aspect of the film’s look, from its lighting
and camera choices to the production design and costumes.
Charged with the job of lighting the film was Affonso Beato, the Brazilian cinematographer best known for his
collaborations with Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar including ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER and LIVE FLESH.
His brief from Stephen Frears was simple. “Stephen decided to film the scenes of the royal family with 35mm and the
scenes with Blair with Super 16. It fits the film: 35mm is more composed, more static and has more grandeur while
handheld Super 16 has more energy and texture. We wanted a big contrast between these two worlds, from a still,
stately world to a modern, frenetic world.”
One of the challenges for Beato was the time frame of the film. “The story takes place over one week but we shot over
two months. I could control the interiors but I couldn’t control the exteriors. It was tough making sure all the exteriors
had a consistent tone and I would have loved more very sunny days but when you’re working in Britain that’s always
a problem.”
The contrast between the stultified atmosphere of the royal world and the relaxed charm of the Blairs is even more
apparent in the design and locations for the film. Production designer Alan Macdonald, whose credits include John
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Maybury’s THE JACKET and LOVE IS THE DEVIL and who believes design “is successful when it goes almost
unnoticed”, was charged with the challenge of creating those two worlds.
“The film is set in a world that seems quite familiar,” says Macdonald who used the biographies and television
footage of the Royal Family and the Blairs as research material. “We think we know the royal world of Windsor
Castle, Balmoral and Buckingham Palace very well because they’re such iconographic images. But, the film isn’t set
in those public spaces that have been on television; in fact, it’s set within the private spaces of the royal residences of
which there is very little documentary reference, the Queen in her bedroom, in bed, watching television or out driving
her car through the Balmoral estate. It confused me to start with but I realised it provided a fascinating visual
opportunity.”
A great part of the film is set in Balmoral in Scotland, the most private of the Queen’s houses. One of only two
residences owned by the Queen rather than the state, Balmoral was built by Queen Victoria and was intended as an
antidote to the formality of state and the regal lifestyle. Designed by Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert in
a Scottish baronial style, it is an imposing hybrid of Gothic Revival and Tudor, with given Prince Albert’s German
provenance, a strong Bavarian influence similar to the hunting lodges of King Ludwig II.
Macdonald’s search was made more difficult because many estate owners refused filming permission when they were
told the subject of the film. Macdonald whittled down an initial list of between 25 and 30 suitable castles and houses
in Scotland to the three that eventually were chosen for Balmoral interiors and exteriors, Cluny Castle in
Aberdeenshire, Glenfeshie Estate in Invernessshire and Blairquhan Castle in Ayrshire. None have been seen on film
before.
“For me it was interesting because it was this private world that we were infiltrating,” says Macdonald. “We had to
create something timeless that incorporated tradition on the one hand and the notion of a family country house on the
other. The Royal Family are portrayed in this film as a family which is slightly stuck in a rut of the mid-20th century.
They are stuck in formality, they are a generation who grew up during and after the war in a time of austerity and that
is embedded in their psyche and in the design and the function of their houses. The Queen is thrifty, there are electric
heaters rather than central heating, and Balmoral, which is a refuge to the pomp of Buckingham Palace, is very much
about being outdoors. There are no reds or blues in the colours we’ve used to decorate, only putty and natural, earthy
colours. What’s more, Victoria and Albert created Tartanmania which lives on in Balmoral. We couldn’t go as far as it
really is, tartan curtains, carpets and upholstery because it would have looked like a themed hotel. So I used those
textiles and colours but softened colour palette, thus muting everything. It’s also very formal and tidy and ordered.
“The contrast is the Blairs,” he continues. “From my research, it seems that Tony and Cherie lived like students. They
don’t have the concerns that permeate the royal household, they are a couple with young children and live pretty much
how most people of that age with children live. It’s a fabulous contrast to the formality and the precision of Royal
household lifestyle. It’s messy, chaotic, unstuffy and emotionally warmer.”
This informality even extends to the interiors in the Prime Minister’s residence in Downing Street. “I felt that New
Labour has brought a relaxed philosophy to Downing Street, a “Call me Tony” kind of philosophy rather than a “Yes,
Prime Minister” kind of philosophy. So, I gave Downing Street a contemporary feel, mixed in with the stylistic
remnants of bygone eras.”
Other locations used include Goldsmith’s Hall in London for the Chinese Room in Buckingham Palace, Brocket Hall
in Hertfordshire for the Queen’s bedroom and drawing room, RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire for various
Buckingham Palace state rooms, and Southend Airport for RAF Northolt.
THE COSTUMES
For experienced costume designer Consolata Boyle, the challenge of THE QUEEN was in dressing arguably the most
photographed family in the world. “I thought it was dangerous to go down the route of replicating everything,” she
says. “There is a double challenge because the Queen is very well-known and yet she’s also the most enigmatic of
women in many ways. If you just replicate everything, it can be very distracting. I wanted to create a world that rings
true on an emotional and spiritual level but where I also had artistic freedom. So, I took elements of her dress.”
One of the pleasures of the film was creating a look for the Queen in Balmoral, “That’s when she is most at ease and
there is a very strong visual continuity there between how she looked as a young woman and how she looks now.
There is elegance, an ease, and a beauty of its own in the way that she dresses and those around her dress. I wanted to
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reflect her love of nature and the living world and the power of the environment around Balmoral, the almost
awesome beauty of the place. Where she is at her happiest, I felt that ease needed to be reflected in the way she looks,
so she wears warm, earthy Tartan skirts, Wellington boots and brogues, and everything is very practical and
comfortable. In London, there’s a much cooler, flatter, urban feel for both the Queen and the Blairs. The Queen is in
work mode, as opposed to the relaxed homely Balmoral.”
While most of the Queen’s costumes were made, Boyle used a mixture of hires and makes for the rest of the royal
family including Princes Philip’s and Charles’s tweeds, the Queen Mother’s colourful and feminine dresses and the
royal household staff.
With Tony and Cherie Blair, Boyle went back to archive footage. “They are both much slicker and more designer
now,” she says. “They were both much messier and unglamorous. These are the costumes you can very easily get
wrong, so I had to be careful.”
THE ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
There were certain moments, however, where Boyle, Macdonald and Beato all had to stick rigorously to exactly
replicating the historical reality, where the fictional film was spliced with archive footage.
Just as in THE DEAL, Frears was keen to use several shots of archive material in THE QUEEN.
Helping him with this was Adam Curtis. Best known for his riveting and provocative documentaries, Curtis hit the
international headlines in 2005 when his controversial examination of Al Qaeda and the American government’s war
on terror, THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES: THE RISE OF THE POLITICS OF FEAR, screened as an Official
Selection at the 2005 Festival du Cannes to unanimous acclaim. It is the third time, following The Deal and MRS
HENDERSON PRESENTS that Curtis has collaborated on a Frears film.
“We were keen to convey the idea that although Diana is dead, her presence is there all the time,” says Frears. “There
aren’t many scenes where the television isn’t on. Adam Curtis brings his own unique sensibility to the archive
sections but also he has incredible knowledge of where to find the good footage. We needed some of those very
familiar shots, the shots that we are all aware of, such as Cherie opening the door in her nightie the day after the
election, but we also wanted to surprise the audience with some of the images that Adam has found. There are two or
three sequences when the archive is blended together so that you get a fairly seamless understanding of events.”
Harries and the team are acutely aware that the film may raise hackles and cause controversy. However he, his
director and writer are adamant that their intentions are not subversive. “We’ve made sure everything was out in the
open,” says Harries. “We weren’t trying to do anything clandestinely. There was never a republican agenda to this
script.
What’s powerful about the idea is its audacity – you are making a film about a living monarch.”
“It will be controversial because it exists,” concludes Frears. “The gap between what people are expecting it to be and
what it is will be very great. I’m expecting journalists to look for trouble and the film itself doesn’t supply trouble.
The act of impertinence is in the making of the film, it has nothing shocking or scandalous to say or that isn’t in public
domain, but the very act of treating Queen like a woman rather than like a cut-out of a sovereign is itself shocking.”
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ABOUT THE CAST
HELEN MIRREN - The Queen
Helen Mirren is one of the best known and most respected actresses not only in Britain but also internationally. In a
career that spans stage, screen and television, she has become renowned for tackling challenging roles and has won
many awards for her powerful and versatile performances. One of those, as Queen Charlotte in Nicholas Hytner’s
THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE, is the only time Mirren has played a monarch on the big screen before THE
QUEEN; it was also the role for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award and won
the Best Actress Award at the Festival du Cannes in 1995.
Mirren began her career with the National Youth Theatre and in 1967 she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
starring in a number of esteemed productions including Cressida in Troilus and Cressida and Lady Macbeth in the
production of Macbeth by Trevor Nunn. In 1972, she joined renowned director Peter Brook’s theatre company and
toured the world.
Mirren’s film career began in the late 1960s with Michael Powell’s AGE OF CONSENT, in which she starred
opposite James Mason but her breakthrough role was in John Mackenzie's THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY. Her
performance as Victoria, the tough but sexy mistress of Bob Hoskins’ volatile cockney gangster, had critics hailing a
major new screen star.
Her film career took off after LONG GOOD FRIDAY and she starred in numerous acclaimed films including John
Boorman’s fantasy adventure EXCALIBUR and Neil Jordan’s Irish thriller CAL. Her portrayal of an older woman in
love with a younger man in the latter film earned her the Best Actress Award at Festival du Cannes in 1984. She
continued to push boundaries in such films as Peter Weir’s THE MOSQUITO COAST, Peter Greenaway’s THE
COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER, Charles Sturridge’s WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD and
Terry George’s SOME MOTHER’S SON, which she also co-produced.
She earned her second Academy Award® nomination for her performance in Robert Altman’s GOSFORD PARK and
a Golden Globe nomination for Nigel Cole’s CALENDAR GIRLS. More recently, she starred alongside Robert
Redford in THE CLEARING.
In the early 1990s, Mirren starred in the ground-breaking Emmy and BAFTA award-winning television series Prime
Suspect, in which she starred as detective chief inspector Jane Tennison. She has recently completed filming the final
Prime Suspect, bringing this iconic role to its conclusion. In 1999, she won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe
nomination for her performance in the title role of The Passion of Ayn Rand.
Her US television title roles include Losing Chase, for which she won the 1996 Golden Globe Best Actress in a
Television Movie or Miniseries, The Passion of Ayn Rand (Emmy Best Actress Award), Door to Door (Golden
Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominations), The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone (Golden Globe, Emmy and
Screen Actors Guild nominations), and the C4 and HBO co-production Elizabeth I, which was received with glowing
reviews in both the UK and the US.
Mirren’s stage career has been equally successful. Amongst her acclaimed performances in the 1970s was Teeth ‘n’
Smiles at the Royal Court and The Seagull at the Lyric. She has also received critical accolades for Antony and
Cleopatra opposite Michael Gambon, Arthur Miller’s Two-Way Mirror, Orpheus Descending, A Month in the
Country, which marked her Broadway debut and for which she received a Tony nomination, and The Dance of Death
on Broadway opposite Sir Ian McKellen. Most recently, she starred in Mourning Becomes Electra at the National
Theatre for which she was nominated for an Olivier Best Actress Award.
She became a Dame of the British Empire in 2003.
MICHAEL SHEEN - Tony Blair
Recognised as one of the most talented of the new generation of British actors, Michael has proved himself to be
equally accomplished on stage and screen. His performance as Tony Blair in THE QUEEN allows him to reprise the
role he played earlier, in the TV drama The Deal (2003). It marks his third collaboration with Stephen Frears; he made
his feature film debut in the director’s MARY REILLY where he played Dr. Jekyll's footman. Other notable feature
film credits include THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMAN’S APOCALYPSE (2005), KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2004),
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LAWS OF ATTRACTION (2003), BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS (2003), UNDERWORLD (2002), FOUR
FEATHERS (2002) and WILDE (1997).
On television, he recently starred in Fantabulosa as actor and diarist Kenneth Williams for the BBC and his small
screen successes include the award-winning Dirty Filthy Love for Channel 4. Born in Wales, Michael grew up in Port
Talbot, the industrial town renowned for producing Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins. He trained at The Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where in his second year, he won the coveted Laurence Olivier Bursary for
outstanding performances.
Michael’s stage career took off in 1991 when, whilst still a student at RADA, he starred opposite Vanessa Redgrave in
When She Danced at the West End. His stage performances in productions such as Romeo and Juliet, Peer Gynt,
Henry V and Look Back in Anger have consistently gained him critical accolades and awards.
He came to wider international attention in 1999, when he starred in the Broadway revival of Peter Hall’s Amadeus.
Nominated three times for the Olivier Best Actor Award, he received Best Actor Awards from the London Evening
Standard Theatre Awards and London Theatre Critics Awards for his performance as Caligula at the Donmar
Warehouse in 2003.
JAMES CROMWELL – Prince Philip
Born in Los Angeles, but raised in Manhattan, James Cromwell is a highly respected Hollywood character actor who
worked extensively on the stage before beginning his film career in 1976. He first became known to international
audiences with his role as Farmer Hoggett in BABE (1995). His work in the film earned James an Oscar® nomination
for Best Supporting Actor, as well as numerous other feature films, including THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT
(1996), STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996), L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997), THE GREEN MILE (1999) and
SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS (1999).
James has also made many notable guest appearances on television including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and The
Next Generation, LA Law, Hill Street Blues and MASH.
SYLVIA SYMS - The Queen Mother
One of Britain’s best-known actresses, Sylvia Syms trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was already
performing on stage by the time she was spotted for films by director Herbert Wilcox and his wife, the British star
Anna Neagle. She played Neagle’s problem daughter in MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (1956), followed by another
Neagle/Wilcox collaboration with NO TIME FOR TEARS (1957).
Syms’s film credits in the late 1950s and early 1960s include ICE-COLD IN ALEX (1958), FERRY TO HONG
KONG (1959), CONSPIRACY OF HEARTS (1960), EXPRESSO BONGO (1960), THE WORLD OF SUZIE
WONG (1960) and VICTIM (1961).
She was nominated three times for British Film Academy Awards, twice for best actress in WOMAN IN A
DRESSING GOWN (1957), and NO TREES IN THE STREET (1958), and once for supporting actress in THE
TAMARIND SEED (1974).
More recently she has featured in ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS (1986), SHIRLEY VALENTINE (1989), SHINING
THROUGH (1992), I’LL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD (2003) and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (2005).
ALEX JENNINGS – Prince Charles
Alex is an award-winning actor who trained at National Youth Theatre and Bristol Old Vic, before working
extensively in the theatre with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre among others.
His film and TV credits include WAR REQUIEM (1989), A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM (1996), THE WINGS
OF A DOVE (1997), Solo Shuttle and THE FOUR FEATHERS (2002).
He has won numerous awards for his stage performances including three Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards -1989 for
Best Comedy Performance for Too Clever By Half, in 1996 for Best Actor for Peer Gynt, and in 2003 for Best Actor
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in a Musical for his performance in My Fair Lady at the Drury Lane Theatre in London. He was also awarded the
1988 London Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in Too Clever By Half and the 2001
London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performances in The Winter’s Tale and The Relapse
at the Royal National Theatre.
HELEN McCRORY – Cherie Blair
Already established as a gifted actress on the London stage, Helen is steadily building a reputation for her acclaimed
film and TV performances since she won the Richard Burton Award for the Most Promising Newcomer 1995. Her
film credits include CASANOVA (2005), ENDURING LOVE (2004), THE COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO (2002),
CHARLOTTE GRAY (2001), DAD SAVAGE (1998) and INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE (1994).
Critically-acclaimed TV appearances include the starring role in Anna Karenina and high-profile dramas North Square
for which she received the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress, The Jury, Charles II: The Power And
The Passion, Spoonface Steinberg and Streetlife for which she won the Welsh BAFTA for Best Actress in 1997.
She was nominated for the 2002 London Evening Standard Theatre Best Actress Award for her performance in Uncle
Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse.
Her most recent stage triumph was as Rosalind in As You Like It opposite Sienna Miller at the Wyndham’s, for which
she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Best Actress Award.
ROGER ALLAM – Sir Robin Janvrin
Roger is a distinguished stage actor best known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal
National Theatre.
His screen credits include V FOR VENDETTA, the recently-released A COCK AND BULL STORY, THE ROMAN
SPRING OF MRS STONE (2003), RKO (1999) and WILT (1989).
Roger has won two Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards: the 2000 Best Supporting Actor Award for Money at the Royal
National Theatre and the 2002 Best Actor Award for Privates on Parade at the Donmar Warehouse. His stage
performances also include the original Javert in the long running hit musical Les Miserables, then at the Barbican.
Roger is currently starring on stage in Blackbird opposite Jodhi May to acclaimed reviews.
TIM McMULLAN – Stephen Lamport
Tim is an accomplished actor who trained at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts.
His film and TV credits include The Furnace (2000), ONEGIN (1999), PLUNKETT AND MACLEAN (1999),
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998), THE FIFTH ELEMENT (1997) and SHADOWLANDS (1993).
On stage he has worked on a wide variety of productions including Theatre of Blood and His Dark Materials for the
National Theatre, The Noise of Time, Light and the Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol for Complicite and A Midsummer
Nights Dream for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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ABOUT THE CREW
STEPHEN FREARS - Director
Stephen Frears is one of Britain’s most distinctive and provocative directors. Born in Leicester in 1941, he studied law
at Cambridge University before working in the theatre as Lindsay Anderson’s assistant at London’s Royal Court. He
began his career in the film industry as an assistant director to Karel Reisz. In 1971, Stephen made his feature debut
with the detective drama GUMSHOE starring Albert Finney. He then worked mainly in television, until 1985, when
he had his breakthrough with the low budget hit MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE.
Written by Hanif Kureishi and produced by Channel 4, the film was an entertaining and edgy depiction of a gay
relationship between a young Pakistani and a London street punk (a then unknown Daniel Day-Lewis) which explored
the issues of homosexuality, racism and the politics of 1980s. Initially intended for television, the film was given an
international release and became a critical and commercial success.
Stephen’s interest in characters who challenge sexual and social stereotypes continued through his next two films:
PRICK UP YOUR EARS (1987), the acclaimed film about the celebrated and controversial English playwright Joe
Orton starring Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina and Vanessa Redgrave; and SAMMY AND ROSIE GET LAID (1987),
his second collaboration with Kureishi, which looked at cross-cultural relationships and conflict between generations
in a riot-torn London.
Stephen then made his Hollywood debut with the dazzling DANGEROUS LIAISONS (1998), which earned him a
BAFTA nomination for Best Director. The Oscar®-winning script by Christopher Hampton was based on a 1782
novel and the film contained stunning lead performances from John Malkovich and Glenn Close, the latter earning an
Oscar® nomination for her portrayal of the scheming Marquise de Merteuil.
Stephen followed this in 1990 with the equally successful and stylish THE GRIFTERS, produced by Martin Scorsese,
which gained him an Oscar® nomination for Best Director in 1991. Starring John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and
Annette Bening as three con artists, the film confirmed Stephen’s reputation as one of the most talented British
directors of his generation.
Stephen has continued to work in both Britain and America. The satirical fable HERO (1992) starred Dustin Hoffman,
Geena Davis and Andy Garcia whilst MARY REILLY (1996), Stephen’s take on the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde story,
allowed him to work again with the DANGEROUS LIAISONS combination of writer Christopher Hampton, actors
John Malkovich and Glenn Close, and producer Norma Heyman. During the same period he also completed two
entertaining feel-good Roddy Doyle adaptations, The Snapper (1993) and THE VAN (1996).
After his elegiac 20th century western THE HI-LO COUNTRY (1998) which starred Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup,
Penelope Cruz and Patricia Arquette, he returned to more familiar territory with HIGH FIDELITY, a humorous look
at the nature of commitment. Adapted from Nick Hornby's popular novel of the same name, it re-teamed him with
John Cusack who played the lead and co-wrote the script.
In 2000, Stephen collaborated with the respected TV writer, Jimmy McGovern, on the tender but tragic drama LIAM,
which followed the misfortunes of a working class Liverpool family between the wards. This was followed by the
highly acclaimed DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (2002), a drama-thriller about illegal immigrants surviving in London.
Amongst the many awards the film gathered were Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards (2003), Best
British Film at the Evening Standard Awards (2003) and an Oscar® nomination for the writer Stephen Knight (2004).
In 2003, Stephen returned to British television to direct The Deal which looked at a pivotal moment in the relationship
between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair and was the first time the two figures had been represented on TV. Featuring
Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, the film won a BAFTA award for Best Single Drama in 2004.
Stephen’s most recent feature is the 2005 colourful drama MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS starring Dame Judi
Dench and Bob Hoskins.
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CHRISTINE LANGAN - Producer
Christine Langan is an award-winning producer who previously produced Stephen Frears’ The Deal. In 2004, she
executive produced Lie With Me, a two-part thriller directed by Susanna White. She followed this by producing the
critically acclaimed drama Dirty Filthy Love directed by Adrian Shergold and starring Michael Sheen, receiving a
BAFTA nomination and an RTS Award for Best Single Drama. In 2005 she produced Pierrepoint, starring Timothy
Spall and Juliet Stevenson and directed by Adrian Shergold. It was released in April 2006 after premiering at the
Toronto International Film Festival in 2005.
In 2002 she returned to Granada TV as an executive producer after two years away, during which time she produced
the ITV1 comedy drama I Saw You starring Fay Ripley and Paul Rhys and produced and directed Rescue Me, the
BBC1 comedy starring Sally Phillips. Her first role upon her return to Granada was as Executive Producer on
Watermelon, a romantic comedy starring Anna Friel.
She earlier gained recognition for producing the pilot and the first three series of Cold Feet, Granada’s hugely
successful comedy drama, which is now screened in 33 countries and has won countless awards worldwide.
In September ’06, Christine will be taking up a new role as Producer/Executive Producer with BBC Films.
TRACEY SEAWARD - Producer
Tracey Seaward previously worked with Stephen Frears as producer on the highly acclaimed DIRTY PRETTY
THINGS, which won an Academy Award® nomination for Best Screenplay and was nominated for Best British Film
and Best Screenplay at the BAFTAs.
Her other producer credits include the 2005 international commercial and critical hit THE CONSTANT GARDENER
by Fernando Meirelles, which won Rachel Weisz the Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actress this year, as well
as Academy Award® nominations for Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Music and a slew of BAFTA
nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.
Tracey’s credits also include Danny Boyle’s MILLIONS (2003), Neil Jordan’s THE GOOD THIEF (2000), NORA
(1998), THE SERPENT’S KISS (1996), NOTHING PERSONAL (1995) and WIDOW’S PEAK (1993).
ANDY HARRIES - Producer
Andy Harries was appointed Controller of Drama and Comedy of Granada in 2000, having spent seven years creating
and running Granada’s acclaimed Comedy Department. In his capacity as Controller of Comedy, he oversaw the
production of numerous multi-award winning programmes including five series of Cold Feet (BAFTA, Best Drama
2002), The Mrs Merton Show (1997 BAFTA Best Talk Show) and The Royle Family for BBC1 (2000 BAFTA
Situation Comedy).
As Controller of Drama, Comedy and Factual Drama, Andy’s departmental output has been prolific. Productions
range from singles such as Hot Money and MY BEAUTIFUL SON (2002 BAFTA Best Actress for Julie Walters) to
the adaptations of Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga and Pasternak’s epic love story Dr Zhivago, starring Keira
Knightley and Sam Neill.
In 2003, Andy executive produced The Deal (BAFTA, Best Single Drama 2003), directed by Stephen Frears for
Channel 4, Henry VIII written by Peter Morgan starring Ray Winstone and Helena Bonham Carter, the critically
acclaimed factual dramas Wall of Silence and Danielle Cable: Eyewitness, and the award-winning Prime Suspect 6
starring Helen Mirren.
FRANCOIS IVERNEL – Executive Producer
Managing director of Pathé UK since 2000, before which he had the same position with its French counterpart Pathé
Image, Francois Ivernel has executive produced over 20 films, including Stephen Frears’ Academy Award®
nominated MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, Neil Jordan’s BREAKFAST ON PLUTO, Jean Duval’s THE MAGIC
ROUNDABOUT, Gurinder Chadha’s BRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Danny Boyle’s MILLIONS, Roger Michell’s
ENDURING LOVE, Shona Auerbach’s DEAR FRANKIE and Peter Weber’s Academy Award® nominated GIRL
WITH A PEARL EARRING.
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CAMERON McCRACKEN - Executive Producer
Cameron McCracken worked as a film lawyer for nine years in London, Paris and Rome before establishing himself
as an independent producer. He was Director of Business Affairs at British Screen Finance Limited before moving
into his current role as Deputy Managing Director of Pathe UK. He has co-produced or executive produced over 20
films including Girl With A Pearl Earring, Bride and Prejudice, Millions, Enduring Love, Mrs Henderson Presents
and Breakfast on Pluto.
SCOTT RUDIN - Executive Producer
Scott Rudin (Producer), films include: FAILURE TO LAUNCH, FREEDOMLAND, LEMONY SNICKET’S A
SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, THE LIFE AQUATIC, CLOSER, TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE,
I HUCKABEES, THE VILLAGE, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE STEPFORD WIVES, SCHOOL OF
ROCK, THE HOURS, CHANGING LANES, ORANGE COUNTY, IRIS, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS,
ZOOLANDER, SHAFT, SLEEPY HOLLOW, ANGELA’S ASHES, RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, WONDER
BOYS, BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT, THE TRUMAN SHOW, A
CIVIL ACTION, IN AND OUT, RANSOM, MOTHER, MARVIN’S ROOM, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB,
TWILIGHT, CLUELESS, SABRINA, NOBODY’S FOOL, THE FIRM, SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER,
SISTER ACT, SISTER ACT 2: BACK IN THE HABIT, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES,
LITTLE MAN TATE, REGARDING HENRY, PACIFIC HEIGHTS, FLATLINERS, JENNIFER EIGHT, MRS.
SOFFEL AND HE MAKES ME FEEL LIKE DANCING (Academy Award® – Best Documentary).
Theatre: Passion (Tony Award – Best Musical), Indiscretions, Hamlet, Seven Guitars, Skylight, A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum, On the Town, The Chairs, The Judas Kiss, Stupid Kids, The Blue Room, The
Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Closer (London and New York), Amy’s View, The Wild Party, The Ride Down Mt.
Morgan, Copenhagen (Tony Award – Best Play), The Designated Mourner, The Caretaker (London), The Goat (Tony
Award – Best Play), Medea, Beckett/Albee, Caroline, or Change, The Normal Heart, Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?, Doubt (Tony Award – Best Play), Red Light Winter, Well, Faith Healer, The History Boys (Tony Award –
Best Play), and Shining City.
Scott Rudin’s upcoming films include: Kenneth Lonergan’s MARGARET, Noah Baumbach’s Untitled, Richard
Eyre’s NOTES ON A SCANDAL, Roger Michell’s VENUS, Kim Peirce’s STOP-LOSS, Joel and Ethan Coen’s
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, Paul Thomas Anderson’s THERE WILL BE BLOOD, Wes Anderson’s
FANTASTIC MR. FOX and THE DARJEELING LIMITED, and Stephen Daldry’s THE AMAZING
ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY.
PETER MORGAN - Writer
Peter Morgan has written extensively for film and television and previously collaborated with Stephen Frears on the
BAFTA award-winning TV film The Deal, about the relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. His
adaptation of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND for director Kevin Macdonald comes to cinemas in September
2006, when his adaptation of THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL starts filming for Sony and Focus.
Other credits include prestigious TV dramas such as Longford for C4 and HBO and his award winning collaborations
with director Pete Travis - The Jury which won Best Drama at the Reims International Festival and Best Drama at the
CRS Awards, and Henry VIII, starring Ray Winston and Helena Bonham Carter which won the Best Drama
International Emmy in 2004.
His feature film credits include MARTHA MEET FRANK, DANIEL AND LAURENCE, and THE SILENT TOUCH
for celebrated Polish director Krystoff Zanussi, which was in Competition at the Festival du Cannes in 2002. His
early short film DEAR ROSIE was directed by Peter Cattaneo and won an Oscar® nomination in 1990.
His first play Frost/Nixon is being directed by Michael Grandage for the Donmar Warehouse in September 2006.
AFFONSO BEATO, ASC, ABC - Director of Photography
An esteemed cinematographer with an award-winning international career spanning close to forty years, Affonso
Beato was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil but moved to New York in 1970, became an US citizen and currently resides
in Los Angeles. His most recent credits include DARK WATER directed by Walter Salles.
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Beato’s additional film credits include Jonathan Lynn’s THE FIGHTING TEMPTATIONS, Matthew Parkhill’s DOT
THE I, Bruno Barreto’s VIEW FROM THE TOP, Terry Zwigoff’s GHOST WORLD, and ANTONIO DAS
MORTES which won the Jury Prize at the Festival du Cannes.
Most notably, Beato has a running partnership with acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar on such films
as ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER which garnered a 2000 Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film, LIVE
FLESH and THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET.
LUCIA ZUCCHETTI - Editor
Lucia Zucchetti has worked on some of the most creative and stylistically original British independent films of the last
ten years. She began her career cutting Lynne Ramsay’s award winning short films SMALL DEATHS (Jury Prize,
Festival du Cannes 1996) and GASMAN (Jury Prize, Festival du Cannes 1998 and Scottish BAFTA for Best Short
Film 1997). Zucchetti went on to work with Ramsay on the award-winning feature films: RATCATCHER and
MORVERN CALLAR. Other credits include: THE LOW DOWN, John Crowley’s INTERMISSION and Michael
Radford’s THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.
She has previously collaborated on two films with Stephen Frears:The Deal and MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS.
ALAN MACDONALD - Production Designer
Alan Macdonald is a leading production designer whose recent credits include KINKY BOOTS, 51ST STATE,
NORA and ROGUE TRADER. He has worked extensively with director John Maybury including the recent thriller
THE JACKET, LOVE IS THE DEVIL, and REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS FAST which won the Golden Bear at
the Berlin Film Festival in 1994.
CONSOLATA BOYLE - Costume Designer
A graduate of archaeology and history from University College Dublin, Consolata Boyle trained in set and costume
design at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin before moving into film. She now has over 20 years of experience in costume
design and has worked with director Stephen Frears on three feature films before THE QUEEN - THE VAN, MARY
REILLY and The Snapper. Her other recent credits include IMAGINE ME AND YOU, ASYLUM, THE ACTOR,
NORA, CATASTROPHE, THE WINSLOW BOY and ANGELA’S ASHES. She won an Emmy for Best Costume on
The Lion In Winter in 2004.
DANIEL PHILLIPS - Make Up and Hair Designer
Daniel Phillips is a highly experienced make up and hair designer who has worked on numerous feature films over the
past ten years. His recent credits include VENUS, THE HISTORY BOYS, MAN TO MAN, THE LEAGUE OF
GENTLEMEN’S EXTRAORDINARY APOCALYPSE, ANITA AND ME, FOUR FEATHERS, WHATEVER
HAPPENED TO HAROLD SMITH and WITH OR WITHOUT YOU.
In 2000 he received an Emmy for Best Make Up for Arabian Nights.
LEO DAVIS - Casting Director
Leo Davis is a renowned casting director who has worked with Stephen Frears on nine previous films including MRS
HENDERSON PRESENTS, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, LIAM, THE VAN, MARY REILLY, The Snapper, HIGH
FIDELITY, DANGEROUS LIAISONS and The Deal.
Other recent credits in an international career spanning over 15 years include THE CONSTANT GARDENER,
LAYER CAKE, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, I’LL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD, FELICIA’S JOURNEY and
SUNSHINE.
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PETER LINDSAY - Production Sound Mixer
Peter Lindsay is a widely respected sound mixer who has worked on numerous international feature films including
BATMAN BEGINS, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA award this year, PROOF, THUNDERBIRDS,
CALLAS FOREVER, FOUR FEATHERS, CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN, THE BEACH, VELVET
GOLDMINE and BRASSED OFF. In 1997 he received a Golden Reel nomination for Best Sound for THE WINGS
OF A DOVE and in 1999 he was nominated for a BAFTA for his work on LITTLE VOICE.
THE QUEEN is his third feature with director Stephen Frears, the previous films being MRS HENDERSON
PRESENTS and DIRTY PRETTY THINGS.
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT - Composer
After composing the music for over fifty (50) European films and being nominated for two (2) Cesar Awards,
Alexandre Desplat, burst onto the Hollywood scene with his evocative score to GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING
(2003), which earned him nominations from the Golden Globes, BAFTA and European Film Awards. His reputation
was solidified by his critically acclaimed score to Jonathan Glazier’s film BIRTH (starring Nicole Kidman).
Following in close succession, Alexandre composed the scores to THE UPSIDE OF ANGER (starring Joan Allen and
Kevin Costner), HOSTAGE (starring Bruce Willis and Directed by Florent Siri) and Lasse Holström’s CASANOVA
(starring Heath Ledger and Jeremy Irons). More recently, Alexandre lent his talents to Stephen Gaghan’s film
SYRIANA (Produced by Steven Soderbergh; starring Matt Damon and George Clooney), which earned him another
Golden Globe nomination, and FIREWALL (starring Harrison Ford and directed by Richard Loncraine). He has just
completed composing the scores to THE QUEEN (directed by Stephen Frears and starring Helen Mirren) and THE
PAINTED VEIL (starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts). His next score will be for MR. MAGORIUM’S
WONDER EMPORIUM (starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman, 2007).
Balancing his busy Hollywood schedule, Alexandre still makes time to lend his talents to a select number of European
films, his most recent score for DE BATTRE MON COEUR S’EST ARRÊTÉ (“The Beat that My Heart Skipped”),
earned him a Silver Bear Award for Best Score at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005 and a Cesar award at the Cesar
Awards in 2006.
Alexandre’s Greek mother and French father met while attending College at Berkeley in the United States. The
multilingual Alexandre was classically trained, but fed a constant diet of American Jazz and Hollywood movie scores.
These influences have been fused in his music to create a fresh and unique, new voice in film music.
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CREDITS
Directed by
Stephen Frears
Written by
Peter Morgan
Produced by
Andy Harries
Christine Langan
Tracey Seaward
Executive Producers
Francois Ivernel
Cameron McCracken
Scott Rudin
Director of Photography
Affonso Beato ASC ABC
Production Designer
Alan Macdonald
Film Editor
Lucia Zucchetti
Music by
Alexandre Desplat
Costume Designer
Consolata Boyle
Hair & Make-up Designer Daniel Phillips
Archive Consultant
Adam Curtis
Casting Director
Leo Davis
The Queen
Prince Philip
Prince Charles
Robin Janvrin
Queen Mother
Stephen Lamport
Equerry
Janvrin’s Secretary
Lord Airlie
Balmoral Maid
Head Ghillie
Queen’s Dresser
Balmoral Head Ghillie
Charles’ Valet
Balmoral Switchboard Operator
Prince William
Prince Harry
Helen Mirren
James Cromwell
Alex Jennings
Roger Allam
Sylvia Syms
Tim McMullan
Robin Soans
Lola Peploe
Douglas Reith
Joyce Henderson
Pat Laffan
Amanda Hadingue
John McGlynn
Gray O’Brien
Dolina Maclennan
Jake Taylor Shantos
Dash Barber
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Tony Blair
Cherie Blair
Alastair Campbell
Blair’s PA
Blair’s Secretary
Blair’s Aide
Euan Blair
Portrait Artist
TV Director
Catholic Priest
Little Girl
Princess Diana
Dodi Fayed
German Reporter
American Reporter
French Bodyguard
French Reporter
Stunt Doubles
Music Composed, Orchestrated and
Conducted by
Music Performed by
Music Editor
Music Supervisor
Music Recorded and Mixed by
Michael Sheen
Helen McCrory
Mark Bazeley
Kananu Kirimi
Susan Hitch
Julian Firth
Harry Alexander Coath
Earl Cameron
Elliot Levey
Anthony Debaeck
Emmy Lou Harries
Laurence Burg
Michel Gay
Wolfgang Pissors
Malou Beauvoir
Paul Barrett
Xavier Castano
Elaine Ford
David Bishop
Alexandre Desplat
The London Symphony Orchestra
Tony Lewis
Abbie Lister for HotHouse Music Ltd
Andrew Dudman
‘Of’t In The Stilly Night’ (Traditional)
‘Highland Laddie’ (Traditional)
‘Creag Guanach’ (Traditional)
All Performed by Peter Anderson
‘Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel’ (Perren/ St Lewis)
Performed by Worlds Apart
Published by Universal Music Publishing Ltd.
(P) 1993 SONY BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited
Licensed courtesy of SONY BMG Commercial Markets (UK)
‘GMTV Reuters’ (Blades)
Performed and Licensed courtesy of Tom Blades
‘CNN World News Theme’
Music Composed by Herb Avery
Published by Super Satellite Music (BMI), admin by Turner Music Publishing Inc
‘Libera Me’
Written by Guiseppe Verdi
Performed by Lynne Dawson and the BBC Singers
Published by BBC Worldwide
(P) Originally released 1997 Polygram Limited
Licensed courtesy of BBC Worldwide
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This motion picture is inspired by actual events, but certain characters, organizations,
and events have been created and/or fictionalized and therefore are not to be viewed as
factually accurate. Context, constructed dialogue and other fictionalised elements have
been used for dramatic purposes, and certain names have been changed. No implication
should be drawn that any of the persons depicted have authorised or approved this
production.
Filmed on Location in Scotland, London & Paris
& Ealing Studios, England
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