Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 09/15/2006(UK),
Release Date: 01/01/2001
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time:
Flags: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: Miramax
The British prime minister and the Royal Family find themselves quietly at odds in the wake of a national tragedy in this
drama from director
Stephen Frears. On August 31, 1997,
Diana, Princess of Wales died in an auto accident in Paris; despite the controversial breakup of her marriage to
Prince Charles, she was still one of the most famous and best-loved women in the world, and the public outpouring of emotion over her passing was immediate and intense. However, given the messy circumstances of
Diana's breakup with
Charles, official spokespeople for the Royal Family were uncertain about how to publicly address her passing. It didn't take long for the media to pick up on the hesitation of Buckingham Palace to pay homage to
Diana, and many saw this as a sign of the cool emotional distance so often attributed to the royals, which in this case was widely seen as an insult against
Diana and the many people who loved her.
Prime Minister Tony Blair (played by
Michael Sheen) saw a potential public-relations disaster in the making, and took it upon himself to persuade
Queen Elizabeth II (played by
Helen Mirren) to make a statement in tribute to the fallen
Diana -- an action that went against the taciturn queen's usual nature.
The Queen was released the same year that
Helen Mirren played
Queen Elizabeth I in an acclaimed miniseries for British television;
The Queen also gave
Michael Sheen his second opportunity to play
Tony Blair after portraying the prime minister in the television film
The Deal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
;)
