Royalty
Around the world, people have a fascination for those born into privilege. And at the top of the heap are those born into royalty, groomed from a young age to take on the responsibilities, and perks, of leadership. From Queen Cleopatra to King Henry VIII to the current Queen of England, filmmakers, like their audiences, have taken a keen interest in what makes these people tick, always trying to expose something of their private lives and challenges, and perhaps even making them seem as human as the rest of us.
Pictured: Queen Bette in 'The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'.
The Crown: Season 3 (2019)
7.6/10
Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, Josh O'Connor, Tobias Menz...
S.1: The royal family mourns the passing of Winston Churchill. The United Kingdom ushers in a new prime minister, the Labour Party's Harold Wilson who... Read more
Hamlet (Gibson) (1990)
7.8/10
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Starring: Alan Bates, Glenn Close, Mel Gibson, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, Helena Bonham Cart...
'God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another' wrote William Shakespeare in his classic tale of vengeance and obsession. Franco Zeffire... Read more
The Tudors: Season 4 (2010)
8.1/10
Starring: David O'Hara, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Lothaire Bluteau, Sarah Bolger, Torrance Coo...
King Henry's sexy and scandalous reign concludes with this, the fourth and final season of "The Tudors". This series brings us through the latter year... Read more
Wallis and Edward (2005)
Director: Dave Moore
Starring: Stephen Campbell Moore, Joely Richardson, Clifford Rose, David Westhead, Miriam...
The infamous royal affair that ended the reign of Edward VIII, from the seldom-heard perspective of Wallis Simpson (played by Joely Richardson), the A... Read more
Monarchy: Series 1 (2004)
8.1/10
Director: David Wilson
Starring: David Starkey
Dr David Starkey travels back through the history of the British monarchy, beginning with the violence and chaos of the Dark Ages, and eventually endi... Read more
Monarchy: Series 2 (2005)
6.1/10
Starring: David Starkey
Dr David Starkey presents the second series of his history of the British monarchy, beginning in the savage maelstrom of the Wars of the Roses. The Tu... Read more
Edward the Seventh: The Complete Series (1975)
Director: John Gorrie
Starring: Annette Crosbie, Charles Dance, Derek Fowlds, Francesca Annis, Jane Lapotaire, J...
Directed by John Gorrie ('The Oscar Wilde Collection'), this BAFTA-winning drama focuses around the life of Edward VII and the dramas, romances, trage... Read more
The Exception (2016)
6.8/10
Director: David Leveaux
Starring: Ben Daniels, Christopher Plummer, Janet McTeer, Anton Lesser, Jai Courtney, Lily...
German soldier Stefan Brandt goes on a mission to investigate exiled German Monarch Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Kaiser lives in a secluded mansion in the N... Read more
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
6.3/10
Director: Josie Rourke
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce, David Tennant, Jack Lowden, Joe Alwyn,...
Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary Stuart defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful t... Read more
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
7.5/10
Director: Charles Jarrott
Starring: Genevieve Bujold, Richard Burton, Anthony Quayle, Irene Papas, John Colicos
The ill-fated romance of King Henry VIII of England and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, is recounted in this lavish drama. The king's (Richard Burton) o... Read more