Top 20 Best Depictions of Real-Life Royals in Movies & TV Shows

Better suited to cable than PBS, “The Great” takes a look at the marriage of Russian monarchs Peter III and Catherine the Great. It’s more satire than history lesson. Nicholas Hoult is wickedly funny as the deviant Emperor Peter, but it’s Elle Fanning’s hilarious performance as Catherine that’s worth the price of admission. The series follows Catherine as she plots to remove her husband from power via his death. Of course, they engage in several political and erotic power plays along the way. But as she continues to outmaneuver her husband, Catherine also seems to enjoy the twisted games they play. It’s confusing but incredibly entertaining.

This series may get knocked for its sexy reinterpretation of Henry VIII’s reign. But in the capable hands of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the king’s lustful appetites and quest for a male heir make total sense. Though he’s not a great guy, there’s a charisma to him that makes you understand his motivations and political maneuvers. On “The Tudors,” Henry is still a young man, vibrant and spirited. It also makes him much more dangerous. He’s just as likely to lead an army as he is to wrestle foreign heads of state and bed his advisors’ daughters.

Sofia Coppola’s 2006 retelling of the story of Marie Antoinette received mixed reviews from critics, but at least Kirsten Dunst’s portrayal of the young irreverent queen was a fresh and memorable one. Marie Antoinette gets a bad rap in popular culture, past and present, being shown as selfish, snobby, and disconnected from the French people. But Dunst manages to convey the monarch as a sympathetic character – a girl taken from her home at a young age and brought into a court where she knew no one, only to bear the brunt of the blame for the lack of a quickly-produced heir. Dunst truly succeeds in humanizing this often-demonized historical figure.

Although it didn’t live up to initial expectations, especially compared to his previous Shakespeare adaptations, Laurence Olivier’s work in “Richard III” is now considered some of his best. That’s a pretty big statement. The legendary actor played several Shakespearean protagonists, but something about his ruthless Richard III still resonates. Olivier is nothing short of creepy as the rage-filled tyrant who gladly sacrificed his own relatives for the throne. What’s more unsettling? Is it his gleeful double-crosses or the direct addresses to the camera that let us in on his disturbed thoughts? It doesn’t matter. Olivier’s Richard is chilling.

Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold earned an Oscar nomination for her stirring portrayal of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s ill-fated second wife. The married king has already had an affair with her sister before he gets to Anne. But Bujold’s headstrong queen goes toe to toe with the most powerful man in England, defying him at every turn. Even her family’s pressure to become the king’s new mistress isn’t enough to goad her. Unfortunately, it only makes him want her more. While we all know how the story ends, with her in the part, she actually manages to convince us that she might have the last laugh over the king.

The exact nature of Queen Victoria’s relationship with her deceased husband’s servant, John Brown, is unknown. However, “Mrs. Brown” delves into what might have caused so much speculation. Judi Dench deftly portrays the famed queen as she mourns her husband, Prince Albert, and forges a friendship with his manservant. Their tender friendship restores her, and brings her out of mourning, but the price is speculation at their expense. Dench plays Victoria as a woman straining against convention and her own grief, and she won a BAFTA for her performance. Dench would later reprise the role in 2017’s “Victoria & Abdul.”

This Academy Award winning role is short but memorable. Though she’s not on screen for long, the entire plot of “Shakespeare in Love” hinges on Queen Elizabeth I. First, it’s her bet that William Shakespeare can write a play showing the nature of love that sets much of the drama in motion. She appears again near the end to save Shakespeare and his fellow artists from being arrested for having a woman in their cast. Dench plays the “Virgin Queen” with the appropriate regalness, but also maintains a tongue-in-cheek humor about herself. Her playfulness leaps off the screen. It’s no wonder she got an Oscar, a BAFTA, and the National Society of Film Critics Award for her efforts.

Based on the Tony winning play of the same name, this drama sees the downfall of Thomas More, a one-time favorite of King Henry VIII. Robert Shaw was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Henry. He makes a meal of the Tudor king. There’s no pretense of romance about this monarch. He is a power hungry ruler through and through, a man who will stop at nothing to procure a male heir. Anyone who gets in his way will become fodder for the gallows. Prone to mood swings and anger, Shaw plays him as the wrathful and vengeful tyrant he was.

Female-led British royal period pieces often focus on one of the two Queen Elizabeths, but in this 2009 film, Emily Blunt shines as Queen Victoria. She ascended the throne in 1837 when she was only 18, and went on to reign for over 63 years. The beginning of her rule was marred by disagreements among those around her as to how she should wield her influence. This power struggle forced Victoria to be strong-willed in the face of adversity and to assert herself in order to be with the man she loves. Emily Blunt manages to show the softer side of this famous queen, in addition to her better-documented determined nature, delivering a remarkably nuanced performance.

This musical production was released in 1956 to critical acclaim, receiving nominations for nine Academy Awards, with Yul Brynner taking home the statue for Best Actor for his portrayal. You could say Brynner was used to playing the role, as he acted in the stage version of “The King and I,” giving the performance a total of 4,625 times. In modern times, the film probably would have received criticism for casting a white actor in the role of the King of Siam, but it was the ‘50s, so this sort of whitewashing wasn’t widely recognized as an issue yet. Retroactive criticism aside, this remains a notably powerful performance, even decades later.

Elizabeth Taylor’s portrayal of this Egyptian queen is so iconic that it remains a serious challenge for anyone else to attempt the role. Taylor’s seductive performance has cemented the way Cleopatra is viewed today. And yet, this movie had a famously disastrous production, including massive budgetary issues, illness, a high profile affair, troubled shooting, and a changeover of various actors and the director. In fact, it nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. At the time, it was the most expensive movie ever made, and despite being the highest grossing film that year, it proved unprofitable. Although Taylor retrospectively called it her career low, to this day, for many people... she is Cleopatra.

You may recognize him as the notoriously egotistical Professor Lockhart from the “Harry Potter” series, but before he headed to Hogwarts, Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in several movies based on famous Shakespeare plays. Arguably his most memorable role was Henry V, in the much revered movie by the same name. The film was so critically-lauded that it maintains one hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Branagh’s spirited delivery of King Henry’s famous St. Crispin’s Day speech to his troops was just one of his many scene-stealing moments, which earned him a well-deserved Oscar nod.

Decades before Kenneth Branagh tackled the subject, the story was popularized by Laurence Olivier who similarly worked as both director and lead actor on the film. Like Branagh, he was nominated for Best Actor. What he did take home however, was a special Honorary award for his work as actor, producer, and director in bringing this classic to the big screen. The film was released near the end of WWII, and was requested by Winston Churchill as a morale booster for British troops. Roughly a decade later, he was again nominated for Best Actor for his rousing royal cinematic performance as Richard III, only to be beat out by Yul Brynner’s aforementioned performance.

Even years after her tragic death, Princess Diana still remains the epitome of modern royalty in all its glamor and ugliness. Kristen Stewart received raves for her role as the “people’s princess” in this searing biopic. “Spencer” takes place in the early 90s, when Diana and her husband, then Prince Charles, are on the rocks. It goes beyond the tabloid stories to get to the heart of what life in the royal family might really have been like for Diana. Stewart’s performance highlights Diana’s psychological horror as her marriage falls apart, and she is constrained by the pressures and thankless demands of royal life.

Not all historical fiction has to be stuffy and reverent. “The Favourite” is like a PBS miniseries projected through a funhouse mirror. Queen Anne is a troubled, disturbed, and petulant woman. Her various illnesses, moods, and neuroses rule her and everyone in her orbit. She uses and abuses people with reckless abandon, but she’s also used and abused herself. Olivia Colman won an Oscar for the stunning layers she brought to the character, who could come off as a shrill and screeching monster if played differently. Instead, Colman finds humanity and humor in her quirks.

Peter O’Toole reprises his royal role from “Becket” for this Christmas-set historical fiction drama. In “The Lion in Winter,” King Henry II is locked in a battle of succession with his three sons and their imprisoned mother. Katharine Hepburn is Henry’s cunning and powerful queen consort. Everyone in this story is playing chess, but Eleanor is the best player of them all. Her spite, anger, and heartbreak bring a distant historical character back to life. Hepburn plays the role with as much acid as she does heart, and won her third Oscar as a result.

Queen Elizabeth II looms large over the last century of history. This beloved and acclaimed series took on the gargantuan task of making sense of her 70-year reign. Such a big project required three different actresses of stature to pull it off. Claire Foy played Elizabeth in her early reign. Olivia Colman played her in her middle age. Imelda Staunton finished the job, portraying the queen in the latter half of her reign. Without their shared commitment to the role, the show would never have become a cultural landmark. All three were nominated for several awards, with Foy and Colman winning Emmys for their portrayals.

It seems like Helen Mirren was made to play this role. Honestly… she has an air of royalty about her even when she’s not in costume. And she is a dame after all! This film shows a behind the scenes look at the royal family’s reaction to Princess Diana’s sudden death in 1997. It particularly focuses on Queen Elizabeth II’s controversial view that since Diana and Charles were divorced, she should not receive a royal funeral, but rather a “private affair.” Mirren swept the 2006 awards season, picking up an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for this role.

King George VI took the throne at a tumultuous time in English history, a couple of years before the beginning of World War II. The great grandson of Queen Victoria was not meant to inherit the throne as he had an older brother, Edward VIII. But when his brother abdicated the throne in order to marry a divorced socialite, George VI was thrust into the spotlight. This film focuses on the king’s speech impediment and the therapy he went through to improve it. Firth won the major trifecta of acting awards for this role, including an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a SAG award. It was truly the performance of a lifetime.

The daughter of infamous King Henry VIII and the ill-fated Anne Boleyn endured a difficult and tumultuous coming of age after her mother was executed. Queen Elizabeth took the throne when she was 25 and not only consciously decided not to have children, but famously refused to marry, effectively putting an end to the Tudor dynasty. Blanchett portrays Elizabeth as the complex character that she was, simultaneously naive, witty, defiant, and shrewd, and earned an Oscar nomination for her work. Nearly a decade later, Blanchett reprised her role in a continuation of the monarch’s story: “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” delivering yet another powerhouse performance.

Which royal portrayal captivated you? Let us know in the comments.