by Alex David
1994
South Africa
1995
Poland
1996
Czech Republic
1996
South Korea
1999
Mozambique
1999
* Germany is here counted as a different country from West Germany which Elizabeth II had visited previously. On this visit the Queen visited cities in the territory of the former East Germany which she had never visited before.
2000s
Lithuania
2006
Latvia
2006
Estonia
2006
Slovenia
2008
Slovakia
2008
2010s
Ireland
2011
TOTAL VISITED
116
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The three countries most visited by Queen Elizabeth II between 1952-2018 are all Commonwealth realms of
which she is Head of State:
1. Canada
22 visits
2. Australia
16 visits
3. New Zealand
10 visits
Outside of Commonwealth countries, the three countries most visited by the Queen between 1952-2018 have been the following:
1. West Germany/Germany 7 visits
2. France
6 visits
3. United States
5 visits
Notable countries never officially visited by Elizabeth II as Queen include Argentina, Cuba, Israel, Egypt, Iraq and the Philippines. Elizabeth also never visited Greece as Queen, however she made a visit to the country in 1950 as
Princess Elizabeth accompanied by her husband Prince Philip.
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Notable Films
on Royal History
The history of the British monarchy has provided subjects for many films over the last century. Listed below are the most notable films on royal history since the 1930s with a bite-size review of both the subject treated and the quality of the movie. Academy Awards (Oscars) won by a film are also noted where relevant. Note that only films where royal history is the main subject are listed.
Adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and other major
works of literature (for example Ivanhoe and The Prince and the Pauper) are not included.
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
Director: Alexander Korda
Starring: Charles Laughton (Henry VIII), Merle Oberon (Anne Boleyn), Elsa Lanchester (Anne of Cleves), Binnie Barnes (Catherine Howard).
The first great royal talkie, part drama, part comedy, with a larger-than-life performance of Henry by Charles
Laughton.
Academy Award for Best Actor (Charles Laughton) 735
Nell Gwynn (1934)
Director: Herbert Wilcox
Starring: Anna Neagle (Nell Gwynn), Cedric Hardwicke (Charles II), Jeanne De Casalis (Duchess of Portsmouth).
Enjoyable, old-fashioned romp on the exploits of Nell Gwynn at the court of Charles II.
The Crusades (1935)
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Starring: Richard Wilcoxon (Richard I), Loretta Young (Berengaria of Navarre), Ian Keith (Saladin).
A grand Cecil B. DeMille epic centred on a romanticized love-story between Richard I and Berengaria of Navarre taking place during the Third Crusade.
Tudor Rose (1936)
(Also released as ‘Nine Days A Queen’)
Director: Robert Stevenson
Starring: Nova Pilbeam (Lady Jane Grey), John Mills (Guilford Dudley), Cedric Hardwicke (Earl of Warwick).
Stagey historical adaptation of the tale of Lady Jane Grey which is liberal with facts, but is saved by the central character’s compelling performance.
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Mary of Scotland (1936)
Director: John Ford
Starring: Katherine Hepburn (Mary Queen of Scots), Friedrich March (Earl of Bothwell), Florence Eldridge (Elizabeth I).
Melodramatic retelling of the troubled life of Mary Queen Scots, with some glaring historical inaccuracies but of great cinematic value.
Fire Over England (1937)
Director: William K. Howard
Starring: Flora Robson (Elizabeth I), Laurence Olivier (Michael Ingolby), Vivien Leigh (Cynthia Burleigh), Leslie Banks (Earl of Leicester).
Timeless, patriotic (even if slightly fictional) account of England’s triumph over the Spanish Armada, featuring the definite big screen portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I.
Victoria the Great (1937)
Director: Herbert Wilcox
Starring: Anna Neagle (Queen Victoria), Anton Walbrook (Prince Albert) H.B. Warner (Lord Melbourne), Mary
Morris (Duchess of Kent).
Reverential and celebratory black-and-white biopic of Queen Victoria’s life covering events from her accession to her Diamond Jubilee.
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Sixty Glorious Years (1938)
Director: Herbert Wilcox
Starring: Anna Neagle (Queen Victoria), Anton Walbrook (Prince Albert) C. Aubrey Smith (Duke of Wellington), Felix Aylmer (Lord Palmerston), Joyce Bland (Florence Nightingale).
Colour sequel to Victoria the Great where the same cast covers further events from the Queen’s life, this time up to her death.
Tower of London (1939)
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Starring: Basil Rathbone (Richard III), Vincent Price (George, Duke of Clarence), Boris Karloff (Mord the Executioner).
Largely imagined portrayal of Richard III’s rise to the throne, where he methodically eliminates everyone on his path to power like a mob don.
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Bette Davis (Elizabeth I), Errol Flynn (Earl of Essex), Vincent Price (Walter Raleigh).
Classic Hollywood re-interpretation of the doomed
relationship between Elizabeth I and her late favourite the Earl of Essex, long on glamour and romance, slightly shorter on accuracy.
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Mrs Fitzherbert (1947)
(Also released as ‘A Court Secret’)
Director: Montgomery Tully
Starring: Peter Graves (George, Prince of Wales), Joyce Howard (Mrs Fitzherbert).
Almost forgotten (and rather stiff) recital on the love affair between George Prince of Wales and the
commoner Mrs Fitzherbert.
Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948)
Director: Anthony Kimmins
Starring: David Niven (Bonnie Prince Charlie), Margaret Leighton (Flora MacDonald), Elwyn Brook-Jones (Duke of Cumberland).
Worthy Technicolor caper chronicling Bonnie Prince
Charlie’s adventures in Britain during the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.
Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)
Director: Basil Dearden
Starring: Joan Greenwood (Sophia Dorothea of Celle), Peter Bull (Prince George), Stewart Granger (Count
Konigsmark), Francoise Rosay (Electress Sophia of
Hanover).
The doomed tale of George I’s spurned wife, Sophia
Dorothea, gets an airing in this largely faithful, compelling saga.
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Young Bess (1953)
Director: George Sidney
Starring: Jean Simmons (Princess Elizabeth), Charles Laughton (Henry VIII), Deborah Kerr (Catherine Parr), Stewart Granger (Thomas Seymour).
Brilliant portrayal of a fiery, young Elizabeth I, replete with lavish costumes and Hollywood stars.
Beau Brummell (1954)
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Starring: Stewart Granger (Beau Brummell), Peter Ustinov (George Prince of Wales), Robert Morley (George III), Elizabeth Taylor (Lady Patricia Belham).
Embellished costumed drama on the famous arbiter of fashion and his friendship with George, the Prince
Regent, who is memorably played by Peter Ustinov.
&nbs
p; The Virgin Queen (1955)
Director: Henry Koster
Starring: Bette Davis (Elizabeth I), Richard Todd (Sir Walter Raleigh), Joan Collins (Elizabeth Throckmorton).
Bette Davis once again plays Elizabeth I in a romantic, partly fictional story focusing on her relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh.
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Becket (1964)
Director: Peter Grenville
Starring: Peter O’Toole (Henry II), Richard Burton (Thomas Becket), John Gielgud (King Louis VII of France).
Character-driven account of the struggle between King Henry II and Thomas Becket, with some historical flaws.
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
A Man For All Seasons (1966)
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Paul Schofield (Thomas More), Robert Shaw (Henry VIII), Leo McKern (Thomas Cromwell).
Sophisticated adaptation of a successful play charting Thomas More’s fall from power at the court of Henry VIII, largely accurate and brilliantly acted.
Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Paul Scofield), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design
The Lion In Winter (1968)
Director: Anthony Harvey
Starring: Peter O’Toole (Henry II), Katherine Hepburn (Eleanor of Aquitaine), Anthony Hopkins (Prince Richard the Lionheart).
Brilliantly acted adaptation of a stage play depicting a weekend into the dysfunctional life of King Henry II’s 741
power-hungry family, compressed for facts but faithful in spirit.
Academy Award for Best Actress (Katherine Hepburn), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Musical Score
Alfred the Great (1969)
Director: Clive Donner
Starring: David Hemmings (King Alfred), Michael York (King Guthrum), Prunella Ransome (Queen Ealhswith).
Ponderous and almost forgotten British epic on the life of Saxon England’s greatest king.
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
Director: Charles Jarrott
Starring: Genevieve Bujold (Anne Boleyn), Richard Burton (Henry VIII), Irene Papas (Catherine of Aragon), Anthony Quayle (Thomas Wolsey).
Traditional retelling of the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, praised for Genevieve Bujold’s portrayal of Anne.
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
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Cromwell (1970)
Director: Ken Hughes
Starring: Richard Harris (Oliver Cromwell), Alec Guinness (Charles I), Dorothy Tutin (Queen Henrietta Maria).
Flawed big-budget saga on the English Civil War centred on Oliver Cromwell, notable for Alec Guinness’ portrayal of Charles I.
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
Mary Queen of Scots (1971)
Director: Charles Jarrott
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave (Mary Queen of Scots), Glenda Jackson (Elizabeth I), Timothy Dalton (Lord
Darnley), Patrick McGoohan (Earl of Moray).
Over-dramatic palaver depicting a saintly Mary Stuart fighting, and losing, against an evil world.
Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972)
Director: Waris Hussein
Starring: Keith Michell (Henry VIII), Charlotte Rampling (Anne Boleyn), Donald Pleasance (Thomas Cromwell),
Bernard Hepton (Thomas Cranmer).
Brilliant, if somewhat skimmy, historical chronicle of Henry VIII’s marital life, adapted from a successful 1970
BBC mini-series.
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Lady Jane (1986)
Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Helena Bonham Carter (Lady Jane Grey), Cary Elwes (Guilford Dudley), Jane Lapotaire (Mary I).
Idealistic, romantic account of the rise and fall of Lady Jane Grey and her husband Guilford Dudley, noteworthy for its Royal Shakespeare Company cast.
The Madness of King George (1994)
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Starring: Nigel Hawthorne (George III), Helen Mirren (Queen Charlotte), Rupert Everett (George, Prince of Wales).
Factually liberal, yet touching account of King George III’s first madness bout of 1788-89.
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
Braveheart (1995)
Director: Mel Gibson
Starring: Mel Gibson (William Wallace), Patrick McGoohan (Edward I), Sophie Marceau (Isabella of
France).
Flawed Hollywood epic on the struggle between Scottish patriot William Wallace and King Edward I of England, completely riddled with historical inaccuracies.
Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Make-up 744
The Bruce (1996)
Directors: Bob Carruthers and David McWhinnie Starring: Sandy Welch (Robert the Bruce), Brian Blessed (Edward I), Oliver Reed (Robert Wishart).
Patriotic, if somewhat confused, account of Robert the Bruce’s life and struggles as King of Scotland.
Mrs Brown (1997)
Director: John Madden
Starring: Judy Dench (Queen Victoria), Billy Connolly (John Brown), David Westhead (Prince of Wales).
Decorous yet insightful exploration of the relationship between Queen Victoria and her Highland servant John Brown.
Elizabeth (1998)
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Starring: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth I), Joseph Fiennes (Earl of Leicester), Geoffrey Rush (Francis Walsingham),
Richard Attenborough (Lord Burghley).
Historical travesty where Elizabeth I and other real-life characters inhabit in a shockingly fictionalised version of real events.
Academy Award for Best Make-up
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To Kill A King (2003)
Director: Mike Barker
Starring: Tim Roth (Oliver Cromwell), Rupert Everett (Charles I), Dougray Scott (Sir Thomas Fairfax).
Historically messy and cinematically rambling flop
revolving around the Parliamentary victory in the Civil War and the execution of Charles I.
The Queen (2006)
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Helen Mirren (Elizabeth II), James Cromwell (Prince Philip), Michael Sheen (Tony Blair).
Somewhat over-critical interpretation of the events surrounding Diana, Princess of Wales’ death, focusing mostly on Elizabeth II and Tony Blair.
Academy Award for Best Actress (Helen Mirren)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Starring: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth I), Geoffrey Rush (Francis Walsingham), Samantha Morton (Mary Queen of Scots).
Slightly less inaccurate sequel to Elizabeth (1998), notable for lavish sets and pathos, but still very much historical shamwork.
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
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The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Director: Justin Chadwick
Starring: Natalie Portman (Anne Boleyn), Scarlett Johansson (Mary Boleyn), Eric Bana (Henry VIII).
Lush, highly fictionalised tale of the two Boleyn sister’s lives and their relationships with Henry VIII, itself based on Philippa Gregory’s historical guesswork.
The Young Victoria (2009)
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Starring: Emily Blunt (Queen Victoria), Rupert Friend (Prince Albert), Miranda Richardson (Duchess of Kent).
Elegant, worthy portrayal of Queen Victoria’s
adolescence, accession to the throne, and her falling in love with Prince Albert.
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
The King’s Speech (2010)
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Colin Firth (George VI), Helena Bonham-Carter (Queen Elizabeth), Guy Pearce (Edward VIII).
Oscar-winning, largely accurate account of how George VI overcame his stammering to perform his duties as King.
Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Colin Firth), Best Original Screenplay
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W.E. (2011)
Director: Madonna
Starring: Andrea Riseborough (Wallis Simpson), James D’Arcy (Edward VIII).
Stylish, yet widely panned tale of a modern New York housewife’s obsession with Edward VIII and Wallis
Simpson’s love story.
Ironclad (2011)
Director: Jonathan English
Starring: James Purefoy (Thomas Marshall), Paul Giamatti (King John).
Partly fictionalised account of King John’s siege of Rochester Castle in 1215 during the First Barons War.
Diana (2013)
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel