The Queen

2009
The Queen

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Margaret Nov 29, 2009

When, after the sudden death of her father, the Queen (played by Emilia Fox) was catapulted on to the throne in 1952, she had no inkling that the greatest scandal she was about to face would come from within her own household.

EP2 Us and Them Nov 30, 2009

Samantha Bond takes on the role of the Queen in this second episode. Britain came as close to becoming a republic in the early 1970s as it has ever done in modern times. The polls recorded the highest figures ever for those who were opposed to the monarchy. For the first time, the royal family was under pressure to be accountable to the people, in terms of how they lived their lives and spent their money.

EP3 The Rivals Dec 01, 2009

This episode lifts the lid on the hidden conflict between the Queen (played by Susan Jameson) and her first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher (played by Lesley Manville).

EP4 The Enemy Within Dec 02, 2009

Barbara Flynn takes on the role of the Queen as her Annus Horribilis of 1992 turns the spotlight on her role as Head of the Royal Family and reveals how she coped with a catalogue of scandals involving her family, which until then had been perceived as a model for the nation.

EP5 How Do You Solve a Problem Like Camilla? Dec 03, 2009

The final film shows the Queen (played by Diana Quick) confronting one last personal and constitutional challenge: Prince Charles' desire to marry Camilla Parker Bowles.
7.3| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 29 November 2009 Ended
Producted By: Blast! Films
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-queen/
Synopsis

The Queen was a 2009 British drama-documentary showing Queen Elizabeth II at different points during her life. Broadcast on Channel 4 over five consecutive nights from 29 November 2009, the Queen was portrayed by a different actress in each episode. The Queen was portrayed by Emilia Fox, Samantha Bond, Susan Jameson, Barbara Flynn and Diana Quick. Katie McGrath played Princess Margaret in the first episode and Lesley Manville played Margaret Thatcher in the third episode. The series was co-funded by the American Broadcasting Company, the network which aired the series in the US. This reunited Emilia Fox and Katie McGrath who had played sisters in BBC One's Merlin.

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Reviews

didi-5 Touted as one of the TV events of the year, this five-part drama documentary sounds fascinating. Five different actresses play Elizabeth II, who came to the throne of England in 1952.Focusing on key events in her reign and life - Princess Margaret's affair with Peter Townsend; the late 60s rise of republicanism; sanctions against South Africa and battles with Mrs Thatcher; the fallout from Charles and Diana's separation; the acceptance of Camilla Parker-Bowles into the family.The archive footage included in each episode is fascinating, as are some of the recollections and observations from a succession of interviewee talking heads. But the drama is curiously unengaging and goes for cheap shots in the dialogue - would Prince Philip really refer to Margaret Thatcher as 'bloody grocer's daughter'? Would the Queen really ask 'is it gloves orf' when referring to the Press? The actresses playing the Queen do their best - Emilia Fox, Samantha Bond, and Barbara Flynn coming off perhaps more convincingly than Susan Jameson and Diana Quick. Ken Colley also does a good job as Prince Philip in the penultimate episode, which also features Paul Rhys as an intriguing Prince of Wales. Part of the interest of these kinds of series are the casting of actors you'd forgotten about - Doreen Mantle, for example, who plays the Queen Mother.A disappointment, perhaps because some of the situations are just too close in time - perhaps because they are over-dramatised and obviously have no basis in fact. It is beautifully filmed though and well-researched - it is just that it doesn't really come across in the way it has been publicised. If 'her story is all our stories' we really do need to have more concrete evidence about what she is like.