You would think that a former member of the British Royal Family’s death would not have much impact on the rest of the world, yet when Princess Diana died in a senseless automobile accident in Paris in the summer of 1997, the whole world mourned that loss. Diana Spencer was a beloved personality whose popularity transcended her brief time as the wife of Prince Charles, and her loss sparked unrest amongst the citizens of Britain, especially when that loss seemed to go ignored by the Royal Family in the weeks after her death. 2006’s The Queen explores this brief period in recent history and tries to shed just a little light into the mentality of Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the royals as they face this tragic death and have to face the reality that public perception can sway in an instance, and decades of service can be wiped away in a single moment.
Being a full-blooded American, I have paid little attention to the British monarchy over the years outside of what pops up in scandal sheets. I’m aware of whom is whom among them only in the sense of knowing that Queen Elizabeth II was the ruling monarch at this time, her son Charles was next in line, and after that, there were Charles’ two sons, the eldest being third in line to the throne. I didn’t know that Elizabeth’s mother was still alive at that time and that the way royal accession works, he or she that is married to the existing monarch is not a King or Queen in the fullest extent, thus Elizabeth II’s mother, who was married to King George VI until his death, could not become the ruling monarch but took on the moniker of The Queen Mother. Likewise, Prince Philip, married to Elizabeth II, could never be King of England.
These dynamics would have played out with Diana had she stayed married to Prince Charles long enough to see him become the King of England. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, Diana and Charles divorced in 1996, and the royal family basically washed their hands of her, viewing her as someone whom they were embarrassed of. Diana did, after all, fight against all the ceremony and stuffiness of being a member of the Monarchy. While not a great film, 2021’s Spencer does give a good look into the emotional turmoil she was going through at the time.
Producers of The Queen chose not to cast an actress to play Diana but instead relied heavily on stock footage of her whenever she needed to be seen, footage mostly from news reports and the paparazzi. This helps to eulogize the woman in a way an actress in the role doesn’t. In contrast, in the film Spencer, Kristen Stewart is doing an amazing job portraying Diana, but it does distract from the real-world tragedy of her death. All we see in The Queen are a few snippets of her, and that allows us to fill in the blanks with our memories, then less than ten years past, of this interesting, enigmatic woman.
The film opens on the news of the 1997 general election, where Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) of the Labour Party has been elected Prime Minister of Britain on a platform of reform and modernization. We get a good sense of his character, and, just as importantly, his wife’s (Helen McCrory), during their traditional first meeting with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren). That meeting is awkward, filled with rules and curtesies that must be extended in her presence. Elizabeth name-drops Winston Churchill, reminding all of us of just how long she has been the Queen. While she could disperse with such a strict following of protocols, she sticks with the long standing traditions.
Less than four months later, Diana, Princess of Wales, is killed in a car crash at the Alma Bridge tunnel in Paris while being chased by the media. This news breaks in the middle of the night, and Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip (James Cromwell), sit up watching the news unravel. This death causes some immediate problems for Diana’s former husband, Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) because, even though the two were divorced, Diana is the mother of the future King, though she is no longer a member of the Royal Family.
Elizabeth and Blair are at odds over plans for the funeral as the Spencers initially want a private service, but that would be seen as dismissive by the Royal Family. This is exacerbated when Blair gives an address to the public referring to Diana as the “People’s Princess,” which is quickly adopted by the press. Soon there are calls for the Royal family to not only publicly acknowledge Diana’s death but to show signs of reverence for her, such as flying the flag over Buckingham Palace at half mast, even though long-standing tradition says that that wouldn’t even be done upon Elizabeth’s own death.
Public perception of the royals takes a dive with nearly a quarter of Britain favoring dispensing with the monarchy altogether. Demoralized by how this is all playing out, Elizabeth comes to realize that the world is not the same as the one she grew up in and that, for the sake of the country and her family, she must speak up and pay tribute to Diana. She warns Blair that, just as what has happened to her, so too may public opinion shift on him one day and that it can happen in a second and without warning.
How soon after a tragic event does it become acceptable to make a film about the events? I remember when Oliver Stone made his film World Trade Center in 2006, people were in an uproar about how this had only happened five years prior and it was disrespectful to try and capitalize on this tragedy so soon afterwards. Likewise, to a lesser degree the film United 93felt too soon when it released that same year. The Queen came out nine years after Diana’s death, yet it doesn’t feel like it is capitalizing on that tragedy. By shifting the focus away from her death and onto the Royal family and how they not only responded to it but how they handled it with the public, it avoids the trappings of films like World Trade Center. This is a smartly written picture that ultimately ends up not being about Diana at all but about the changing world and whether the Monarchy ultimately belongs in it anymore.
We see that point of view with Cherie Blair even more so than her husband, who formally represents the modernization of the world. At one point, she even criticizes him over what she perceives is a more traditional, sympathetic view of royalty. This feeling is ongoing as the world marches on well into the 21st century. King Charles has since taken the throne, and it seems, his son, Prince William, may soon succeed him. Some feel the time of the royal family needs to end. When Elizabeth II took the throne in 1952, that sentiment was far less prevalent.
Helen Mirren was the frontrunner for the Oscar that year and ultimately took home the award that evening. It’s easy to see why, too. This is a complicated role to play, not the least of which because the person she was playing was still alive at the time. While Helen doesn’t resemble the real Elizabeth II much, you quickly forget that while watching this film. She remains distant and attempts to hide her emotions most of the time, but so much is expressed in those eyes of hers, things she doesn’t dare express openly. It’s a complex array of emotions she has to get across all without betraying the position she occupies. There is a regality to being the Queen and a decorum that must be maintained, yet she is also a person. There are strong emotions, under the surface, that Diana caused with her refusal to follow royal protocols and decorum, coupled with her divorce from Charles. Helen navigates all of this without falling on the crutch of over-explaining how she is feeling. Compare what she is doing with that of James Cromwell, who is basically just a caricature of Prince Philip, and you can see what a true master of the craft is capable of when given the right material to work with.
This is not the stuffy British royal drama I was expecting based on the poster. This is a well-made drama about real people and a historical event recent enough that I can still remember the general public’s response to it. Thankfully, it handles the material with a great deal of reverence and refuses to exploit this tragic event for the sake of entertainment. Instead, it makes us ponder the modern world and whether certain things should be allowed to die out or if they still have value in our current society. It doesn’t answer those questions, but it does open things up for that discussion. This makes for a thought-provoking couple of hours while we relive those sad few months in the summer and fall of 1997.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Andy Harries, Christine Langan, and Tracey Seaward
Best Director: Stephen Frears
Best Actress: Helen Mirren (won)
Best Original Screenplay: Peter Morgan
Best Costume Design: Consolata Boyle
Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat
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Release Date: September 15, 2006
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Starring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Helen McCrory, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam, and Sylvia Syms
Directed By: Stephen Frears
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