MovieChat Forums > The Queen (2006) Discussion > The Queen-- How Fictionalized was it ?

The Queen-- How Fictionalized was it ?

posted 11 years ago by LPurch6636
1 reply | jump to latest

Having been a writer personally, and "The Queen" being one of my favorite scripts, I was dumbfounded to discover that "The Queen" is regarded as a "work of fiction."

It just can't be ! Morgan MUST have done major research on this work !

For example:
1.) Was Prince Philip an angry, anti homosexual man who still had affection for his wife and called her "Cabbage"? (In spite of her doubts about his attitudes on what is permissable in a Royal marriage when things aren't working out as planned? IE Adultery.) Frankly, it SOUNDS right to me. But is it all a bunch of made-up-malarkey?

2.) DID Prince Charles still have respect for his ex-wife Diana and took a hand in raising his mother-less children after Diana's death?
Did Charles actually have such sensitivity if he also kept hanging around Camilla?

3.) Was the publically smiling Queen Mum so very biased against Diana with such a strong-arm attitude that Elizabeth should stand up against the whole British population when they wanted her to make a public appearance in that first week after Diana's death?

That whole script sounded to my writer's ear like Morgan had help from SOMEBODY in the Palace, or at least had Palace approval. In the scene at Balmoral when the Queen, Prince Philip, Queen Mum and Prince Charles were having a picnic, was it actually a fake Balmoral?

Flanagan

[–] bloodhigh 11 years ago

Hey there,
I think it's a healthy mixture of both. I think the movie accurately portrays the movements of the Royal Family and the Blairs that week and even accurately portrays some conversations that would've been said that week.
But since the writer was only able to speak with people close to the Royals and the Blairs and not the actual people themselves - I imagine that the insiders would tell him their story and then he would imagine how that scene or conversation might have played out in real life.
If you have the movie on DVD then watch it with the commentary - the director and writer both talk about how the movie was made and mention some really interesting facts.

I also found this on Wikipedia...

Historical accuracy

Some aspects of the characters are known to be true to their real-life counterparts. Cherie Blair's hostility to the monarchy has been widely reported, including her refusal to curtsey. According to Morgan, "cabbage" is an actual term of endearment Philip uses for his wife («mon chou» – "my cabbage" – is a standard affectionate nickname in French).

Other elements represent characteristics associated with people depicted. The electric guitar seen behind Blair in his personal office is a reference to his past membership in the band Ugly Rumours while a student. The Newcastle United football jersey he wears to a family breakfast is a reference to his support of that team. The film also shows Alastair Campbell coining the term 'the people's princess', but in 2007 he revealed that it was Tony Blair who came up with it.

A notable inaccuracy is that Robin Janvrin is represented as the Queen's private secretary during the aftermath of Diana's death. In fact, that position was then occupied by Janvrin's predecessor, Sir Robert Fellowes, a brother-in-law of Diana, Princess of Wales; Janvrin was the deputy private secretary until 1999. However, the film is accurate in depicting Janvrin as the person who delivered the news of Diana's accident to the Queen at Balmoral during the night.

I hope this helps. I love this movie too and even though I don't think it's 100% accurate I do think that it is still a fair representation of what was happening at that time