The film's development coincided with a revival of favourable public sentiment in respect to theBritish monarchy, a downturn in fortunes for Blair, and the inquest into Diana's death,Operation Paget.Michael Sheen reprised his role as Blair fromThe Deal. He would play Blair again inThe Special Relationship.
The Queen garnered widespread critical and popular acclaim forHelen Mirren playing the title role of QueenElizabeth II.[3] Mirren was praised by the Queen herself and was invited to dinner atBuckingham Palace.[4] However, Mirren declined to attend due to filming commitments inHollywood.[5]
Immediately, her death presents problems for her former husband,Prince Charles, and thePrime Minister,Tony Blair, what to accord the mother of a future king who is no longer a member of the royal family. QueenElizabeth II wonders if Blair will turn his modernisation pledge on to the royal family since he attempts to have her reconsider her views on the funeral plans. Diana's family,the Spencers, calls for the funeral to be private.
Following a speech in which Blair describes Diana as the "People's Princess" and the adoption of the title by the press, an outpouring of grief by the general public begins in broadcasts and displays of floral tributes so numerous atBuckingham andKensington Palaces that the main entrances onto the complexes have to be rerouted. The royal family's senior members make no effort to acknowledge Diana's significance to society as the Queen feels that she must comfort and shield her grandsons following the death of their mother, and so remains on holiday atBalmoral. The royal family's popularity plummets, while Blair's approval rises as he responds to the public outcry of the royal family's inaction.
Blair's attempts to guide the royal family through the controversy are met with resistance: the Queen describes them as a surrender to public hysteria. Despite the Queen and Prince Philip's indignation toward any sympathy toward Diana or acknowledgment of the country's mourning, Blair is encouraged by the private secretaries of both the Prince of Wales and the Queen to continue with his attempts to change the attitude of the royal family. As Britain continues its outpouring of grief, Blair attempts to defend the royal family publicly, but his attempts are futile. Blair's compassion earns him overwhelming praise and adoration, while the royal family's seeming indifference earns them fiery condemnation from the people.
As Britain's outrage hits a critical mass, Blair cannot continue to finesse the Queen's refusal to acknowledge Diana and the public. He reveals to her that 70% of the country believes her actions are damaging to the monarchy, and "1 in 4" people are in favour of abolishing the monarchy altogether. Blair adamantly insists that the royal family fly theflag atBuckingham Palace at half-mast, that the Queen pay her respects to Diana and give a public address consoling the country.
Although she is demoralised by the country's reaction and the Prime Minister's suggestions, the Queen comes to realise that the world has changed during her reign. She andPrince Philip return to London despite their disagreement. The Queen finally pays public tribute on live television to Diana's significance to the nation and society and can somewhat quell Britain's agony. The royal family attends thepublic funeral for Diana atWestminster Abbey.
At Blair's next meeting with the Queen, they exchange views about what has happened since their last meeting, including the controversy surrounding Diana's death and the actions that followed. Then she cautions the prime minister that, just as public opinion has changed about how the royal family should react to a new Britain, so must he as he may very well find himself in the same position of changing public opinion.
Mirren says transforming herself into the Queen came almost naturally after the wig and glasses, since she shares her resting facial expression—a slightly downturned mouth—with the monarch.[11] She regularly reviewed film and video footage of Elizabeth and kept photographs in her trailer during production.[12] She also undertook extensive voice coaching, faithfully reproducing the Queen's delivery of her televised speech to the world. Morgan has said that her performance was so convincing that, by the end of production, crew members who had been accustomed to slouching or relaxing when they addressed her were standing straight up and respectfully folding their hands behind their backs.[11] Mirren arranged to spend time off-camera with the supporting cast playing other members of the Royal Family, includingJames Cromwell,Alex Jennings andSylvia Syms so they would be as comfortable with each other as a real family.[12]
To enhance the contrast of their different worlds, shots involving the Queen were taken in35mm film and those ofTony Blair in16mm film.[13]
ITV's role in the production of the film allowed them an option for its television premiere and it was broadcast on 2 September 2007 (coinciding that weekend with a memorial service to Diana) to an average audience of 7.9 million, winning its timeslot.[14][15] The DVD was released in the UK on 12 March 2007. Special features include a making-of featurette and anaudio commentary byStephen Frears, writerPeter Morgan andRobert Lacey, biographer of QueenElizabeth II. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the USA on 24 April 2007 and, as of 2013[update], US DVD sales had exceeded $29 million.[16]
Some aspects of the characters are known to be true to their real-life counterparts. According to Morgan, "cabbage" is an actual term of endearment Philip used for his wife (mon chou – "my cabbage" – is a standard affectionate nickname in French).[11]
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. TheNewcastle Unitedfootballjersey he wears to a family breakfast is a reference to his support of that team. The film also showsAlastair Campbell coining the term "The People's Princess", but in 2007 he revealed that it wasTony Blair who came up with it.[17]
A notable inaccuracy is thatRobin Janvrin is represented as the Queen'sprivate secretary during the aftermath of Diana's death. In fact, that position was then occupied by Janvrin's predecessor,Sir Robert Fellowes; Janvrin was thedeputy 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.[18] The change may have been made to avoid confusing the audience by depicting the complicated family relationships involved—[citation needed] Fellowes was, in fact, also Diana's brother-in-law (by his marriage to her sister,Lady Jane Fellowes) and is a first cousin ofSarah, Duchess of York.
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97%, based on 203 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Full of wit, humour and pathos, Stephen Frears' moving portrait looks at life of the British royals during the period after Princess Diana's death."[20] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 91 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[21]
Before the film was released, critics praised both Stephen Frears and Peter Morgan, who later receivedGolden Globe andAcademy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Michael Sheen's performance asTony Blair earned him particular acclaim.Helen Mirren's portrayal, which garnered her acclaim from critics around the world, made her a favourite for theAcademy Award for Best Actress well before the film was released in cinemas. After its showing at theVenice Film Festival, Mirren received a five-minute-long standing ovation.[22]Roger Ebert came out of recovery from surgery to give the film a review, in which he called it "spellbinding" and gave it four out of four stars.[23]
Amongst the few negative reviews,Slant Magazine's Nick Schager criticised the insider portraiture of the film as "somewhat less than revelatory, in part because Morgan's script succumbs to cutie-pie jokiness [...] and broad caricature", mentioning particularly "James Cromwell's Prince Philip, who envisions the crowned heads as exiled victims and the gathering crowds as encroaching 'Zulus'".[24]