QUEEN, THE (Helen MIrren) (DVD)

The 1997 United Kingdom general election has Tony Blair and the Labour Party elected on a manifesto of reform and modernisation. Less than four months later, Diana, Princess of Wales is killed in a car crash at the Alma Bridge tunnel in Paris. Immediately, her death presents problems for her former husband, Prince Charles, and the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, what to accord the mother of a future king who is no longer a member of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth 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. Dianas family, the Spencers, calls for the funeral to be private. Following a speech in which Blair describes Diana as the Peoples 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 at Buckingham and Kensington Palaces that the main entrances onto the complexes have to be rerouted. The royal familys senior members make no effort to acknowledge Dianas 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 at Balmoral. The royal familys popularity plummets, while Blairs approval rises as he responds to the public outcry of the royal familys inaction. Starring, Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Helen McCrory, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam, Sylvia Syms, Spoken languages: English, Subtitles: Danish,Swedish,Norwegian,Finnish.