Bertie and Elizabeth
Bertie & Elizabeth is a 2002 television film directed by Giles Foster and produced by Carlton Television. The film explores the relationship between King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth from their first meeting to the King's death in the winter of 1952. Bertie & Elizabeth was commissioned especially for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II and was first broadcast on ITV1 on 4 June 2002, only two months after the death of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. The role of Queen Mary was portrayed by Dame Eileen Atkins, a role she again played in season one of the part-fact, part-fictional royal TV drama The Crown in 2016.
| Bertie and Elizabeth | |
|---|---|
US DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Giles Foster |
| Written by | Nigel Williams |
| Starring | James Wilby Juliet Aubrey Alan Bates Eileen Atkins Charles Edwards David Ryall Denis Lill Amber Sealey |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
The film begins with the initial meeting between the then Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The television drama then moves on through their courtship, marriage, and succession to the throne after the abdication of Edward VIII. We also see the two royals dealing with the events of the Second World War, as Buckingham Palace is hit and partially destroyed by a Luftwaffe bomb.
The film portrays King George VI's struggle to overcome his stammer, the fear he felt towards his father and the punishing stress the King was placed under during the abdication crisis of 1936.
Cast
- James Wilby as Bertie, later King George VI
- Juliet Aubrey as Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth
- Alan Bates as King George V
- Eileen Atkins as Queen Mary
- Charles Edwards as David, later King Edward VIII, then Duke of Windsor
- Oliver Ford Davies as Archbishop Lang
- Michael Elwyn as Lionel Logue
- Amber Rose Sealey as Wallis Simpson
- Barbara Leigh-Hunt as Lady Mabell Airlie
- David Ryall as Winston Churchill
- Paul Brooke as Tommy Lascelles
- David Burke as Lord John Reith
- Robert Hardy as President Roosevelt
- Helen Ryan as Queen Wilhelmina
- Elisabeth Dermot Walsh as Princess Elizabeth known as "Lillibet", the future Queen Elizabeth II
- Corin Redgrave as General Montgomery
- Denis Lill as Clement Attlee
- Terence Harvey as Sir Clement Price Thomas
- Jeremy Child as Sir Samuel Hoare
See also
- The King's Speech, a film similarly addressing George VI's stammer.
- The Crown (TV series), Eileen Atkins reprised her role as Queen Mary in season 1, while Charles Edwards took a role of Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary Sir Martin Charteris in seasons 3 and 4.
References
- ^ Amazon UK: Bertie and Elizabeth DVD, running time Retrieved 2012-06-24
External links
- Bertie and Elizabeth at IMDb