like double dose of caramel with your popcorn

then this is the movie for you.

Hi, my name is Katie Nicholl,

Vanity Fair's Royal Correspondent

and today I'll be reviewing movie scenes

that depict the British Royal Family.

Well, like the rest of you, I'm here working from home,

having a little bit of extra time to catch up

on all those wonderful movies.

So sit back, relax, and we're going to take you

through some of the best

and perhaps of the less accurate

depictions of the British Royal Family.

Hands up, I am guilty of watching this movie.

I think I watched everything

when Meghan and Harry got engaged.

- Let's see.

Chicken's just about ready,

and...

Harry?

- Right here.

I didn't really do this the proper way the first time.

Will you marry me?

- It is very loosely based on fact.

Although saying that, the clip that we just watched

is accurate because we know from the couple themselves

that Harry proposed, got down on bended knee, Meghan said.

She was cooking a roast chicken at the time.

They were living together at Nottingham Cottage.

So actually that scene isn't completely fictitious.

That is what happened.

- [Prince Harry] Center diamond is from Botswana.

- That's so beautiful.

- And these two stones were my mother's,

from a brooch she always wore on her left lapel

over her heart.

- They've done their research

and they are being true to fact where they can be.

The ring, for example, that he proposes with.

Harry did source a diamond from Botswana.

The two other diamonds were from his mother's collections.

- She wouldn't just have approved of you.

She would have loved you.

- This, you've got to take it with a bucket load,

rather than a pinch of salt.

It's good fun.

It's so easy to watch.

I have to say, the casting is absolutely brilliant.

I mean, she looks so like Meghan.

So, yes, it's high on fiction,

relatively mediocre of fact, but listen.

If you want to grab a bucket of popcorn

and just sit back and watch something

for the sheer fun of it, this movie's for you.

- Prime Minister?

- Good morning, Majesty.

Sorry to disturb,

but I was just wondering whether you'd seen

any of today's papers.

- I managed to look at one or two, yes.

- This scene takes place after the death of Diana.

The Queen is in residence at Balmoral

with Duke of Edinburgh, the prince of Wales,

William, and Harry, who've just been told

that their mother has died,

and the Prime Minister at the time,

Tony Blair, calls her up and says that

public opinion is turning against her.

The people are wondering where she is

and why she isn't back in England.

- [Tony Blair] In which case my next question would be

whether you felt some kind of response might be necessary.

- Helen Mirren is so extraordinarily amazing

at emulating the Queen.

I mean, even the way she takes her spectacles off

and briskly polishes them on her cardigan.

- I believe a few over-ego editors are doing their best

to sell newspapers.

It would be a mistake to dance to their tune.

- [Tony Blair] Under normal circumstances I would agree,

but...

well, my advice is,

I've been taking the temperature

among people on the streets

and well, the information I'm getting is that the mood

is quite delicate.

- So what would you suggest, Prime Minister,

some kind of a statement?

- No, ma'am.

I believe the moment for statements has passed.

I would suggest flying the flag at half mast

above Buckingham Palace,

and...

coming down to London

at the earliest opportunity.

- That is exactly what happened.

The Queen really stuck to her guns.

She made a point of staying in Scotland,

and I remember researching this period for my book,

William and Harry, back in 2010,

and speaking to someone who knows the Queen very well

and asking them, "Why did she make that decision?",

and this person said to me,

it was really very simple.

It was probably one of the few times

that the Queen has put herself and her family

before the needs of her nation.

For a woman who has given her whole life to duty

and put herself after the public,

this was the one occasion where she didn't do that

and yes, she got some flak for it.

Yes, she got some critical headlines, but for her,

being with those two grandchildren

who just lost their mother was more important

than coming and addressing the crowds in London,

but the movie goes on to show

that she did come back to London.

- First, I want to pay tribute to Diana, myself.

She was an exceptional and gifted human being.

- She did make that infamous address from Buckingham Palace

and she did indeed go out and meet the crowds.

She is seen in this scene walking through a cleared mine

towards the press pack and she goes on to address them

and talk about the importance of the work that she is doing.

This is a very accurate depiction of what happened

in the late 90's, just before Diana's death.

This was one of the last big humanitarian campaigns

that she embarked on.

Really, quite poignant

and I think the movie captures very well

Diana, her spirit, her humanitarian campaign.

- All this land can be farmed again.

The children can play in the fields.

The clearance is a lengthy and hazardous process.

Humanity's only defense against landmines

is to stop manufacturing them.

Thank you.

- You look at the costume, it's amazing.

It's an absolute replica

and the actress has a really strong likeness to Diana

and you know, this is a moment that really did happen,

and in fact, a moment that should be well

and still be fresh in all of our memories because

last year Prince Harry was also in South Africa

and he went to visit the area

that his mother had walked through.

When he retraced his mother's steps through this field

that is now a thriving community with schools

and hospitals and communities living safely

so it's quite topical because we're seeing her son,

Prince Harry, literally carry on in the footsteps

and carrying on the work that she started.

- God, I hate to tell you this.

They've refused you the title of Royal Highness,

which is yours by right.

I'm sorry.

- Of course.

They're cutting us off, then.

Closing ranks completely.

- It's a double blow for Edward and Wallis,

because not only have they been told

that no member of the Royal Family is going to go

and attend their wedding.

The Royal Family has also made it clear

that Wallis will not get the title of Her Royal Highness.

So she would be the Duchess of Windsor,

but she would not be Her Royal Highness.

You see that disappointment captured very, very well.

Edward decided to essentially leave the Royal Family.

He abdicated.

He chose not to be king,

in order to marry the woman who he fell in love with,

who happened to be Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.

This film, I think, captures very well the sacrifice

that the King had to make for love,

and also what it meant for Wallis.

For me, this is a really good one to revisit

because the ghost of the abdication is something that

still lives large in the corridors of Buckingham Palace

and it's actually something that you heard people

talking about very much in recent months

since the successes have stepped down.

Of course, Harry hasn't abdicated.

He remains His Royal Highness, Prince Harry,

but he has chosen to essentially abdicate in all but name.

He and Meghan have exited the Royal Family.

It very much mirrors what Edward did at the time

which was to exit the Royal Family

for the woman who he loved.

[big band music]

- It was VE day and the world, the nation was celebrating

the end of the war, and Elizabeth and Margaret

were allowed out.

[big band music] [laughter]

- I think the costumes are fantastic,

and I think the closeness between the sisters,

between Margaret and Elizabeth,

who at that point were incredibly close,

being back in London to celebrate the end of the war,

I think that sense of excitement and celebration

is beautifully captured in the movie.

[big band music]

- The Queen, by the way, does love to dance.

I mean, you won't see her dancing at the Ritz

like you do in this movie,

but she will dance when she's at Balmoral,

she takes parts and stuff in Ghillies Balls,

where she loves to dance.

[big band music]

- Elizabeth and Margaret were allowed out.

That's true but that's kind of where the fact ends

and the fiction begins in the movie.

They certainly weren't allowed out of the Ritz

where this scene takes place,

on their own without chaperones, without staff, then.

They were far better protected.

The Queen never goes anywhere without her protection team.

That would be an absolute new case.

When she was princess in this,

Elizabeth before she was queen,

she's never dancing or you know, celebrating alone.

There are always protection officers

at a much closer distance than you think,

but they are often very well disguised.

They blend in.

Royal protection is always there to look after the Queen,

but you just might not always spot them.

I can spot them most of the time

because being on Royal engagements a lot of the time

you get to know these protection officers.

You get to chat to them.

They know you.

You know them by name,

and they're usually the ones telling you to get back

because you're standing too close.

I think the fascination is that these films bring to life

in a very real way, what the Royal Family does,

and some of the sort of, key moments, in Royal history,

If you look at the Queen,

they center on the most dramatic moments,

on the controversies, on the standoffs,

on the episodes, the real life episodes

that absolutely gripped, not just the nation, but the world.

So, throw in some brilliant casting and

focus on that dynamic, dramatic,

controversial moment

and you're going to get bums on seats.

That film's going to be a success.