When news of the death of Princess Diana, undoubtedly the most famous woman in the world, breaks upon a shocked and disbelieving British public, HRH Queen Elizabeth II retreats behind the walls of Balmoral Castle with her family, unable to comprehend the public response to the tragedy.

For Tony Blair, the popular and newly elected Prime Minister, the people's need for reassurance and support from their leaders is palpable. As the unprecedented outpouring of emotion grows ever stronger, Blair must find a way to reconnect the beloved Queen with the British public.

THE QUEEN draws on scores of interviews with insiders and expert observers for its intimate, revealing and sometimes humorous portrait of a family in crisis and of a new Prime Minister operating at the height of his powers at a time of extraordinary private grief and public sorrow.

Stephen Frears

Peter Morgan

Helen Mirren
Michael Sheen
James Cromwell