The Crown, with 24 Primetime Emmys, opens this list of ten shows and movies about the British royal family. The King’s Speech won four Oscars, the most of any film here, and Wolf Hall is the pick for the Tudors.
Updated October 11, 2026.
I have watched royal dramas for years, and they split into two kinds: the ones that stay close to the record and the ones that invent the private conversations. Every title here does some of both, because nobody outside the room knows what was said. Treat the drama as a way in and the facts below as the record. And yes, The Crown shows up twice, because seasons one and three have a whole new cast and a different decade.
The Crown, season one: the royal family under a young queen
Peter Morgan created The Crown for Netflix, and season one arrived on November 4, 2016. Claire Foy plays Elizabeth II in seasons one and two. The series ran six seasons and 60 episodes, ending on December 14, 2023, and it won 24 Primetime Emmys in total. Season one is the place to start because it shows a woman handed the throne before she was ready.
Victoria (2016): a young queen on the throne
Daisy Goodwin created Victoria and wrote most of it. ITV aired it from August 28, 2016, and PBS carried it in the US as part of Masterpiece from January 15, 2017. Jenna Coleman plays the queen and Tom Hughes plays Prince Albert. Three series and 25 episodes followed, ending on May 12, 2019. The courtship is the hook, but the later series are better at showing a marriage as a working partnership.
The King’s Speech (2010): a king who has to talk
The film follows George VI, a reluctant king with a stammer, as war approaches. It received 12 Oscar nominations and won four: Best Picture, Best Director for Tom Hooper, Best Actor for Colin Firth and Best Original Screenplay for David Seidler, according to the Academy. It works because the stakes are small and human: one man, one microphone, one speech.
The Royal House of Windsor (2017): a documentary on the royal family
This six-episode documentary first aired on Channel 4 on February 22, 2017. Rotten Tomatoes describes it as a look at the last 100 years of the Windsors and how they survived four generations of crisis. It is the one entry here with no actors, which makes it a useful reality check after the dramas.
Elizabeth (1998): the first Elizabeth takes the crown
Shekhar Kapur directed this account of Elizabeth I’s early reign, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 8, 1998 and opened in the UK on October 23. It earned seven Oscar nominations and won Best Makeup. Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress and won that award at both the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. The film took $82 million worldwide on a $30 million budget.
The Queen (2006): the royal family after Diana’s death
Stephen Frears directed and Peter Morgan wrote this drama about Elizabeth II in the days after Princess Diana’s death in 1997. It earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay, and Helen Mirren won Best Actress. Morgan later created The Crown, and you can see the idea forming here: a monarch judged as much by her silence as by her words.
Wolf Hall (2015): the Tudor court seen from below
BBC Two aired the six episodes from January 21, 2015. Peter Straughan wrote them and Peter Kosminsky directed, adapting Hilary Mantel’s novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Mark Rylance plays Thomas Cromwell, Damian Lewis plays Henry VIII and Claire Foy plays Anne Boleyn. It won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series, a Best Actor BAFTA for Rylance, a Golden Globe and a 2015 Peabody Award. A second series, based on The Mirror and the Light, premiered on November 10, 2024.
The Crown, season three: a new cast of the royal family
Season three moves into the 1960s and 70s with Olivia Colman as Elizabeth II, who also plays the role in season four. Season four went on to win the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Watch season three if you want the royal family as a workplace, with the Queen as the tired boss.
The Young Victoria (2009): the film version of the courtship
Jean-Marc Vallée directed from a script by Julian Fellowes, with Emily Blunt as Victoria and Rupert Friend as Albert. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 5, 2009 and reached UK theaters on March 6. It won the Oscar for Costume Design plus BAFTAs for costume and for makeup and hair. The film grossed $31.9 million worldwide.
The Lost Prince (2003): the royal family’s hidden son
Stephen Poliakoff wrote and directed this BBC miniseries about Prince John, the youngest son of George V and Queen Mary. As a boy he developed epileptic fits, and the family moved him to a remote farmhouse on the Sandringham estate. Gina McKee plays his nurse Lalla, with Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon and Tom Hollander in the royal roles. It won three Primetime Emmys, including Outstanding Miniseries, and won the BAFTA for production design.
British royal family shows and movies: questions answered
Who plays Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown?
Three actresses play her. Claire Foy takes seasons one and two, Olivia Colman seasons three and four, and Imelda Staunton seasons five and six. The series has 60 episodes across six seasons, and the finale streamed on December 14, 2023.
Which royal family shows and movies cover the Tudors?
Two on this list. Wolf Hall (2015) follows Thomas Cromwell at the court of Henry VIII, with Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth (1998) covers the early reign of Elizabeth I and earned seven Oscar nominations, including one for Cate Blanchett.
Which film won the most Oscars?
The King’s Speech won four of its 12 nominations: Best Picture, Best Director for Tom Hooper, Best Actor for Colin Firth and Best Original Screenplay for David Seidler. The Queen won one of six, Best Actress for Helen Mirren.