Best Real Female Rulers Movies

In 1770, Marie Antoinette, an Austrian archduchess, weds a French royal. Pressured to bear an heir to the French throne, she is all at ease at the royal court and unready for a gory anti-royal revolt.

The film portrays the early childhood, teen and the following turbulent years of a young princess who came to be known as Queen Victoria. It also follows her enduring romance with Prince Albert.

Following her ascension to the throne, Elizabeth faces many challenges during her reign over England. Amidst the political, administrative and personal issues, she struggles to learn to be a monarch.

Centred on the the court of Henry VIII, this historical drama presents a calculating Anne, who usurps her older sister Mary as the king’s mistress and ultimately desires to be his new queen.

England’s Queen Elizabeth must face an impending attack by Spain, an assassination plot and betrayal in love during the latter half of her reign.

Queen Elizabeth II tries to deal with a series of events following the death of Princess Diana.

At the age of 17, Georgiana Spencer is married to the Duke of Devonshire. She soon realizes that her husband doesn’t love her and he only wants a son, so that the family continues with a male heir.

Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, pretends to be in love with two influential men to save the Egyptian empire from destruction.

Henry VIII, who is dissatisfied with his wife, is enraptured by a young Anne, who succumbs to Henry’s charm and power, and gets married to him. Troubles arise when she fails to produce a male heir.

England’s Henry II and his estranged queen battle over the choice of an heir.

Princess K’alulani is sent to England for further studies. Her life changes when she learns about the American colonization of Hawaii and is forced to maintain the independence of her nation.

An aged Margaret Thatcher gets nostalgic as she empties her late husband Denis’s wardrobe. Denis supported her as she journeyed from the parliament to becoming Britain’s first woman prime minister.

Mary, Queen of Scots (Vanessa Redgrave), teenage wife to the king of France, returns to Scotland after her husband’s death. Elizabeth Tudor (Glenda Jackson), believing her cousin Mary and her Roman Catholic beliefs to be a political threat, creates romantic dilemmas to distract her. Mary’s subsequent marriage to Lord Darnley (Timothy Dalton), her relationship with courtier David Riccio (Ian Holm), and a third marriage to Lord Bothwell (Nigel Davenport) lead to her abdication and exile.

King Henry VIII has died, and his only heir, a young Edward VI (Warren Saire), is dying too. Minister John Dudley (John Wood) doesn’t want the Roman Catholic Princess Mary (Jane Lapotaire) to become queen, as that would end the Protestant Reformation. Dudley plots to keep Edward alive long enough to name Lady Jane Grey (Helena Bonham Carter) as his heir and also marries Jane to his son, Guilford (Cary Elwes). Jane and Guilford soon fall in love, but the kingdom doesn’t believe they should rule.

After the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) withdraws from public life, so the court appoints a former servant of the prince, John Brown (Billy Connolly), to help her recover from her grief. Brown’s unorthodox ways and disdain for protocol draw the queen out of her shell, and the brash Scot becomes her sole confidant. However, their growing closeness causes a stir, as scandalous rumors begin circulating about the exact nature of their relationship.