A MAJOR FILM will depict the Queen Mother's role at the centre of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century. The £2 million drama written by Nigel Williams charts her life from 1920, when she first met her husband George VI, to his death in 1952.
It sets their married life together against the backdrop of national and world events, including the abdication of George's elder brother and the Second World War.
It includes reconstructions of well-known episodes from the Queen Mother's life, including her visit to the East End of London after German bombs fell on Buckingham Palace and the King's VE Day broadcast.
But the film, titled "Bertie & Elizabeth," will also follow the more private nature of the love affair between the young Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and the younger son of George V and Queen Mary.
However, Carlton say that nothing in the film is likely to upset the Royal Family. Veteran star Alan Bates plays George V alongside Juliet Aubrey and James Wilby as the Queen Mother and her husband.
Youngest member of the cast is seven-week-old Marcella Newnham, from Bath, who plays the infant Princess Elizabeth at her christening in 1926.
The film, made by Carlton Television, will have to be treated with delicacy by ITV amid constant worries about the Queen Mother's health. "We deliver to ITV early next year and they are keeping a close eye on the Queen Mother's health," said Carlton's Peter Mares. "It's too early to speculate about when it will be scheduled. But they will look closely at when it would be appropriate if she does pass away.
"But it isn't controversial, it's about two people who fell in love, married and had little thought they would have to become king and queen until George's brother abdicated."
The film is being shot in and around Bath with Longleat, the palatial home of the Marquis of Bath, standing in for Buckingham Palace interior shots and Sandringham and Balmoral in some exterior scenes. Bath Abbey is being used as Westminster Abbey and some of the city's streets have been reworked to represent the bomb-damaged East End.
"The film is a mixture of fact and fiction," said Mares. "Obviously we don't know what was said between them but there is a lot of material from autobiographies of people like Churchill and Montgomery which Nigel Williams has been able to use."

Pre-production commenced in October for Carlton's BERTIE AND ELIZABETH, a drama about the Queen Mother that encompasses 100 years of British history.

Giles Foster is directing and Jo Willett producing the script by Nigel Williams. It will star James Wilby, Eileen Atkins, Juliet Aubrey and Alan Bates.

The Queen Mother is one of Britain's most enduring icons, and TV bosses are aware of this, having given the green light to a story of her life. ITV has commissioned a £5 million drama about the royal matriarch's life, to be screened next year.
Merchant-Ivory actor James Wilby and BAFTA-winner Juliet Aubrey will star as Bertie and Elizabeth, the working title of the project, which focuses on the courtship of the then Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and King George and Queen Mary's second son, George VI, who only acceded the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII.
A spokesman for the TV company said that the programme would attempt to be as historically accurate as possible, and is meant to be a "celebration" of the Queen Mother's life. Bertie and Elizabeth is based on the book The Political Role of George VI, which is largely seen as a hagiography.

One of the greatest love stories of the century is depicted with historical accuracy, period detail and emotional sweep. It's the tale of the love affair between Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and the Duke of York.
He was a shy, stuttering young man second in line to the throne; she was a beautiful fun-loving young woman from an aristocratic Scottish family. Although she initially refused his marriage proposal, once Elizabeth accepted, the relationship that developed between the Duke and Duchess of York was tender and loving.
Then fate dealt them a terrible blow. The abdication of Bertie's elder brother, Edward, changed their world forever and the destiny of their oldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth. As George VI and Queen Elizabeth, they inspired a nation and the Commonwealth as World War II approached, striving to maintain a cherished family life while performing rigorous public duties.
Bertie and Elizabeth is about the private moments of a very public marriage - a marriage that had a great impact on a nation. A superb British cast brings this memorable story to the television screen.. |||