Trailer
Plot summary
Victoria, the heiress presumptive to the throne during the reign of her uncle King William IV, grows up under the Kensington system, kept from other children and hardly ever alone. The Duchess of Kent and her comptroller Sir John Conroy press Victoria to sign papers that would install a regency if she came to the throne before turning twenty-five, while her maternal uncle, King Leopold of Belgium, coaches his nephew Prince Albert in her likes and dislikes, hoping to join Britain and Belgium through a marriage. When Albert and his brother Ernest visit, the two find they enjoy each other's company, though the visit was their uncle's idea. Letters pass between them after he returns home, and King William sends Lord Melbourne to advise her, and she makes him her private secretary.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Young Victoria (2009)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Prince Albert was never shot during an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria; Fellowes told BBC Radio 4's Film Programme that in actuality the prince put his body before the queen as protection, and that the bullet graze was added to best show his bravery and devotion.
- Princess Beatrice of York made her film debut in a small cameo role, becoming the first member of the Royal Family to appear in a non-documentary film.
- Fellowes strove to make the script free of anachronisms, to the point where he became upset when actor Jim Broadbent ad-libbed and told the Duke of Wellington to 'Enjoy the meal' during a dinner scene, a phrase not proper for the time period.
- Paul Bettany was cast as Lord Melbourne despite being roughly twenty years too young for the part, because, as Vallée explained, they could not find a 58-year-old actor who was sexy and good-looking enough.
- Ham House was substituted for Kensington Palace, while Blenheim Palace, Lancaster House and Ditchley Park doubled for internal scenes of the monarch's main residence, Buckingham Palace.
