Royal films: Actors who have transformed into members of the monarchy

Michael Sheen has opened up about his “intense” portrayal of Prince Andrew in A Very Royal Scandal. Released on Amazon Prime, the three-part series documents the lead up to Andrew’s infamous BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis.

Speaking to the BBC, Michael opened up about getting into character. "I've tried to stay as true to the version of Prince Andrew that I have been able to research and see,” he said. 

"Obviously there are huge restrictions on that because unless you can meet the person and spend time with them and get behind the public profile, it's very hard to know what they're really like and what's really making them tick."

Kristen Stewart shocked fans when she transformed into Princess Diana for Spencer. 

Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, the film is set over a crucial weekend in Princess Diana's life, six years before her tragic death in 1997 aged 36. Taking place at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, Spencer follows Diana on her final Christmas with the royal family before ending her marriage to Prince Charles.

Claire Foy portrayed the late Queen for the first two seasons of the critically acclaimed Netflix show The Crown, where she played Her Majesty as she ascended to the throne following the death of her father, King George VI. The series also looked at her struggles with her marriage to Prince Philip in the wake of her new role.

Speaking about the show, Claire told Town and Country magazine: "I would hate the idea of her watching it. When you're playing a real person, you never want to be ghoulish. I don't want to pick apart a person. I want to invent someone. So I would hate for her to watch it and think I overdramatised anything."

Olivia Colman took over the role of the Queen from Claire Foy in the third and fourth seasons of The Crown. Speaking about researching the role, she explained to Harper's Bazaar: "I can't just sit like me, I have to sit like her, and look like pictures of her.

"They have been teaching me how to walk - I'm really terrible at that. I thought that general 'posh' would do it [for the accet], but apparently not. Really unusual vowel sounds. If you're saying 'yes', you say 'ears'. It's fun to do, isn't it? Very hard to stop. Ears." 

The Doctor Who actress proved popular by playing Queen Victoria in the ITV show, Victoria. Speaking about getting into the role, she told Harper's Bazaar: "I think, like most people, it was of the black, stern photographs we see of her. I knew she was known for being a passionate young queen and spirited, but I didn't really know her character at all. I was really surprised and I think I keep on being surprised, actually, the more I learn about her."

King George VI was the monarch during WWII, having taken over the role from his brother who abdicated to marry Wallace Simpson. Not only was he beloved by the public, but he also overcame a severe stutter with the help of a speech therapist, and Colin's performance as the determined King won him an Oscar.

Emily Blunt played a young Queen Victoria in The Young Victoria, which chronicled her ascension to the throne and falling in love with her husband, Prince Albert. This wasn't the first time that the Devil Wears Prada star has played a royal, as she also played Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife, in the 2003 TV series, Henry VIII.  

Helena Bonham Carter plays King George VI's wife and the Queen's mother, Queen Elizabeth, in The King's Speech perfectly. As a concerned wife who supports her husband when he is thrust into the pressure of becoming a King after his brother abdicates, Queen Elizabeth is instrumental in finding him the help he needs with his famous stutter while supporting him all of the way.

Helena also portrayed Princess Margaret in seasons three and four of The Crown.

Helen Mirren played the late Queen at a time of crisis for the royal family following the death of the beloved Princess of Wales, Diana. With the popularity of the monarchy at an all-time low, Helen portrayed the Queen as she attempted to navigate rocky political waters while dealing with her family's grief.

Naomi Watts took on the people's princess in this biopic and opened up about why she wanted to initially make the film.

She said: "I didn't know anything about this love story. I was living in Australia and then America at the time and wasn't avidly following stories about Princess Diana so this was news to me.

"I was intrigued by the idea of taking on this massively, globally known woman, but terrified at the same time because people's level of interest is going to be much higher than usual. I feel like I am always looking to take risks and move out of my comfort zone, so this was… that!"

The former Doctor Who star took on Prince Philip, and nailed his unique sense of humour.

Speaking about playing the Prince, Matt told Esquire: "He gave up everything, literally everything, that made him a man. He had such a wonderful naval career, and for that to be taken away from him, and then to have to walk two steps behind his wife in public for the whole of his life- but he has a lion's pride about him, so there were a lot of very interesting conflicts to play."

Princess Margaret's struggle with being a modern woman and part of a monarchy steeped in tradition is portrayed perfectly by Vanessa Kirby in seasons one and two of The Crown.

Her role chronicles her doomed relationship with the divorced Group Captain Peter Townsend before eventually wedding the unconventional photographer, Antony Armstrong-Jones. Vanessa's performance was praised by audiences, many of whom could relate to the young, bored Princess.

Dame Judi has played Queen Victoria twice; once in a film that looked at her relationship with John Brown, and most recently in Victoria and Abdul, which looked at her close friendship with her Indian 'Munshi', Abdul.

Speaking to the New York Post about playing the role for a second time, Dame Judi said: "I hadn't known about this part of her life. John Brown had died. She was lonely and the general business of being in her 80s was very, very hard for her."