Queen Elizabeth II was the United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch, 1952-2022. Her lifetime also happened to coincide with the rise of television and big changes in the motion pictures business. Both mediums offered many depictions of her and her family — sometimes sympathetically but often, not. In honor of what would be her 100th birthday on April 21, we have rounded up some of the most memorable depictions that show both the best and worst of what history taught us to expect from her. 

“Tricia’s Wedding”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgWJFdeZD4o 

The California-based avant-garde hippie theater group The Cockettes released this X-rated short film in 1971 as a spoof on presidential daughter Tricia Nixon’s wedding to Edward Cox. An important part of queer film history, it also featured one of the first on-screen parodies of noted Nixon wedding guest Queen Elizabeth II (she’s portrayed by drag performer Steven Walden).

The arts didn’t take the queen seriously in its depictions until Alan Bennett’s 1988 play “A Question of Attribution.” Bennett stated it was the first fictional British treatment of her; his play was about former Soviet agent Sir Anthony Blunt who worked as her personal art advisor. Prunella Scales, who played Her Highness in that production, would also portray her in the 2003 spy comedy “Johnny English.”

“The Carol Burnett Show” 

https://youtu.be/xnSBAeV0Ps8?si=fvs179j-MB8OeJT0 

Carol Burnett portrayed QEII in a series of sketches that imagined what it’d be like if Her Highness hosted a weekly variety show.

“​​The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbDfFC_YoFQ

Actress Jeannette Charles, who died in 2024, made a living out of spoofing Queen Elizabeth II (they shared an uncanny resemblance). Charles’ career as the monarch dates back to the 1970s and includes appearances in “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and “National Lampoon’s European Vacation,” but her arguably most memorable scenes involved getting personal with Leslie Nielsen’s police lieutenant Frank Drebin in director David Zucker’s 1988 slapstick comedy.

“The Queen”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqL42sjb96I

Helen Mirren’s more sympathetic portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in director Stephen Frears and writer Peter Morgan’s 2006 biopic was an awards sensation that earned two Golden Globes and two more nominations.

“Margaret”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa2nYSSa_U0

Rosemary Leach portrays Queen Elizabeth II in this 2009 TV movie about the waning days of Margaret Thatcher’s administration. (Lindsay Duncan plays the prime minister.)

“The King’s Speech”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSw6ei5tdbg 

Reports said Queen Elizabeth II declared this award-winning film about her father, King George VI — and in which she is portrayed as a child by Freya Wilson — as “moving and enjoyable.”

“Saturday Night Live”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viMdSjxSCqU  

“SNL” parodied the monarch several times, including this 2011 sketch where Fred Armisen portrays her as a crass, Cockney rock-n-roller who jams out with Elton John.

“Minions”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cawwdkxVBEc

The minions may have failed at kidnapping QEII in this 2015 animated film, but no biggie. Because minion Bob (voiced by Pierre Coffin) seemed destined to become the true ruler of England. (“Absolutely Fabulous” actress Jennifer Saunders voices Her Highness here).

“7 Days in Hell”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knmCEED_Ijk

June Squibb cameos as a monarch who’s ready for a good fight at a tennis match in writer Murray Miller and director Jake Szymanski’s 2015 sports mockumentary.

“A Royal Night Out”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn4pSV0uCfg 

How do you celebrate the Nazi surrender? Allegedly, if you’re a princess, you do it in style and with your sister. This 2015 film stars Sarah Gadon and Bel Powley as the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret living V.E. Day to its fullest.

“Spencer”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORvPh_gdD_M

Modern media frequently casts Queen Elizabeth II as a cold and controlling counter to her former daughter-in-law, Diana. In director Pablo Larraín and writer Steven Knight’s 2021 film set during the royal family’s 1991 Christmas Eve celebration, she’s portrayed with precision by Scottish actress Stella Gonet.

“The Crown”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWtnJjn6ng0

Creator Peter Morgan’s Netflix miniseries, which many assume to be the definitive biography of Queen Elizbeth II’s life and reign, showcased the monarch at various points in her life. Claire Foy portrayed her in the first and second seasons while Olivia Colman took the third and fourth and Imelda Staunton finished up with the fifth and sixth.

“Pennyworth”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZWUDBDYGow 

This flashy drama, which centers on Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred Pennyworth during his youth in London’s Swinging Sixties, casts Jessica Ellerby as a queen who means business.