As a history teacher, I found "The Queen" to be very interesting but also a bit frustrating. You get a behind the scenes look at a very trying period for the royal family and you get to see them with their guard down. However, just how true is this? Who are the sources? How closely to the actual story is it and where does it diverge? I just don't know and I suspect very few do.

"The Queen" is about a very brief period of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Specifically it covers the death of Diana Spencer and the subsequent unprecedented reaction from the public. The film specifically focuses on the Queen and Tony Blair but you also get some insights into Prince Charles (mostly very positive) and Prince Philip (mostly horrendous).

I appreciated the acting of Helen Mirren and I wasn't at all surprised to see that she received the Oscar for her performance. She was excellent--though the film was full of excellent all around. Wonderful acting and production values make this a must-see for film buffs. I also appreciated seeing these folks humanized--such as the Queen driving herself and using the word 'bugger'!

This was an amazing film, so beautifully done, and gets my vote as the best film of 2006. Where can you go with an exquisitely crafted script, impeccable acting and beautiful cinematography. What makes the Queen a masterpiece in my eyes is that it ticks all the right boxes. And you can never go wrong with a fine actress like Helen Mirren, and she gives one of her finest performances here. You could have sworn she was Queen Elizabeth. The supporting actors were just as impressive, whilst Alex Jennings and Martin Sheen don't quite look like Prince Charles and Tony Blair, but they both give very subtle performances. Sylvia Syms is fine as the Queen Mother, and Roger Allam gives a beautifully understated performance as the Private Secretary. The script is beautifully written, with really memorable quotes. The cinematography was gorgeous, and the music scores was one of the most stunning music scores I have ever heard. There are a number of moving scenes, especially the film showing Princess Diana's funeral procession, where I admit I cried. All in all, a superb film! 10/10 Bethany Cox

I remember I was visiting relatives when I heard about the death of Princess Diana back in 1997. She was an international celebrity and something the royal family had never had to deal with. Cast off wives were either locked up like George I's queen and we know what happened to Henry VIII's wives.

But Diana was different , her charity work as well as her international jetsetting kept her in the news. So when she died people truly mourned.

And they wanted the Royals to mourn in the United Kingdom and show it. But there was silence from the monarchy.

Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth II and she considered this a private ceremony. But the country loved Princess Diana, ex-member of the family or not. James Cromwell is Prince Philip, Alex Jennings is Prince Charles, and Michael Sheen is Tony Blair, new in the job of Prime Minister and facing a constitutional crisis.

The Queen got a few Oscar nominations and Helen Mirren won a Best Actress Oscar. In this film you really do feel like you are peeking in on the British Royal Family. When the monarchy is in danger they always do find a way of saving it. It's an institution that depends on public relations and when public opinion isn't good they have to work to make it good. As was done her.

They don't have the options Henry VIII did back in his day.