A Royal Night Out

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A Royal Night Out
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJulian Jarrold
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChristophe Beaucarne
Edited byLuke Dunkley
Music byPaul Englishby
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate
Release dates
  • 8 May 2015 (2015-05-08) (United Kingdom)
  • 4 December 2015 (2015-12-04) (United States)
Running time
97 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.3 million[2]

A Royal Night Out is a 2015 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Trevor de Silva and Kevin Hood. The film stars Sarah Gadon as the teenaged Princess Elizabeth, who, with younger sister Princess Margaret (Bel Powley), ventures out of Buckingham Palace to enjoy the VE Day celebrations.

Plot[edit]

On VE Day – 8 May 1945 – as London celebrates the end of World War II in Europe and peace being declared across the continent, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are allowed to join the celebrations, against the Queen's wishes. The King, impressed by Elizabeth's pleading, asks her to report back on the people's feelings towards him and his midnight speech on the radio.

Each girl, incognito, is chaperoned by an army officer with an itinerary to be back at Buckingham Palace by 1 a.m. Soon realising the Queen's planned itinerary does not fulfill their expectations of fun and meeting the ordinary people, Margaret is the first to slip away from her escort, followed by Elizabeth.

The princesses are separated on two different buses. Margaret is befriended by a naval officer seeking to take advantage of what he believes is just an ordinary girl, and Elizabeth by an airman named Jack who is absent without leave.

Margaret is led by her naval officer into a world of Soho nightclubs, gambling, spiked drinks and brothels. Elizabeth and her airman have their own adventures trying to catch up with Margaret, which take them far beyond the 1 a.m. deadline into the early hours of the following morning.

Cast[edit]

The character of Pryce is credited as a Lieutenant, but is shown as, and referred to as, Captain Pryce throughout the film.

Relation to actual events[edit]

The two officer escorts and the airman in the screenplay were fictional creations. In reality, the princesses in an organised group of 16 went out at 10 p.m. to mingle with revellers, and returned to Buckingham Palace at 1 a.m.[3]

Release[edit]

A Royal Night Out was released in the United Kingdom on 8 May 2015 and on DVD on 7 September 2015.[1] The film was released in the United States on 4 December 2015 and released on DVD on 3 May 2016.

Critical reception[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 76 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Undeniably slight yet thoroughly charming, A Royal Night Out uses a fascinating historical footnote as a springboard into a fun dramedy diversion."[4] Metacritic reports a 58 out of 100 rating, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "A ROYAL NIGHT OUT (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  2. ^ "A Royal Night Out (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  3. ^ von Tunzelmann, Alex (20 May 2015). "A Royal Night Out: as fluffy and sugary as a Victoria sponge". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  4. ^ "A Royal Night Out (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  5. ^ "A Royal Night Out Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 4 January 2021.

External links[edit]

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