Dame Judi will be dusting off her crown and formidable stares to do what she does best – another royal role.
This time she is reprising her Queen Victoria performance which the Oscar-winning star first undertook 20 years ago in 1997’s Mrs Brown.
It is impossible not to crack a little when Dame Judi cries: “I am so lonely. What is the point?”
It’s not out until September, but the highly-anticipated first trailer will make you smile even as it plucks at your heartstrings.
The film also stars Eddie Izzard as the future King Edward VII, impatiently waiting for his moment on the throne.
The new biographical drama from Working Title and legendary British director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) delves into a charmingly uplifting but little-known friendship that developed between the monarch in the later years of her reign with Abdul Karim.
Sadly, it is a bond that her household and inner circle soon attempt to put an end to.
Karim is mistrusted. One courtier tells him: “You’ve upset the order of everything!”
Victoria, though, need someone to talk to as she confides: “No one really knows what it’s like to be Queen. What is the point, Abdul?”
He replies with great dignity: “Service, your majesty.”
In a moving moment Victoria defends her new friend.
She says: “I am Queen of England. I am Empress of India. But most importantly, I am a servant to a billion citizens. Abdul has risen on his own merits. He too is a servant. Now, he is my friend.”
Victoria and Abdul will be released in UK cinemas on September 15.
Daily Express :: Entertainment Feed
