The Queen on screen: A fascinating glimpse into the life of late monarch

Her discretion and the propensity to swim beneath the surface made her a favourite icon in Western cinema

Elizabeth II, the world’s longest-serving monarch, was also a character — or several. As a Bond Girl, she jumped out of a helicopter with James Bond and landed at the London Olympics stadium. As an animated character, she TKO-d Stuart the Minion. To Paddington Bear, she revealed that she carried a marmalade sandwich in her handbag for emergencies.

Helen Mirren, whose portrayal of the former monarch in The Queen (2006) is one of the most acclaimed, once described her as a submarine. “The Queen’s feelings, her history, and her emotions — everything she was as a human being — remained underwater.