As TV movies about notables go, this wasn't bad. I had read all of this information about Prince William in a Vanity Fair article about him when he turned 21 and this film basically covered exactly the details in that article. I thought it was interesting to see it played out and I liked the actor playing Wills. The actor playing Harry was pretty good too. The royal family might not be in touch with the current times, but it was interesting to see how someone in Prince William's situation has to deal with all the press and other stresses that the average teenager never has to deal with. Of course, after the Prince is old enough to have made some sort of a real contribution to the world, a much more interesting movie about him could be made. For now, we could have supposed everything this film has to offer and I know we could have read it in Vanity Fair. Also recently saw a TV movie about Grace Kelly, and that was REALLY bad. This Prince William film was at least tasteful and rather respectful.
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michaeldj5 July 2006
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I caught this film on Sky Movies the other week and thought it was horrible.
As an Englishman and an unashamed monarchist I find the American attitude to royalty absurd unless of course they regret becoming a republic and not keeping the monarchy on independence like Canada, Australia etc later did.
Despite a British cast the dialogue was in mainly American English (we have holidays here not vacations).
I don't believe that the first time William and Cammila met was in Charles' bedroom at St James Palace and this was pure speculation on the film makers part.
As for presenting the Queen as a very cold, unsmiling person this is wrong the Queen is said to be in private a very happy, jolly woman with a mischievous sense of humour as evidenced in the BBC films made for her 40th and 50th anniversaries of being on the throne.
Although the royal family do live pampered lives with many servants etc they are not as out of touch with modern society as most ill-informed people (esp Hollywood producers) think. You only have to look as far as the work Prince Charles does with his Princes Trust charity helping young disadvantaged people. -
funnygames4 September 2003After having woken up from a coma lasting 10 years, my first priority was of course to find out how the royal family had been getting on. In the absence of any tabloids at my hospital bedside i watched prince william on the hospital tv screen. Actors really shouldn't be allowed to imitate the royals. This film is based purely on speculation and must have been awfully embarrassing for the princes to watch (which i sincerely doubt they did). They come out looking like lunatics who have no grasp of anything 20th century when in fact they both RULE (quite literally at some point in the future). ANyway, this film is so tedious i'm slipped back into coma again.
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ptary914-110 August 2005My name is Elisabeth, and I'm a Prince Harry fanatic. I'm currently suffering from a condition that makes me obsessed with the spoiled party prince who would never give me the time of day. Moving on, 3 years ago my obsession was at it's height, and I was so excited to see that there would be a T.V. movie about Prince William on ABC. Oh how wonderful, I thought. Because everyone knows, where Prince William is, Prince Harry's not far behind. I watched the movie and was horrified the way harry was portrayed. I was so shocked by it, I blocked it out. But last weekend at a slumber party, a friend of mine suggested we watch this movie again. I was once again reminded of Eddie Cooper's worst,and to my knowledge, only role. So now as I crouch in Cooper's garden, adjusting my silencer, I warn you this movie is abso-bloody-lutely awful. I gave it a 3 because I thought the parts when William does stupid stuff and gets hurt were funny.
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katkomp26 August 2007The beginning is very sad. I cried a lot. Diana was such a lovely woman. She was a great humanitarian and I hope that her sons follow in her footsteps. I still think that Diana's death wasn't a accident. I think the thing that surprised me the most was that they selected actors that were better looking that the characters they portrayed, most especially Prince Charles and Camilla. The Queen too, she seemed nicer than the Queen that I've seen before. Prince Harry looks like he is playing himself, but the actor they chose for William could have been better looking. All must remember that this movie is not based on fact, but suppositions. It's too weird to be real.
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alias-2612 November 2005What is this about American English? I'm British and have actually seen the movie a few times (but more about that in a sec) - but there are no American accents in the film. If I understand the other messages people seem to be suggesting that there are Americans trying British accents? As a Brit I would argue with that - I can't spot any out of place or struggling accents. The only thing I would argue is that Will's accent is a lot stronger than that when you hear him speak.
With regards to the actual film, I think it has good intentions but falls short. I first caught it on TV when I was just flicking through the channels for something to watch. I have to admit, the first thing that caught my attention was the impersonations- you have to just laugh when you see the Queen/Duke of Edinburgh/Queen Mum.
No-one in this film is brilliant, but I think most of that could be put down to the awful script. (Abso-bloody-lutely - Ron Weasley anyone?) The direction is pretty shoddy, and it is a serious plot told in an almost jokey style.
And there is no resolution to the story either - is this supposed to be a film about the struggle between Wills and Charles - if so there seems to be no attempt to show them make bonds - they just suddenly do! I say - remake it - but carry the film on - go beyond 2005 - go forward 20 years (probably 40 more likely with the Windsor's lifespans) - show the coronation! Create some bizarre twist in which we see the passing of the two other monarchs and Wills becomes King of the Galaxy! -
melchhart8 April 2005This film is not so much an entertainment but rather a statement. I find it depicts the struggle growing up as a royal more believable than that of the paparazzi. It's another plus for BBC drama.
I feel that that is all what's needed in pointing out that that film is worth watching therefore I can't see any reason to waffle on. I thought filling up posts with unnecessary conjecture is not what a post should be and therefore I can't see my self posting again. Let others do the filling who have more to say than I.
O, I forgot to mention that William did a great job and Charles was very good as well and so did the Quin, the paparazzi and the BBC.
The other thing is that inviting posts who have a point would create a larger variety. -
I think most people who have seen this movie stumble upon it. They don't really mean to watch it and take it seriously. Admittedly, I chose to watch this film to see if the actor they chose to play the Prince could match his handsome attributes. I was sorely disappointed with not only the chosen actor for William but for many of the other characters - Charles and Harry each carried a distinct traditional attractiveness that I don't think the real ones carry. (Don't get me wrong, I think Harry is attractive, he just looks like too much of a frat boy) However, as the movie progressed, I realized that the cast was FANTASTIC. Each character portrayed their emotions superbly and had me riveted the entire time. It seriously shone a different light upon the Royals than I thought they would be. I was barely a preteen when Princess Di died, but I remember to almost a fantastic extent this picture of the Royal family - Charles stalwart and staring off to the distance and the young princes looking most forlorn with their heads bowed. Apparently I wasn't the only one whom this picture made a grand impression on because they made this a powerful scene in the movie. Basically, you should watch it.
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jenmm_2014 December 2002I think this movie was really good because it showed the viewers how Prince William lives and how much the press got into his way. Now maybe the Press will lay off of him (i doubt it though). I think it showed how the Royal Family lives and delt with everything and how William and Harry don't always get along and then how then bonded together. I would give this movie 10\10 stars because the actors played their parts very will and it was played out very well.
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sddavis6318 February 2008Those poor kids. It might seem a bit strange, but that's the thought that kept coming into my mind as I watched this. To me, William and Harry are objects of pity - and for that matter so are Charles and Elizabeth and the rest of them. Who would want that life? A life which is all about doing one's duty without emotion, keeping a stiff upper lip, having your life picked apart by tabloids and your decisions made (or at least heavily influenced by) politicians and civil servants, etc. etc. without any real outlet for just letting go and being oneself. I actually think constitutional monarchy is a great system of government; I'm just glad I'm not the constitutional monarch, or even part of the family!
The movie opens with Princes William and Harry being told of the death of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. The most powerful scene in the movie actually occurs very early on in a confrontation between William and Queen Elizabeth (Rosemary Leach) over Diana's funeral. William wants a royal funeral. Elizabeth says no - she wasn't a member of the Royal Family anymore, she was an outsider. To which William replies - "she wasn't an outsider. She was my mother!" We then follow the princes (mostly William as the title implies) over the next few years as they come to terms with her death and with their growing resentment of the paparazzi, whom they blame for her death, and their anger over the control various figures (from the Queen down through civil servants) exert over their lives. The particular focus of the movie is William's time at Eton College, and the various misadventures he gets into, being somewhat removed from the watchful eye of his family. Jordan Frieda was quite believable as William, I thought Eddie Cooper less believable as Harry. I found Martin Turner's portrayal of Prince Charles intriguing, as well as quite sympathetic to the Prince of Wales.
Is any of this to be taken seriously? I have no idea. However, I must say that whether any of it's true or not, it was a very entertaining couple of hours, and - even if not true - presented a believable enough portrayal of what it must be like to live constantly in the spotlight as a member of the Royal Family. Personally, I quite enjoyed it. 9/10 -
cejvr12 June 2021I stumbled on this movie on YouTube, and the title catches my eye. At first I thought it's gonna be cheesy but after the first half an hour it became better. It might not be an exact portrayal of events but it gives one an idea of what those two boys went through. Some times I laughed and sometimes I cried. I think it must be very difficult for them to get people they can trust. One scene that actually broke my heart is when William found out that his friend betrayed him by selling photos to the press. But the one that was his enemy but became his friend was actually nice. I also like that when that pack of photographers came to the school that the school's rugby players formed literally a wall to shield William and Harry from the press.
All in all it was an eye opener, and you realize that the royal family lives in a gilded cage. Not a life I would wish for my self.
And today those two boys are grown men with their own families (those four kids are adorable, hope to see a photo of Lilibet Diana soon). Has anyone realized that both Prince William and Prince Harry's daughters are Elizabeth Diana? There is a Charlotte in front of the Elizabeth and Harry used Lilibet in stead of Elizabeth but it's the same nonetheless. There might be a rift between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royal family, but I hope it will be dissolve one day.