Directed by:
Giles FosterComposer:
Ilona SekaczCast:
James Wilby, Alan Bates, Eileen Atkins, Dolly Wells, Juliet Aubrey, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Rupert Wickham, Charles Edwards, Alexandra Staden, Nicholas Pritchard (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
James Wilby and Juliet Aubrey portray the reluctant royals who became king and queen of England when Edward VIII gave up the throne for the woman he loved, on Bertie & Elizabeth. Albert, Duke of York, called Bertie, married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 after a storybook courtship. Expecting a life of genteel obscurity, they were thrust into the limelight in 1936 when Bertie's older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated to marry the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. Shy, modest, and a habitual stutterer, Bertie was crowned King George VI just as his country faced the onslaught of World War II. With the help of his devoted Elizabeth, he rose magnificently to the challenge. (PBS)
(more)Cast
![James Wilby](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/893/162893091_30a2a3.jpg)
James Wilby
Best movies:
Endeavour (2012) (series)
Ripper Street (2012) (series)
Agatha Christie: Poirot (1989) (series)
![Alan Bates](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/267/267938_4141af.jpg)
Alan Bates
UK
Best movies:
The Rose (1979)
Alexis Zorbas (1964)
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
![Eileen Atkins](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/205/163205153_f4d0a3.jpg)
Eileen Atkins
UK
Best movies:
Cold Mountain (2003)
Wit (2001) (TV movie)
The Hours (2002)
![Dolly Wells](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/263/158263726_520dea.jpg)
Dolly Wells
UK
Best movies:
Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2000) (TV movie)
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
The Gathering Storm (2002) (TV movie)
![Juliet Aubrey](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/527/160527098_0ae153.jpg)
Juliet Aubrey
UK
Best movies:
Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)
The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003) (TV movie)
The Constant Gardener (2005)
![Barbara Leigh-Hunt](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/500/158500560_af8372.jpg)
Barbara Leigh-Hunt
UK
Best movies:
Billy Elliot (2000)
The Plague Dogs (1982)
Wives and Daughters (1999) (series)
![Rupert Wickham](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/278/278528_3c665d.jpg)
Rupert Wickham
Best movies:
Woman in Gold (2015)
Bertie and Elizabeth (2002) (TV movie)
Journey's End (2017)
![Charles Edwards](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/429/166429178_f7c63a.jpg)
Charles Edwards
UK
Best movies:
Sherlock (2010) (series)
Batman Begins (2005)
Ripper Street (2012) (series)
![Alexandra Staden](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/275/275221_f241f9.jpg)
Alexandra Staden
UK
Best movies:
Vanity Fair (2004)
Ten Minutes Older: The Cello (2002)
Bertie and Elizabeth (2002) (TV movie)
Nicholas Pritchard
UK
Best movies:
Finding Neverland (2004)
La Vie en rose (2007)
Agatha Christie: Poirot (1989) (series)
![Oliver Ford Davies](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/064/158064348_ea5684.jpg)
Oliver Ford Davies
Best movies:
Hamlet (2009) (TV movie)
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
![Michael Elwyn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/443/161443620_44ccc2.jpg)
Michael Elwyn
UK
Best movies:
The Audience (2013) (theatrical recording)
Florence Nightingale (1985) (TV movie)
House of the Dragon (2022) (series)
![Paul Brooke](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/274/274598_ea4b1a.jpg)
Paul Brooke
UK
Best movies:
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
Foyle's War (2002) (series)
Simon Day
UK
Best movies:
Jonathan Creek (1997) (series)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Ethel & Ernest (2016)
![Robert Hardy](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/042/871/42871820_03d947.jpg)
Robert Hardy
UK
Best movies:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
The Far Pavilions (1984) (series)
![Jeremy Swift](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/265/163265985_d2836a.jpg)
Jeremy Swift
UK
Best movies:
Boy A (2007)
Dark Blue World (2001)
A Christmas Carol (1999) (TV movie)
![Joanna Hole](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/307/158307289_084382.gif)
Joanna Hole
UK
Best movies:
Miss Marple: Nemesis (1987) (TV movie)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
Half Light (2006)
![Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/826/160826259_69c10c.jpg)
Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh
UK
Best movies:
Agatha Christie: Poirot (1989) (series)
Murphy's Law: Electric Bill (2003) (TV movie)
Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky (2005) (TV movie)
![David Ryall](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/445/159445193_e1a0ad.jpg)
David Ryall
Best movies:
The Elephant Man (1980)
Prime Suspect 2 (1992) (TV movie)
Black Beauty (1994)
![Corin Redgrave](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/273/273398_bcc707.jpg)
Corin Redgrave
UK
Best movies:
In the Name of the Father (1993)
Excalibur (1981)
Shackleton (2002) (TV movie)