Discover the Historical Personalities Behind ‘Victoria and Abdul’
Fans of the hit Masterpiece series Victoria will be thrilled to see their favorite British Queen later in life when the new movie Victoria and Abdul opens in theaters in the US on Friday, September 22nd. Inspired by extraordinary true-life events, the script, based on Shrabani Basu’s book, reveals the unexpected friendship between Queen Victoria and Mohammad Hafiz Abdul Karim, a young Indian sent to England in 1887 to attend Her Majesty during her Golden Jubilee celebrations. Starring venerable British actress Dame Judi Dench as the ageing Queen, and Indian actor Ali Fazal as her young servant, Working Title Films and BBC Films are co-producers of this lavish, historical biographical drama filmed on location at the Queen’s favorite residence, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, and in Scotland and India.
Long-time Masterpiece viewers will recognize many of Victoria and Abdul’s amazing supporting cast from previous productions: Tim Pigott-Smith (Jewel in the Crown, King Charles III) as Sir Henry Ponsonby the Queen’s Private Secretary; Simon Callow (Inspector Lewis) as composer Giacomo Puccini; Michael Gambon (Cranford) as Prime Minister Sir Robert Cecil, The Marquess of Salisbury; and Olivia Williams (Miss Austen Regrets) as Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill, Lady of the Bedchamber. Also rounding out Queen Victoria’s inner circle is Eddie Izzard (Valkyrie) as Albert “Bertie”, Prince of Wales, the Queen’s dissipated son.
