You’ll Never Guess Queen Elizabeth’s Favorite Movie
If you asked us to guess what Queen Elizabeth’s favorite movie is, we’d probably go with a sophisticated classic like Casablanca… And we’d be very wrong. It turns out Her Majesty is actually a big fan of the zany sci-fi flick Flash Gordon.
The intel comes from one of the film’s stars, Brian Blessed, who claimed, “The Queen, it’s her favorite film, she watches it with her grandchildren every Christmas.” He spilled Elizabeth’s surprising holiday viewing choice while promoting the movie’s upcoming 40th anniversary. It originally hit theaters in December 1980, so that likely accounts for the Windsor’s opting for a nostalgic seasonal screening.
Blessed went on to do a brief impression of the Queen, who apparently asked him to say one of his character’s lines when they met: “You know, we watch Flash Gordon all the time, me and the grandchildren. And if you don’t mind, I’ve got the grandchildren here, would you mind saying ‘Gordon’s alive’?” He didn’t elaborate, but we can’t imagine the actor turned down her request.
For those less familiar with the film, you can check out the trailer below to get a glimpse of what captured Elizabeth’s interest (and hear Blessed say the line at about 45 seconds in):
Seriously, who would have ever thought Elizabeth loves a film filled with laser guns, intergalactic battles, and a football-player-turned-superhero lead? It also makes us wonder what her thoughts are on Star Wars and other famous sci-fi flicks now, too.
Interestingly enough, Flash Gordon already had a “regal” connection before anyone knew about Elizabeth’s affection for it: The band Queen performed the movie’s entire soundtrack. Yep, that’s Freddie Mercury getting, “Flash! Ah-ahhh!” stuck in our heads.
And according to the movie’s trivia on IMDb, the cast and crew planned on making sequels but had to give the idea up after an underwhelming box office performance. Maybe if they had reached out to Elizabeth back then, she would have happily provided financial assistance for another script or two.
In any case, we love the idea of the Windsor’s gathering around to watch this wacky ’80s flick every holiday season.
