Princess’s ‘VE fun’ celebrated in film

A Royal Night Out – which was shot in Hull – re-imagines how the young Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were allowed to leave Buckingham Palace and join in with the VE celebrations 70 years ago.

“Let them go, this might be the only chance she gets,” declares King George V1, who is played by Rupert Everett.

The film, supported through Screen Yorkshire’s Yorkshire Content fund, also stars Sarah Gadon and Bel Powley as the young princesses and Emily Watson as the Queen Mother.

The future queen ends up falling off a double decker, paddling in Trafalgar Square and drinking champagne in Soho.

Eagle-eyed film buffs will spot parts of Hull used in the film, released in cinemas on May 15, including its Old Town, which is transformed into Soho, Alfred Gelder Street into Piccadilly, and the Guildhall into the Ritz.

Princess Elizabeth wrote in her diary: “PM (Winston Churchill) announced unconditional surrender. Sixteen of us went out in the crowd, cheered parents up on the balcony. Up St J’s [St James’s], Piccadilly, great fun.”