A Royal Night Out * * * 1/2

Two things greatly surprised me about this film.
The first is, that I went to see it.
The second is, that I actually enjoyed it - so did the couple of dozen little old ladies in the matinee session with me. We shared the moment.  I had assumed there wouldn’t be much here for anyone other than a monarchist with a memory of VE Day, May 8th 1945.  That was the day when England single handedly won the Second World War (don’t try to persuade them otherwise).  I am sure there was much jubilation; but as the country was nearly bankrupt and half of London was  in ruins, and everything was still being rationed out I don’t know that they celebrated to the excess shown in this film.  But I wasn’t there.   Some of the little old ladies in the audience were - and apparently the future Queen of Great Britain, Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret were.  
What actually happened remains a mystery, but this film has taken the rumor and run with it to give us a ripping yarn rather like  Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper (minus the pauper).  On the eve of VE Day day the two young Princess begged and cajoled the King and Queen that they might go out and be among the people.  I guess a celebrity could do that back then, not being as instantly recognisable as they are today.
The first hour of this film moves quickly as the two young Princesses are accidentally separated from their chaperons and each other.  Caring less where her buttoned down chaperons are, and more where Margaret might be, Elizabeth then goes on a hunt for her: catching a bus for the first time and not having twopence on her to pay the fare.  That’s when she meets a RAF boy who becomes her reluctant guide through London in search of Margaret.  For most of their time together he has no idea who she might be other than some posh girl.
Meanwhile we get to see the antics of Margaret and the rather amusing situations her attitude, mannerisms and naivety get her into; from being picked up by a cad, to being protected by a monarchist gangster who recognises her.
A Royal Night Out has comical situations galore.  It’s all the ideas that people have joked about - like The future Queen having a pint at the pub, hobbling around with a broken shoe heel and having a cuppa in a house in the East End.  Or Princess Margaret ending up in a “knocking shop” and having no idea what the place is about.  And to be honest the scene outside Buckingham Palace where Elizabeth is on the other side of the gate among “the people” calling for The King to appear, is really quite moving.   No matter how you feel about Royalty you have to accept it’s their country and their King and they just love him!
Whether it is true or not doesn’t really matter that much.  Either way this film is far from disrespectful or slanderous and in the end only puts Her Majesty in a positive light. Even if you’re a Republican you’ll enjoy this film.  Sometimes a kids movie comes along and you hunt around for nephews and nieces to take along, just for an excuse to go see it yourself.  Here’s a good reason to take Grandma out for a treat (you probably should anyway): plus, you’ll have a jolly good time too.