WHEN IT COMES to the British royal family, life truly is more bizarre than art. Adultery, toe-sucking scandals and death conspiracy theories – you couldn’t make it up (although, mercifully, none of those were on show this week).

Not surprising then that the Windsors and their predecessors have provided a rich seam of inspiration for actors and comedians over the years…

The original Elizabeth…

Forget QEII – the original Elizabeth I (yes, the one who sparked off 800 years of oppression) is the monarch of choice for actresses to sink their teeth into.

We’ve had Elizabeth I the Sexy (Cate Blanchett)…

…Elizabeth I the Ice Queen (Bette Davis)…

…Elizabeth I the Wry (Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love)

…Elizabeth I the spoilt Queenie (Miranda Richardson in Blackadder)

Not that Elizabeth II should be envious – she had Helen Mirren turn in an Oscar-winning performance in The Queen:

As for Queen Victoria, she’s had it relatively easy with Judi Dench playing her as ‘Mrs Brown’…

…and the gorgeous Emily Blunt playing her as fun-filled, and quite possibly very frisky, Young Victoria…

What did George V, the current British queen’s father, ever do to deserve having Colin Firth fill his breeches (in last year’s Oscar-winning The King’s Speech)?

And what, we ask you, makes people believe Henry VIII looked like Jonathan Rhys Meyers?

Oh well. At least The Royle Family kept the spirit of ‘commoners’ alive…