THE Royal Family in its various forms has been entertaining, enthralling and fascinating us for centuries.

The British Monarchy’s catalogue of blood feuds, forbidden love affairs, wars, abdications and endless scandals has supplied material for the writers of every age. From Shakespeare’s thinly disguised commentaries on Elizabeth and James I, respectively, to Peter Morgan’s reimagining of the Royals as high-end soap opera in The Crown, the audience for these gilded dramas has never waned.

And now, as Elizabeth II, and indeed millions of Britons, celebrate her becoming not just the longest-serving British monarch but the third longest-serving monarch in world history, here are some of the top Royalty-themed films of the first century of cinema.

Spencer: Kristin Stewart brings her own brand of sparkle and unpredictability to this intense, poetic take on Princess Diana.

The Queen: Given the intense scrutiny the modern day Royals find themselves under, it’s quite rare to find Elizabeth II at the centre of a movie narrative. Helen Mirren transcends as a Queen in semi-exile after the death of Diana, facing a crossroads in her reign and, more immediately, a beguiling stag that haunts her estate in the Scottish Highlands.

Elizabeth: The rise of Elizabeth retold as The Godfather with director Shekhar Kapur and a young actress ready for super-stardom, Cate Blanchet.

The King: Timothée Chalamet’s spindly, hungover, sad rendition of Prince Hal slowly morphs into something raw, timeless and utterly believable. Joel Edgerton and David Michôd’s masterful retelling of the Henriad exerts a compelling, epic grip.

Mrs Brown: Judi Dench cemented her reputation as one of the world’s most accomplished screen actors with this moving portrayal of a grieving Queen Victoria. But perhaps the film’s biggest surprise was the unexpected, nuanced performance of Scottish comedian Billy Connolly as the ‘commoner’ who encouraged her to return to public life.

The Lion In Winter: Adapted for the screen, The Lion In Winter brings together the titanic screen presences of Katherine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole for a heady dose of relationship fireworks. Notable too for Anthony Hopkins making his screen debut.

A Man For All Seasons: Writer Robert Bolt’s characters and the play’s moral conscience makes the film as relevant now as it was when first released. Watch out for a late-period Orson Welles filling up the frame with his interpretation of Cardinal Wolsey.

The Madness Of King George: A film in which the a King descends into ‘madness’ only to be retrieved from the abyss by a radical form of treatment.

Viceroy’s House: Gurinder Chadha’s brilliant, bold dismantling of the accepted history of the Queen’s Uncle’s attempt at managing the Partition between India and Pakistan.

Sid & Nancy: Since The Sex Pistols blew up pop music in the late 1970s, no Royal celebration is complete without an airing of their alternative jubilee anthem, ‘God Save The Queen’.