Judi Dench Is Back On The Throne In The First Victoria And Abdul Trailer

Given her history playing royals – particularly the award-winning turn as Victoria in Mrs. Brown back in 1997 – you can almost imagine directors needing someone to fill the role shining a signal of a crown in the sky to summon Judi Dench. She's back in the crown for Stephen Frears' Victoria And Abdul, which has put out its first trailer and poster.


Frears, who worked with the actress on Philomena, here has her reprising one of her most famous performances in another true story of QV finding an unexpected connection with someone in her court.

Here, around the time of her Golden Jubilee in 1887, we find a queen once more disconsolate. Depressed by the state of the world and still lonely at the top, she has the distinct impression that her servants and family – especially Bertie, the Prince Of Wales (Eddie Izzard) are simply waiting for her to keel over. So she's unexpectedly delighted to befriend a young man named Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), sent from India to work for her. Through his eyes, she begins to appreciate the wider world, and her own life, once more.