THE early life of England s longest-serving queen, Victoria, is brought to the big screen in a lavish, star-studded production. Written by Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes, THE YOUNG VICTORIA (PG) stars Emily Blunt – who played Catherine Howard in TV d

THE early life of England's longest-serving queen, Victoria, is brought to the big screen in a lavish, star-studded production.

Written by Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes, THE YOUNG VICTORIA (PG) stars Emily Blunt - who played Catherine Howard in TV drama Henry VIII and made her name in The Devil Wears Prada - in the title role.

She is joined by Miranda Richardson as her mother, Mark Strong, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter, Rachael Stirling, Michael Maloney and many more.

Rupert Friend - Mr Wickham in the 2005 film of Pride and Prejudice and Billy Downs in The Libertine - plays Prince Albert.

This is a very different monarch from the one we have come to think of - elderly, dour and dressed in mourning. This Victoria is young and fun-loving.

The film focuses on Victoria's teenage years and how she came to the throne, as well as her romance with her cousin, Albert.

Fifth in line at her birth, Victoria was the heir by the age of 14, following the deaths of her father, grandfather and two uncles.

When William IV died a month after her 18th birthday, she became the queen.

The list of producers includes legendary American director Martin Scorsese and Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, whose idea the film was.

Co-producer Graham King said: "A mutual friend arranged a meeting with Sarah Ferguson and she pitched several projects to me. She was full of ideas and she had one about Queen Victoria. She said she always wanted to show the queen in a different way to how she was commonly perceived, as always in mourning."

Her involvement is, no doubt, the reason her daughter, Princess Beatrice, has a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo role as a lady-in-waiting in the film.

When Fellowes heard about the project, he was delighted. Having been interested for a long time in the life of Queen Victoria, it was a dream project for him.

"I was very keen. It's always a great advantage when a subject comes to you that is already in your life. I thought if someone else writes this film I'll have to kill myself!"

He explains: "Ninety nine per cent of the public don't know anything about the story of her early life and will be surprised.