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Movies Like The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

If you liked The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), a drama and history movie directed by Michael Curtiz, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

  1. 1Elizabeth: The Golden Age

    Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

    ★ 6.7/10Also drama and history

    When Queen Elizabeth's reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain's invading army, she and her shrewd adviser must act to safeguard the lives of her people.

  2. 2Anne of the Thousand Days

    Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

    ★ 7.2/10Also drama and history

    Henry VIII of England discards his wife, Katharine of Aragon, who has failed to produce a male heir, in favor of the young and beautiful Anne Boleyn.

  3. 3The Girl King

    The Girl King (2015)

    ★ 6.2/10Also drama and history

    A portrait of the brilliant, extravagant Kristina of Sweden, queen from age six, who fights the conservative forces that are against her ideas to modernize Sweden and who have no tolerance for her awakening sexuality.

  4. 4The Duchess

    The Duchess (2008)

    ★ 7/10Also drama and history

    A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.

  5. 5Mary, Queen of Scots

    Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)

    ★ 6.7/10Also drama and history

    Mary Stuart, who was named Queen of Scotland when she was only six days old, is the last Roman Catholic ruler of Scotland. She is imprisoned at the age of 23 by her cousin Elizabeth Tudor, the English Queen and her…

  6. 6Tristan & Isolde

    Tristan & Isolde (2006)

    ★ 6.7/10Also drama and romance

    An affair between the second in line to Britain's throne and the princess of the feuding Irish spells doom for the young lovers.

  7. 7Queen of the Desert

    Queen of the Desert (2015)

    ★ 5.8/10Also drama and history

    A chronicle of Gertrude Bell's life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire in the Near and Middle East at the dawn of the twentieth century. Her…

  8. 8The Lost Husband

    The Lost Husband (2020)

    ★ 6.6/10Also drama and romance

    Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.

  9. 9The Portrait of a Lady

    The Portrait of a Lady (1996)

    ★ 5.9/10Also drama and romance

    Ms. Isabel Archer isn't afraid to challenge societal norms. Impressed by her free spirit, her kindhearted cousin writes her into his fatally ill father's will. Suddenly rich and independent, Isabelle ventures into the…

  10. 10First Knight

    First Knight (1995)

    ★ 6.1/10Also drama and romance

    The timeless tale of King Arthur and the legend of Camelot are retold in this passionate period drama. Arthur is reluctant to hand the crown to Lancelot, and Guinevere is torn between her loyalty to her husband and her…

  11. 11Purple Hearts

    Purple Hearts (2022)

    ★ 8/10Also romance and drama

    An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.

  12. 12Dot the I

    Dot the I (2003)

    ★ 6/10Also romance and drama

    A fiery Spanish woman is about to marry a kind British man when she meets a Brazilian actor who ignites in her a flame of lust she can't ignore.

  13. 13Winter's Tale

    Winter's Tale (2014)

    ★ 6.3/10Also drama and romance

    A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.

  14. 14Victoria & Abdul

    Victoria & Abdul (2017)

    ★ 6.9/10Also drama and history

    Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.

  15. 15Julia

    Julia (1977)

    ★ 6.5/10Also drama and history

    At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.

  16. 16Breathe

    Breathe (2017)

    ★ 7.4/10Also drama and romance

    Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.

  17. 17The Sleeping Dictionary

    The Sleeping Dictionary (2003)

    ★ 6.6/10Also drama and romance

    In the 1930s, British officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population. There, he's introduced to the lovely Selima. In keeping with tradition…

  18. 18Not Easily Broken

    Not Easily Broken (2009)

    ★ 6.3/10Also drama and romance

    A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.

  19. 19Henry V

    Henry V (1944)

    ★ 6.7/10Also history and drama

    In 1415, in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France.

  20. 20Nine Lives

    Nine Lives (2005)

    ★ 6.1/10Also drama and romance

    Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.

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