On VE Day – 8 May 1945 – as London celebrates the end of World War II in Europe and peace being declared across the continent, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are allowed to join the celebrations, against the Queen's wishes. The King, impressed by Elizabeth's pleading, asks her to report back on the people's feelings towards him and his midnight speech on the radio.
Each girl, incognito, is chaperoned by an army officer with an itinerary to be back at Buckingham Palace by 1 a.m. Soon realizing the Queen's planned itinerary does not fulfill their expectations of fun and meeting the ordinary people, Margaret is the first to slip away from her escort, followed by Elizabeth.
The princesses are separated on two different buses. Margaret is befriended by a naval officer seeking to take advantage of what he believes is just an ordinary girl, and Elizabeth by an airman named Jack who is absent without leave.
Margaret is led by her naval officer into a world of Soho nightclubs, gambling, spiked drinks and brothels. Elizabeth and her airman have their own adventures trying to catch up with Margaret, which take them far beyond the 1 a.m. deadline into the early hours of the following morning.
Elizabeth and Jack find the sleepy Margaret in Trafalgar Square, later pushing her in a wheelbarrow. Margaret gets back to the Palace first and is interrogated by her parents. Elizabeth and Jack, while dancing, are interrupted by military police, who apprehend Jack. However, Elizabeth identifies herself as a princess, and asks that Jack be let go. The two go to the Palace and have breakfast; the King, after initial skepticism, shakes Jack's hand and thanks him for taking care of Elizabeth. Elizabeth drives Jack back to his barracks before his 8 a.m. mandatory parade time; he gives her a quick kiss. She drives away, smiling.
The character of Pryce is credited as a Lieutenant, but is shown as, and referred to as, Captain Pryce throughout the film.
Relation to actual events
The two officer escorts and the airman in the screenplay were fictional creations. In reality, the princesses in an organised group of 16 went out at 10 p.m. to mingle with revellers, and returned to Buckingham Palace at 1 a.m.[3]
Release
A Royal Night Out was released in the United Kingdom on 8 May 2015 and on DVD on 7 September 2015.[1] The film was released in the United States on 4 December 2015 and released on DVD on 3 May 2016.
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 76 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Undeniably slight yet thoroughly charming, A Royal Night Out uses a fascinating historical footnote as a springboard into a fun dramedy diversion."[4]Metacritic reports a 58 out of 100 rating, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5]
