Trivia / The Young Victoria

• California Doubling: Averted. Despite considering locations in France and Germany, filmmakers decided to film The Young Victoria entirely in England. Other places did double for the actual locations though - Lincoln Cathedral doubling for Westminster Abbey for example.
• Dated History: The credits give the caption "Victoria remains the longest reigning British monarch to this date". In 2015, Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Victoria begins the film at eighteen. Emily Blunt was twenty-five.
  • Albert was also twenty when he finally married Victoria. Rupert Friend was twenty-six.
• Fake Nationality: Brits Rupert Friend and Miranda Richardson play German characters.
• No Export for You: Did you want that soundtrack by Ilan Eshkeri? Do you live outside of Great Britain? Too bad! Online downloads from iTunes and Amazon are region-locked and CDs are available only by import.
• Playing Against Type: A behind-the-camera example; produced by Martin Scorsese, of all people. This is apparently because he is a great lover of English history.
• Playing with Character Type: Miranda Richardson is often cast as mean or evil characters. Here although the Duchess of Kent is manipulative, there are parts of the movie that suggest she truly does love her daughter, and she gets some Pet the Dog moments before the end.
• Prop Recycling: At one point Victoria wears a bonnet that Rosamund Pike had worn in Pride & Prejudice (2005), which Rupert Friend also starred in.
• Production Posse: Producers Graham King and Martin Scorsese have worked together frequently, and had just finished doing The Departed together.
• Real-Life Relative: Princess Beatrice, descended from Queen Victoria, plays one of her ladies-in-waiting during the coronation.
• Shown Their Work:
  • King William IV's astonishing public tirade against the Duchess of Kent at his birthday dinner is not only not exaggerated, much of it is quoted verbatim. (The only inaccuracy was the Duchess immediately leaving in a huff. In reality she had to remain at the table)
  • Sir John actually did try to make Victoria sign the paper while she was ill - and she really did throw it to the floor.
  • Victoria giving her dog a bath immediately after her coronation? Not a cutesy invention: she actually did that.
  • The dress Victoria wears for her first meeting with the council is a replica of the real thing.

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