Hi there,
I saw the movie "The Queen" a few days ago, and was wondering how accurate the portrayals were of some of the things in the movie, such as:
-- In at least one scene, Tony Blair is shown in the back seat of a car being driven down a highway, with his secretary at his side. It appears that there is normal, regular traffic going down the road along with him. Here in the US, whenver the President has to travel on a regular road, the Secret Service shuts down all traffic, coming and going, so that his entourage are the only ones on the road (it really disrupts life for a long time for those living nearby)
Does the Prime Minister really just mix in with regular traffic when he is driven someplace?
-- In the scenes in 10 Downing Street with the Blair family, it looks like just a typical family in a typical house - family sitting down to breakfast, mom pouring the orange juice, etc.
Are the "off hours" for the Prime Minister & his family really so cozy - lots of privacy, no servants scurrying about, no security personnel nearby?
-- In the ceremony where the queen asks the newly elected Tony Blair to run her government, it is a private moment - just the 2 of them. If there were something like that done in the US, I imagine there would be hundreds of reporters, dozens of photographers, all the major networks would film it, etc.
Is it really done that way - just 2 people in a room, and no one around to record what really goes on?
I really liked the movie - I'd also be interested in your opinions about how the royal family were portrayed, and how the Blairs were portayed.