A Royal Affair

"Their love affair would divide a nation."

2012 2h 17m DA

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 964

DramaHistoryRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young queen falls in love with her physician, and they start a revolution that changes their nation forever.

“Their love affair would divide a nation.”

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Cast

Alicia Vikander
Caroline Mathilde
Mads Mikkelsen
Johann Friedrich Struensee
Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
Christian VII
Trine Dyrholm
Juliane Marie
David Dencik
Ove Høegh-Guldberg
Thomas W. Gabrielsson
Schack Carl Rantzau
Cyron Melville
Enevold Brandt
Bent Mejding
J. H. E. Bernstoff

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Writers: Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
Languages: German, Danish, English, French
Countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 14 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: German, Danish, English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Sweden.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, shot by Rasmus Videbæk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Cyrille Aufort. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kasper Leick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Their love affair would divide a nation.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nikolaj Arcel directs. Rasmus Videbæk behind the camera. Cyrille Aufort scores. Kasper Leick cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Sweden. Dialogue in German, Danish, English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 14 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: German, Danish, English, French.
3International production across 4 countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Sweden.
4Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, shot by Rasmus Videbæk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Cyrille Aufort. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Kasper Leick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Their love affair would divide a nation.".
9IMDB entry: tt1276419 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "infidelity", "secret love", "love triangle", "politics".

The technical file

Cinematography: Rasmus Videbæk
Original score: Cyrille Aufort
Editing: Kasper Leick
Production design: Niels Sejer
Costume design: Manon Rasmussen
Makeup / hair: Ivo Strangmüller
VFX supervisor: Jeppe N. Christensen
Sound: Hans Christian Koch
Runtime: 137 min · 2h 17m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $8,000,000
Box office: $14,800,000
Return: 185% of budget
Original language: DA
Certification (US): R
IMDB: A Royal Affair (2012)

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Nikolaj Arcel

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What people are saying

badelf2022-07-31
★ 8/10
Based on a true story, this is a phenomenal period piece with first-class photography, directing and acting. You can't ask much more of any film. Pure, historical entertainment.
r96sk2023-10-12
★ 9/10
<em>'A Royal Affair'</em> is an excellent film. I enjoyed it all, every bit, but the ending is what sold it for me - great conclusion, which didn't do the predictable wrap up that I was expecting it to do. Despite running for over two hours the pacing is near perfect, as is the standout score. The actors do wonderful jobs. Alicia Vikander is particularly brilliant, as is a fantastic Mads Mikkelsen. Mikkel Følsgaard also brings a strong performance, early on I wasn't fully convinced but by the end he won me over tenfold. The supporting cast are very good too. Such a well written and well told story, the whole look of how its brought to life onscreen is superb. It's a breeze to watch all the way through and by the time the third act completes it manages to bring emotion into the mix as well. Big fan.
CinemaSerf2025-11-21
★ 7/10
In feudal Denmark in the 18th century, the nation was very much divided between the gentry and a working citizenry of glorified serfs. Despite some free thinking from other European nations beginning to permeate their political classes, nothing was going to alter the situation in this kingdom so long as the state council perpetuated its own privilege. What doesn’t help is that the new, British, Queen Caroline (Alicia Vikander) arrives and realises that her new husband, Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) isn’t quite the full Kroner, and the aristocracy know that he is essentially just going to rubber stamp anything they want. The one hope might be in the appointment of the visionary doctor Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen) to attend the King. His approach is less clinical and medicinal, and more psychological as he begins to befriend Christian on his own terms. He indulges him, even. Initially, the Queen is indifferent to this new acolyte, but when she espies some of his books she begins to realise that perhaps there might be more of a kindred spirit in this man - and so the plot develops along increasingly perilous but empowering lines for him, her and the population at large as the king becomes susceptible to more benign, progressive, influences. Of course, the gentry are not impressed and are soon plotting along with the dowager Queen Juliane Marie (Trine Dyrholm) to restore the status quo. It’s history so Nikolaj Arcel doesn’t have lots of room to manoeuvre with the chronology, but he does manage to create a sense of the lavishness of the court compared with the abject poverty of the people; the duplicity and self-interest of the landed classes and, of course, their innate skills at self-preservation. Whilst both Mikkelsen and Vikander present strongly, I thought it was Følsgaard’s king who stole the show as a man treading a fine line between lucidity and insanity, and who might as well have been a porcelain doll for all the independent thought he was capable of. The production design is sumptuous and authentic looking, the writing provides us within sparing dialogue that cuts through well and leaves us with a quality drama that mixes romance, politics and power effectively.