Produced by Graham King, Martin Scorsese, Sarah Ferguson, and Timothy Headington, the film stars Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Harriet Walter, Mark Strong, and Jim Broadbent among a large ensemble cast.

Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, the heiress presumptive to the British throne during the reign of her paternal uncle, King William IV, is subject to a political tug of war for influence over her.

After ascending the throne, Victoria immediately exerts her independence, physically distancing herself from her mother and banishing Conroy from her household and coronation.

She had been interested in the queen since her marriage to Prince Andrew, Duke of York, a great-great-great-grandson of Victoria and Albert, and had written two books about her with the help of an historian.

The Victoria-Albert relationship in particular drew her into the queen's history, as she believed there were parallels between their marriage and her own with Prince Andrew, as they both "fought for their love" in the midst of public scrutiny.

[4] At the time wrapping up his work on The Departed,[3] King, a native of Britain, had been looking for a project set in his home country for years.

"[3] King brought frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese onboard initially as a co-executive producer, as the Academy Award-winning director knew "pretty much all there is to know about British history.

"[8] Academy Award-winning costume designer Sandy Powell heard about the script and contacted King, who in turn hired her.

Everyone knows her as the mourning Queen who was wheeled around in black with a hanky on her head and was kind of repressed, but she was just the polar opposite when she was younger.

"[10] They awarded Blunt the role after viewing her entire filmography as well as her Golden Globes acceptance speech for Gideon's Daughter.

"[8] After winning the part, Blunt was allowed access to Windsor Castle, where she viewed Victoria's paintings, letters, diaries, and music composed by Albert himself.

"[6] The actor also thought their relationship was not "a gooey love story;" rather, their arguments showed it "wasn't an easy road by any means.

"[5] Friend strove to immerse himself in the role, and learned the prince's particular characteristics, such as the way he rode a horse, walked, and played the piano.

"[5] Jim Broadbent and Mark Strong joined the cast as King William IV and Sir John Conroy, respectively,[11] as did Harriet Walter as Queen Adelaide.

[5] Due to the Duchess of York's status and connections with the British royal family, The Young Victoria was able to film in many actual palaces and other landmarks.

[5] Scenes set at Westminster Abbey were filmed at Lincoln Cathedral in September and October,[12] and Ham House was substituted for Kensington Palace.

[5] Week four of shooting was especially intensive, as filming was done at a different site each day, including Osterley Park, Old Royal Naval College, Ham House, Novello Theatre and Hampton Court.

[6] Fellowes strove to make the script free of anachronisms, to the point where he became upset when actor Jim Broadbent ad-libbed and told the Duke of Wellington to "Enjoy the meal" during a dinner scene, a phrase not proper for the time period.

"[7] Although largely faithful to a selection of historical facts, the film has drawn criticism for embellishing events in order to increase dramatic potential.

"[17] However, the Duchess of Kent was seated next to the King when he spoke[18] and did not leave during the speech; and, undepicted in the film, the princess burst into tears, "and the two parties, soon realising that they had gone too far, patched up an uneasy truce.

"[19] According to Charles Greville's memoirs: "The Queen [Adelaide] looked in deep distress, the Princess [Victoria] burst into tears, and the whole company were aghast.

"[20][21] William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, who was prime minister when Victoria came to the throne and a political mentor to the young queen, was forty years her senior,[22] but is portrayed as a much younger man in the film.

[25][26] Apart from the assassination attempt, historian Alex von Tunzelmann noted that "historically, [the film's] not at all bad," and especially praised the depiction of contemporary politics and the characteristics Friend put into his performance as Prince Albert.

[5] Sinéad O'Connor performed "Only You," which O'Sullivan described as "very much in line with one of the overriding aims of the film, which was to be hopeful and tell people that these amazing love stories really can happen, it's not just a fairy tale.

[34] A bidding war erupted over its US release,[35] and American distribution studio Apparition on the behalf of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group won the rights to the film.

Director Jean-Marc Vallée's images have a creamy stateliness, but this is no gilded princess fantasy – it's the story of a budding ruler who learns to control her surroundings, and Blunt makes that journey at once authentic and relevant.

"[40] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called it a "frivolously entertaining film" and believed it was "directed with some snap by Jean-Marc Vallée.

"[41] Dargis finished her review, "Despite the filmmakers' efforts to persuade us that The Young Victoria is a serious work, and despite some tense moments and gunfire, the film's pleasures are as light as its story.

"[43] Bradshaw did praise the power dynamics around Victoria, but concluded "I spent an hour and three-quarters waiting for this film to start.

The Blu-ray possesses a feature that allows viewers to access real-time data about the actors, music, film trivia and other information.