Elizabeth (1998)

Elizabeth (1998)

At the start of the film Elizabeth is portrayed as a more carefree, warm-hearted character who sticks to her morals and doesn’t conform to society. Reflecting this, her hair and make-up is subtle and relaxed. Following many shocking events after becoming queen, by the end of the film Elizabeth transforms into the famous ‘Virgin Queen’, donning a white face, blushed cheeks, rouged lips and a styled red wig. Through this change in appearance, Elizabeth’s whole persona is altered, as is her effect on the people of England, beginning a much more successful and long-lasting reign. The make-up and hair is historically accurate, with pale faces, thin or no eyebrows, rouged cheeks and lips and bare eyes being a popular look at the time. Hair was often tightly curled in portions at the front of the head. Moreover, Elizabeth’s appearance in the coronation scene is evidently based on the real Queen Elizabeth’s coronation portrait. However, there are a few adaptations for a modern audience, such as the addition of earrings.

-Update-30/10/2015-

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

In the second film, Elizabeth is aged 52 - although Cate Blanchett doesn't look it, being only 9 years older than she was in the first film, rather than 27 years older like her character is supposed to be in the sequel. Despite this, I noticed the Queen and Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of her Ladies in Waiting, making references to lines on her face, ageing, and 'smile lines.' This made me wonder whether this was a conscious choice by the make-up artist, intended to show how the heavy white makeup of the time hid age; or was it just a bad portrayal of the ageing character? 

In this film, Queen Elizabeth seemed to wear hairpieces and wigs with a lower hair line, and although it was still rounded, it was sometimes a darker brown, rather than the typical golden or red shades from before; showing the gradual evolution in fashions. When on the horse before battle, Elizabeth wore her hair long and red. This holds connotations of her feeling young again, as the hair is similar to how it was at the beginning of the first film. Perhaps it is her chance to be reborn, and pure again? Reinforcing this, when she is victorious, she wears a white, elaborate dress, the choice of colour symbolising purity, as though reborn, having spent the whole film in pain over her desire to remain a virgin; with a large wing-like headdress, as though she is angelic. Her crown denotes authority and power. I noticed that in terms of jewellery, necklaces worn were more similar to modern statement jewellery, rather than just lots of pearls, etc.; again showing the change in preferable fashions. At the very end of the film, Queen Elizabeth's hair is golden, reflecting not only her victory in battle, but her victory internally, to remain a virgin.