Her Majesty’s favourite film? Why, it’s Flash Gordon, bellows Blessed
IT IS a rather incongruous image; the 94-year-old Queen sitting down to watch her favourite Eighties sci-fi adventure about a battle on planet Mongo.
But Brian Blessed claims Flash Gordon is the Queen’s favourite film and watches it every Christmas with her grandchildren. The actor, who stars in the cult film as Prince Vultan, made the revelation in an interview about the film’s 40th anniversary.
“Everywhere I go, they all want me to say ‘Gordon’s alive!’”, he told the broadcaster Edith Bowman. “The Queen – it’s her favourite film, she watches it with her grandchildren every Christmas.”
Implored by co-star Sam J Jones, who played Flash Gordon, to tell the story of how “even the Queen of England” had wanted him to say it, Blessed dutifully assumed her accent.
“You know, we watch Flash Gordon all the time, me and the grandchildren,” he quoted the monarch as saying. “And if you don’t mind, I’ve got the grandchildren here – would you mind saying ‘Gordon’s alive’?”
It is not known when the Queen made the alleged disclosure but she appointed Blessed an OBE for services to arts and charity in 2016.
There have been several rumours about royal viewing habits over the favourite Shirley Valentine, Yellow Submarine and Genevieve, the story of a vintage-car rally.
Flash Gordon, based on a Thirties cartoon strip, tells the story of an American football hero who finds himself pitted against planet Mongo’s emperor, Ming the Merciless, who is intent on destroying Earth. Aptly, it boasts a score by the rock band Queen and is often described as a camp, big budget fantasy with cheesy special effects.
The news the film has been remastered to mark its anniversary might give the Queen something to celebrate. A clearly amused Palace spokesman insisted they did not comment on the Queen’s private conversations and said they had no idea if it was true.