Arundel Castle features in movie blockbuster

The film, which is released on DVD on July 13, offers a sumptuous look at the headstrong girl who acceded to the throne at the age of just 18.

The Young Victoria focuses on the early turbulent years of her reign and her legendary romance and marriage to Prince Albert.

And it was crucial to get just the right substitute location for a Windsor Castle which was understandably unavailable to the film-makers.

As Academy Award winning screenplay writer Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) explains: "Filming in Windsor was not on. I think we filmed in Windsor Great Park, and we certainly received nothing but help and encouragement from the royal household. They were very helpful in many many ways, but they must make a rule about Windsor and Buckingham Palace and Sandringham and never filming. Once you have let one in, you would open the floodgates.

"And so the unit people scoured practically every great house in England, and we filmed in quite a lot of them. But what Arundel had that we needed was a 19th century reworking of an old castle, which is what Windsor is. A lot of Windsor is George IV's reworking of the ancient castle, and Arundel is that same mixture of 19th century reworking and ancient castle.

"And it has also got a wonderful courtyard which is very similar. The courtyard was a wonderful gift to the film-makers. And the Baron's Hall was used for the great banquet at Windsor. It is a great room to find in a private house. This is a room on a royal scale. It's very convincingly the dining room or a monarch."

Arundel also provided the necessary gothic drawing room '“ "completely and convincingly gothic in a way that looks like a believable interior."

For Julian, who grew up in East Sussex, it helped that he had filmed at Arundel Castle before, for The Prince And The Pauper in the mid-90s: "We filmed at Arundel using Arundel for Westminster Palace.

"I just think that Arundel is one of the nicest towns in the south. The scale of it is absolutely charming. It's a lovely half way between a village and a big town. You have got the scale of the village where people know each other and you have got the facilities and amenities of the large town."

And the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk take absolutely the right approach to it all, Julian feels: "There is a sense that Arundel Castle is not being wrapped in aspic. It is being used."

All of which made it perfect for The Young Victoria which for Julian brought the pleasure of thinking you know something and then realising you don't. Queen Victoria is a classic example in that respect.

An engaging and enjoyable royal romance, the film features fine acting from an outstanding ensemble British cast headed by Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Rupert Friend (Pride and Prejudice, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), Paul Bettany (The Da Vinci Code), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Jim Broadbent (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Mark Strong (Body of Lies), and Harriet Walter (Sense and Sensibility, Atonement).

DVD extras include The Real Queen Victoria, deleted scenes, trailer, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a look at the costumes and locations.