Helena Bonham Carter used royal links to unearth Queen’s mother's secrets

It has emerged that Helena Bonham Carter, who played the mother of Queen Elizabeth II, used her links to the Royal family to help her with the part.

The actress’ portrayal has won her international accolades, including a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the upcoming Golden Globes.

But she probably earned extra brownie points for her performance thanks to the secrets she unlocked from her royal friends, Carter admitted.

"People think I'm more aristocratic than I am. We're upper middle-class but we're not aristos, although I do know people who knew the Queen Mother, so that helped me get some inside information," the Daily Star quoted Carter as saying.