▲What is true is that Abigail became Harley's confidant. The two were actually related in real life—they were cousins on her father's side.

▲Queen Anne was in poor health for most of her life. She suffered from gout.

▲Anne and Sarah were close and inseparable friends, but it was unlikely that Anne was physically intimate with her.

▲It's true that Queen Anne suffered several miscarriages. She was pregnant a total of 17 times, but she did not have a pet rabbit for each of her deceased children, as portrayed in the film.

▲Anne and Sarah met for the first time when they were just kids, in the court of King Charles II. As portrayed in the film, they were incredibly close for much of their lives.

▲Her only surviving son, Prince William (pictured), died at the age of 11.

▲Although not mentioned or portrayed in the film, Prince George of Denmark would have been alive during the majority of the timeline covered in 'The Favourite.'

▲Queen Anne was happily married to Prince George of Denmark, who died six years into her reign in 1708.

▲Seeking a job at court, Abigail was helped by Lady Sarah more out of embarrassment than generosity.

▲The incident didn’t actually occur. Although the real Sarah was frequently away from court for long periods of time, which frustrated Queen Anne.

▲As portrayed in the movie, much of the rivalry started over the fact that Lady Sarah and Abigail opposed each other's politics. But, in reality, it never escalated to the point of "life or death."

▲Many events portrayed in the film happened in a relatively short period of time on screen. But the real events they were based on took place over the course of several years.

▲Not really! The Tory leader was not an attractive young man during the reign of Queen Anne.

▲As in the film, the real Abigail aligned herself with Robert Harley, a Tory statesman. Lady Sarah, on the other hand, was aligned with the Whigs.

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In the movie, Abigail needs a way to get rid of Sarah, so the poisoned tea was a narrative tool used by director Yorgos Lanthimos.

▲The details of their relationship were largely fictionalized in the movie. However, rumors that the two women had a secret romance were prevalent during Queen Anne’s reign.

▲True to the movie, the real Lady Sarah blackmailed Queen Anne with personal letters.

▲In 1711, the Queen stripped Sarah of her roles in the royal court, and Abigail, who had become Baroness Masham, replaced her.

▲Like in the movie, she often needed to use a wheelchair, and even had to be carried to her own coronation in a litter.

▲We see in the film that Abigail first meets her cousin Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, when she arrives at Kensington Palace begging for a job.

▲Contrary to the film's timeline, Lady Sarah began to harbor adversarial feelings toward Abigail only after the latter's marriage, and mainly for political reasons.

▲After Anne's ascension to the throne in 1702, Sarah exerted political influence over the queen, who apparently was not an expert in matters of state and administration.

▲Lady Sarah and her husband left for Germany right after.

▲Despite the historical rumors, the sexual relationships between both Queen Anne and Lady Sarah, and Queen Anne and Abigail, are not given as factually true.

▲Yorgos Lanthimos and the film's producers built this likely fictional part up in order to create an interesting story.

▲It was common at the time to exchange such letters, containing romantic and affectionate language between friends of the same sex. But the women's letters seem more heated than most.

▲But the real Abigail Hill (later Masham, following her marriage) knew her cousin and began working for her long before her arrival in London.

▲Yes, Abigail fell on hard times. As we see in the movie, her family went broke because of her father's passion for gambling.

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The period drama 'The Favourite' received 10 nominations at the 91st Academy Awards, ultimately resulting in Olivia Colman winning for Best Actress. But how much of the story of Queen Anne and her two female lovers is real, and how much is pure fiction? The movie is based on fact, but it is also an imaginative telling from director Yorgos Lanthimos.

Find out the truth about this royal ménage à trois by browsing this gallery.

▲With Olivia Colman having just won the Oscar for Best Actress for her brilliant take on Queen Anne, you almost want to believe it was all true. But was it?

Is Oscar darling 'The Favourite' accurate?

Olivia Colman just won the Oscar for Best Actress

25/02/19 por StarsInsider

MOVIES The favourite

The period drama 'The Favourite' received 10 nominations at the 91st Academy Awards, ultimately resulting in Olivia Colman winning for Best Actress. But how much of the story of Queen Anne and her two female lovers is real, and how much is pure fiction? The movie is based on fact, but it is also an imaginative telling from director Yorgos Lanthimos.

Find out the truth about this royal ménage à trois by browsing this gallery.