Helen Ryan (born 16 June 1938, in Liverpool, Lancashire) is a British actress, with a penchant for portraying royalty. The Liverpool native played Queen Alexandra in the British television series Edward the Seventh, for which she received a BAFTA nomination in 1975. She also played Princess Alexandra in the 1980 movie The Elephant Man, and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in the 2002 television drama Bertie and Elizabeth. Her other credits include Madame Balzac in the TV series Prometheus: The Life of Balzac (1975), Mrs McFarlane in the Sherlock Holmes story The Norwood Builder, and films such as Clash of Loyalties (1983), Misunderstood (1984) and The Hawk (1993).