Queen Elizabeth.Photo: Courtesy BBC
A joyful image ofQueen Elizabethwhen she got engaged toPrince Philipis included in a new documentary that features never-before-seen home movies of the monarch.
The shot shows the Queen — known as Princess Elizabeth at the time — beaming at her engagement ring during a vacation to Balmoral Castle in Scotland in 1946 — well before her impending wedding was announced.
The BBC documentary,Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen,will tell the Queen’s story from her life as a young princess to her Coronation. The 75-minute program, which will air on BBC and on its streaming service iPlayer on May 29, pieces together the royal family’s unique archive of personal films.
In addition to the post-engagement footage, two additional images from the documentary were released on Saturday. The first shows Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret with their beloved father King George VI onboard the HMS Vanguard in 1947 and the other is of Elizabeth enjoying a visit to South Africa in 1947.
Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth with their beloved father King George VI onboard HMS Vanguard in 194.Courtesy BBC
A 20-year-old Princess Elizabeth enjoying a visit to South Africa in 1947.Courtesy BBC
The film goes behind the scenes of her royal upbringing, capturing her warm relationship with her parents andPrince Philip’s first extended visit to Balmoral in 1946 following their royal engagement.
There are proud moments between the Queen’s parents and their grandchildren,Prince Charlesand Princess Anne. Other rare moments include Elizabeth’s grandfather George V (known to the Queen as “Grandpa England”) sailing with the Queen Mother off the Isle of Wight in 1931, and there’s also footage of the royal family at Balmoral in 1951, which marks the King’s last visit there before his death.
The film largely relies on the Queen’s own voice and words via the many public speeches she has made over the last eight decades.
“It’s through her own eyes and in her own words across her reign,” a palace spokesman says.
Queen Elizabeth.Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty
The Queen is aware of the production and gave her permission for the use of the unique images, but she has not yet seen the film, which is still unfinished, a royal source says.
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Claire Popplewell, Creative Director for BBC Studios Productions added in a statement, “As program-makers who have previously worked closely with the Royal Household on ceremonial and celebratory broadcast events and programs, the production team was under no illusion quite how special having access to this very personal archive was. Being able to draw upon the self-recorded history of a young Princess Elizabeth and her wider family - and allowing The Queen to tell us her own story - is the very heart of this film.”
The documentary will kick off a week of festivities that will celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne — her Platinum Jubilee. Central to thatwill be a birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, andopportunitiesforPrince HarryandMeghan Markleto join the rest of the royal family in a series of celebrations.
source: people.com
