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I welcome the opportunity
to speak to all the peoples
of the British Commonwealth and Empire
wherever they live
whatever race they come from
and whatever language they speak.
This is a happy day for me
but it is also one that brings serious thoughts.
Thoughts of life looming ahead
with all its challenges
and with all its opportunity.
At such a time
it is a great help to know
that there are multitudes of friends all round the world
who are thinking of me, and who wish me well.
[CROWD CHEERS]
If we all go forward together
with an unwavering faith
a high courage, and a quiet heart...
we shall be able to make of this ancient Commonwealth
which we all love so dearly
an even grander thing.
To accomplish that, we must give nothing less
than the whole of ourselves.
[DISTANT EXPLOSION]
[CROWD CHEERS]
There is a motto
which has been borne by many of my ancestors
a noble motto.
"I serve."
I should like to make that dedication now.
But I shall not have strength
to carry out this resolution alone
unless you join in it with me.
[CROWD CHEERS]
God help me to make good my vow
and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.
[ROYA NIKKHAH]: When Princess Elizabeth is born
there is no concept within her family
that she will ever one day become monarch.
That's just not the way it was planned for her.
[ROBERT LACEY]: Her father is the "spare"
not the heir.
The succession is with
the glamorous Prince of Wales, her uncle...
and she will spend her life as a charming royal accessory.
[JANE RIDLEY]: I think there was almost a deliberate attempt
not to spoil her
and that she shouldn't be, you know
living in a gilded cage.
[LACEY]: Her parents are very insistent
that this little girl's life should be fun.
Elizabeth is four years old
when her sister Margaret is born.
[DUCKS QUACK]
Her father loved the idea
that he wasn't destined to be King...
and that he could enjoy with his wife
and these two little daughters
a family life.
[ANDREW MORTON]: The Duke of York would
play with them every day.
Play hide and seek, play games outside.
There'd be morning silliness, throwing pillows, giggling.
It was a very loving household, and a very loving upbringing.
[BIG BEN CHIMES]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[LACEY]: There are whispers in the family
that things are not going well.
Elizabeth's dynamic, attractive uncle
the new Edward VIII...
he's picked up yet another of these divorcees
American, in fact, divorcees.
This one is called Mrs Wallis Simpson.
Her husband is still not just alive
but married to her!
And he insists on parading her as his partner.
[MAN]: My opinion of the King?
He should marry who he loves.
He's been a good chap to the working class.
That's my opinion of him.
[MAN 2]: The King is a man like myself
but he should not allow his private life
to interfere with his public life.
[MAN 3]: Apart from the fact
that she isn't of noble blood
Mrs Simpson has twice been in the divorce courts.
To my mind, that completely
rules her out as Queen of England.
[ROBERT HARDMAN]: In the eyes of '30s
Godfearing, church-going Britain, he's a sinner.
Here is the supreme governor of the Church of England
and he's clearly in breach
of the teachings of the Church of England
and that's just... That's not on in the '30s.
[LACEY]: Edward VIII has to choose between love or duty.
Confronted by the dilemma
of wanting to stay with the woman he loves
or giving up the throne
for which he's trained all his life
which is his destiny.
[EDWARD VIII]: A few hours ago
I discharged my last duty
as King and Emperor.
I have found it impossible to discharge my duties
as King without the help and support
of the woman I love.
[NIKKHAH]: The abdication had an enormously profound impact
both on the nation and the monarchy.
It rocked both.
[RIDLEY]: This was the first time
in British history that any King had abdicated.
Elizabeth experiences this
through the pain of her parents.
[RIDLEY]: It was something that her father
really didn't want.
He really didn't want to become King.
When he realises that it's going to happen
he goes and sees his rather formidable mother, Queen Mary
and he cries on her shoulder for half an hour.
What Elizabeth's uncle, the King, had done
was allow love to take priority over duty.
He'd done something in Elizabeth's view
which was really immoral.
[LACEY]: This all matures her.
It gives her this gravitas, this weight
that marks her entire life after that.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[REPORTER]: The eyes of the world
were focused on London
as George VI rode to Westminster Abbey
to be crowned King of England.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[RIDLEY]: It was really important to have a king
who could restore some of the things
that the monarchy had lost as a result of the abdication.
[BISHOP]: I here present unto you
King George, your undoubted King.
[CROWD]: God save the King!
[LACEY]: As she sees the crown
land on her father's head
she knew that this lay ahead
for her as well.
[CROWD CHEERS]
This girl, not yet in her teens
is now an heir to the throne...
and experiencing the radiation
of affection, adoration
curiosity from all those hundreds of thousands of people
out there.
[CROWD WHISTLES AND CHEERS]
This is going to be her future life.
[SOMBRE MUSIC ON FOOTAGE]
[SIREN WAILS]
[REPORTER]: Then came the war.
The King had a sad and weary task to perform.
Wherever his people suffered, he came.
And by his presence, brought comfort
and assurance in their ordeal.
[AMERICAN REPORTER]: Bombs fell on Buckingham Palace.
Here, Buckingham Palace
and the swimming pool of the little princesses
are shambles.
[DISTANT EXPLOSIONS]
[HARDMAN]: The King's actually in Buckingham Place
with the Queen, and they see these bombs start to land.
They see two bombs come right down below their window
and they make a dash for the door
and as he writes, you know, he's just amazed
that they weren't both killed.
[LACEY]: The immediate effect of the war
for Elizabeth is the same in one sense
as so many other young people living in London.
They are evacuated.
[LADY MUIR]: They spent most of their time
at Royal Lodge in Windsor Park.
I think they were educated with a governess
and I don't think they went to London very much at all.
[LACEY]: It's a great opportunity for her, personally
to move beyond the school room.
To actually do something serious.
["RULE BRITANNIA" PLAYS ON FOOTAGE]
[REPORTER]: Princess in overalls.
On her 19th birthday
the heiress presumptive to England's throne
learns a few facts about tyres and carburettors.
[RIDLEY]: Elizabeth joined up
with something called the ATS.
The Auxiliary Territorial Service.
[LADY MUIR]: Well, it was part of the war effort
and also part of learning, I think, you know.
Learning about the insides of motorcars.
[REPORTER]: Now, visited by her parents
and sister Margaret Rose
at a training station in Southern England
she shows them
she knows a fan belt from a spark plug, alright
and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty.
[LACEY]: And it also provides
the first evidence of any rift with her father
because her father, the King, wants to keep her at home...
and there was a tiff
a disagreement between them.
[RIDLEY]: That really does tell us
something about her character
about her really strong sense of duty.
If she knows, or believes
that something she wants to do is right
she will do it, she has great determination.
[PLANE ENGINES ROAR]
[LACEY]: Right at the beginning of the war
she's introduced to young Philip Mountbatten.
[WESLEY KERR]: She met him
and really liked him when she was 13
that day at Dartmouth Royal Naval College.
He's a Naval cadet, and he really impresses her.
As the Royal Yacht leaves at the end of the day
he's in a little rowing boat
following it, and there's a group of them
but he's the last to follow it, and the King says
"You're a damn fool, what's it..."
But he makes a very powerful impression on her.
[NIKKHAH]: She's kind of starstruck by him
because he's different, and he's quirky and he's fun.
And he's incredibly dashing and very good looking
so she's completely bowled over by him
and it's an instant thing.
When he is, you know, away at sea
there's a correspondence, there are letters
and there are letters exchanged between the two of them.
It is this wonderful...
most old-fashioned courtship
that starts with a very strong friendship
and develops.
[RIDLEY]: Once the war was over
they begin to see each other quite a lot.
And Elizabeth decides that she wants to marry Philip.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[LACEY]: George VI certainly
and the Queen Mother have reservations about
this young man's rather imperious, dashing manner.
The whole question of who Elizabeth is going to marry
is not simple.
I mean, yes, it's supposed to involve love
but also as the family has just seen
too much love can cause a lot of trouble.
[KERR]: It was very significant, the South African tour.
It was actually the first time that she'd left the country...
and it wasn't really a holiday, but it was three months away
and it was a very significant period in her life.
[LACEY]: She seems to become a different person on this ship.
There's the liberation, somehow
that comes from wartime Britain
her palace life...
But it's also her debut
her "coming out", if you like, as a public person.
[SHIP HORN BLARES]
[ELIZABETH]: You have a tremendous heritage.
A big country waiting to be developed.
I now have great pleasure in declaring
the Princess Elizabeth Graving Dock open.
[KERR]: The tour takes her from the rather shy girl
to the "beginning to be confident" woman
and seeing that she has got an opportunity
to make a difference.
[LACEY]: Here now, officially, she sits down
and she makes her personal and public declaration
of what lies ahead for her.
I declare before you all
that my whole life
whether it be long or short
shall be devoted to your service
and to the service of our great imperial family
to which we all belong.
[LACEY]: We know she had help with the speech
but we also know that it was very much her own words.
[NIKKHAH]: It sets out Elizabeth's personal manifesto
for life, and her sense of duty...
and she talks about
"Whether my life be long or short
it will be devoted to your service"
and she's addressing her subjects
not just in England but around the Commonwealth.
But I shall not have strength
to carry out this resolution alone
unless you join in it with me
as I now invite you to do.
I know that your support will be unfailingly given.
God help me to make good my vow
and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.
What is extraordinary is that she meant it
and we know from having watched her
over many, many, many years
that's she's carried out those duties
absolutely to the word
to the letter of the word that she spoke
when she was merely 21.
It's a very, very early age
to assume such a heavy responsibility.
[LACEY]: If one's looking for some explanation
of Elizabeth's success
at this extraordinary job
it is the sense that she ultimately doesn't matter.
She only takes her significance
and meaning from what she can do
for other people and for the institution.
And she makes this speech
dedicating herself to what her life will become.
[PROJECTOR RATTLES]
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]
[LACEY]: Elizabeth's engagement to Philip
in defiance of her father's wish
shows her growing maturity
but also an element of headstrongness.
Here is the future...
and it is based on love.
It is based on her wish
to establish this union.
[REPORTER]: In the great Abbey of Westminster
Elizabeth married the man of her choice.
[REPORTER 2]: In the proud words of King George
"Our daughter has married the man she loves."
[CROWD CHEERS]
[REPORTER 3]: And how they cheered the happy pair
when they come out onto the balcony.
What a wonderful picture the princess made.
[LACEY]: She becomes the Lady Di of her age.
[NIKKHAH]: They are a very glamorous
almost Hollywood-esque couple.
[LACEY]: There's this sense of future.
What's going to happen
and she and Philip get on with it straight away.
[REPORTER]: It has been announced officially
from Buckingham Palace during the past hour
that Her Royal Highness, the Princess Elizabeth
Duchess of Edinburgh
was safely delivered of a prince
at14pm today.
[BABY COOS]
[LACEY]: She wastes no time
in producing two children.
The first very conveniently, and properly
a son and heir, Prince Charles.
[CAMERAS CLICK]
[LACEY]: Almost immediately afterwards
a little sister, Princess Anne.
And the plan is, as we understand it
they would go on having more children
and enjoying their family life.
And then fate intervenes.
[REPORTER]: It is with the greatest sorrow
that we make the following announcement.
It was announced from Sandringham
at45 today, February 6th 1952
that the King who retired to rest last night
in his usual health
passed peacefully away in his sleep
early this morning.
[CAR HORNS HONK]
[MORTON]: Elizabeth was in Kenya
when her father George VI died.
She was shocked, because when she'd left
he seemed to be making a recovery
from a serious operation he'd had some months before.
Her response was
the response you might expect of a Queen.
As one district officer in Kenya said
she was ice cold.
She showed no emotion.
She said, "We must tell Australia."
That is to say we must cancel the trip to Australia
which was their ultimate destination.
Her response was matter of fact
very cool
but inside, she was really holding back her emotions.
[REPORTER]: The flag is low as the news spreads.
The King is dead.
The King, our King, is no more with us.
In our hearts, we feel this cannot be.
[DICKIE ARBITER]: I remember, I was 11
I was at school in London.
The headmaster went round all the classrooms
at the school I was at
and he told each classroom that the King had died
and as a mark of respect, off we go home.
As the news began to trickle out...
people were actually physically crying in the street.
[NIKKHAH]: When she arrives back in England
for the first time as Queen
the first person she's greeted by is Winston Churchill.
A country welcoming a young Queen
in a massively alpha-male world in the 1950s.
[HARDMAN]: It just underlines
the loneliness at the top, if you like.
She's a 25-year-old mother of two
and she's just heard that her father's died...
who suddenly has the burden of expectation
of the whole world on her shoulders.
[CAMERAS CLICK]
[REPORTER]: Through the London streets
where so often the eager crowds had cheered
the procession wends its silent way.
This is London's day of mourning.
[LACEY]: All the weight is now on her shoulders.
It's the end of an era
and now she has to give her own stamp
to a new era.
[REPORTER]: London.
The morning of Tuesday June 2nd
the morning of Coronation Day.
A new day dawns.
Slowly, the first rays of chill light
creep across the face of the royal city
lighting upon thousands huddled along the route.
A cold, damp morning
but in their hearts, there is a warmth beyond description.
From the farthest corners of the world
they have come to see the first lady of our nation
journey in rich majesty to her crowning.
[RIDLEY]: Elizabeth becoming Queen
has a sort of uplifting effect on the country.
I mean, it's the beginning of the end of rationing.
It's the beginning of the end of the legacy
of the Second World War.
Britain is no longer feeling quite so poor
and unhappy
and Elizabeth seems to embody
all the sort of new hope of a new Elizabethan reign.
The first coronation to be televised.
For lots of people, the first time they ever saw television
or bought a television.
[CHILDREN CHATTER]
[ARBITER]: On the day of the coronation
I watched it all on television
and it wasn't colour television
it was black and white television.
You had to have the curtains drawn
because if they were open, a chink of light would get in
and it would destroy the picture.
Sitting on my dining room chair
looking at the television with a dozen neighbours
who'd all crammed into that room.
It was a day-long enterprise
with sandwiches, and bottles of pop and things.
[ARCHBISHOP]: I here present unto you
Queen Elizabeth
your undoubted Queen.
Wherefore all you who are come this day
to do your homage and service
are you willing to do the same?
[ALL]: God save Queen Elizabeth!
[ARCHBISHOP]: Madam.
Is Your Majesty willing to take the oath?
[ELIZABETH]: I am willing.
[ARCHBISHOP]: Will you solemnly promise and swear
to govern the peoples
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland?
[ELIZABETH]: I solemnly promise, so to do.
[ALL]: God save the Queen!
I was one of the Queen's maids of honour
on Coronation Day.
She was fantastically calm.
She outwardly was treating it just as
a great occasion
but didn't appear to be nervous at all.
And when we got out of Westminster Abbey
we were all formed up, sort of behind her.
I mean, she just said, "Ready, girls?"
And off we went.
[CROWD CLAMOURS]
[LADY MUIR]: The roar of the crowd
it was incredibly joyous
and it was the most ghastly day.
It was half raining and very cold.
Even then, the crowds were absolutely enormous.
It was amazing.
It was very, very special.
[LACEY]: The coronation would actually mark
a fresh beginning for Britain.
It's the transition
in terms of the decade
between the age of austerity
and the swinging '60s.
Suddenly, it is glamour.
[ELIZABETH]: As this day draws to its close
I know that my abiding memory of it
will be not only the solemnity
and beauty of the ceremony
but the inspiration of your loyalty and affection.
I thank you all from a full heart.
God bless you all.
[LACEY]: The focus of it is Elizabeth.
The hand raised.
That little baby in the pram
has now progressed to the Queen
and now, the hand...
wreaks magic across the whole world.
[TRAIN HORN HONKS]
[NIKKHAH]: I think when Elizabeth becomes Queen
the role of mother to the nation
supersedes that of being mother to her children.
The demands on her time, and the expectation
of that role are overwhelming.
[REPORTER]: ... Hamilton, Elizabeth II and her husband
the Duke of Edinburgh, greeted by Bermuda's governor.
Jamaica, the largest island in the British West Indies.
[ELIZABETH]: Standing at last on Australian soil
I want to tell you all how much I look forward
to my journey through Australia.
[CROWD APPLAUDS]
[LACEY]: Just about their first job
that they take on is to go off round the world
to present themselves
to the ending empire and the new Commonwealth
and they leave their children at home.
[KERR]: They circumnavigate the globe
in five months without leaving British territory.
She becomes the most travelled monarch in history.
[REPORTER]: They have travelled 4,500 miles by land
10,000 miles by air...
[SIR MCDONALD]: It must be a very tiring business
having to go round the world, greeting people
but she regards it as part of her duty.
[ELIZABETH]: I'm glad too
to be able to thank once again
our hosts all around the globe
for the way in which they made our visits to them
so enthralling and so agreeable.
[TRAIN HORN BLARES]
[LACEY]: Young Charles and Anne remain at home
essentially in the care of nannies
so that when the Queen and her husband come home...
there's this poignant scene
where Prince Charles almost seems not to recognise
who is this lady, appearing.
[RIDLEY]: There is a gap between Elizabeth's first two children
who are born before she becomes Queen
and then the third and fourth children
who are born later in the '60s.
[REPORTER]: What would you like the baby to be?
[BOY]: A boy! - [REPORTER]: Why?
So I can hear the 21 guns going off.
[WOMAN]: I've been here this morning since 10 o'clock.
And how long are you going to wait now?
Oh, I'll wait till about 5 o'clock, I think
till it gets too dark.
[WOMAN 2]: Well, I thought it'd be very interesting
to be here when the news was announced
that the Queen had had a child.
[REPORTER]: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip
proudly introduced Prince Andrew.
[REPORTER]: It's Her Majesty's appearance on the balcony
with three-month-old Prince Edward in her arms.
[LACEY]: The birth of Andrew
and Edward in the 1960s
tells us of the importance she attaches
to having children
and to trying to create a family life.
And we can see there in these years
the duality, the conflict.
She wants to be together, she wants a family life
but at the same time, duty has to intervene.
And so the themes that are going to develop
through her reign...
it's the conflict between duty and love
which of course, she's seen in very dramatic terms
in the abdication
are now going to play out in her own life
in different ways.
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS ON FOOTAGE]
[REPORTER]: An elegantly dressed Princess Margaret
goes dancing in London.
The 25-year-old princess is gay and animated
as she and her partner, Charles Smith-Ryland
perform an accomplished foxtrot
even in the midst of such a crush of dancers.
[MORTON]: During the 1950s, there were two people
who were on magazine covers.
Elizabeth Taylor and Princess Margaret.
She was the most glamorous member
of the Royal Family in decades.
[CAMERAS CLICK]
She would be photographed going to nightclubs
to restaurants...
so she was the first, as it were
"paparazzi princess".
[CAMERAS CLICK]
[REPORTER]: Excitement bubbles like champagne in London
as Group Captain Peter Townsend returns
from diplomatic duties in Belgium
to call on Princess Margaret.
Another, possibly a climatic phase
opens in the much-publicised royal romance
that's had the Western world agog.
All the world loves a lover
and there's nothing like a happy ending
to a royal love story for national rapture.
[MORTON]: Elizabeth, within the first few months of her reign
was on the horns of a dilemma.
Margaret came to see her and explained
that she was in love with a divorcee
Group Captain Peter Townsend.
Now, the Queen liked Peter Townsend.
He was a decent man, charming...
but he was a divorcee
at a time when the Church of England
did not allow divorce.
[LADY MUIR]: I knew Princess Margaret very well.
We were contemporaries.
She wanted to marry Peter Townsend.
I mean, they were very much in love.
He was a very attractive man.
I mean, I sat next to him at dinner a number of times
and he was absolutely charming
and I could absolutely see why she fell in love with him.
Elizabeth is acutely divided over this situation.
It's a dilemma.
She wants to help her sister.
She wants her sister to be happy
but as head of the Church of England
her duty is in conflict with this.
And her solution is, really, to sort of wait
and to hope that if they delay the marriage
don't get engaged
then perhaps the whole thing will fizzle out.
[MORTON]: She hoped that he would find somebody else
and that her sister, who'd fallen in love
effectively with the first man she'd set eyes on
when she was 16
would start to look elsewhere.
[LADY MUIR]: It was very sad that she didn't marry him.
Times have changed now
but in those days, I mean, you...
you didn't marry a divorced person
and that was it.
[RIDLEY]: For Elizabeth, who was devoted to Margaret
this was a huge relief.
It meant she didn't have to follow her duty
and forbid the relationship.
Much as she loved her sister
duty always comes first.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[REPORTER]: The first stop on this royal tour
is, tonight, giving the Queen a big welcome
but never before have plans for a royal tour
been subjected to such anxious last-minute scrutiny
since last weekend, when bombs exploded
near the route marked out for the royal drive
the whole question of the Queen's safety
has been searchingly re-examined.
[PRESIDENT NKRUMAH]: We must attain control
of our own economic and political destinies.
We ask for complete independence at the earliest
practicable moment.
I am an African nationalist, wanting my people
to have their own independence
just like any other country.
[LACEY]: The first Elizabethan age
saw the creation of the British Empire
and the expansion of the nation.
The second Elizabethan age
the new Elizabeth steps into a diminishing nation
no longer top dog in the world.
[MEN SING]:
[KERR]: Britain's royal world changes dramatically.
Things begin to look difficult for the empire.
It begins to be unsustainable.
[LACEY]: Countries in Africa want their freedom.
They see India go independent in 1947.
They don't want this top-down relationship
with some remote European power which is exploiting them.
They want to create their own destiny.
Many monarchies come crumbling down
with their empires.
Who knows what lies ahead
and her choices are going to be very important.
In the wide association which is the Commonwealth
we must all try to cultivate the virtues
of tolerance and understanding.
To recognise each other's qualities
and to respect each other's feelings.
[KERR]: Obviously, there's a lot of negativity
in empire, certainly when we look at it historically
and there's an implication of one race
being better than other races.
So, Elizabeth, through her leadership
she had to turn Britain's back on those ideas
and create this new idea of equality
embodied in the Commonwealth.
[LACEY]: And in these years, dozens of countries
go from being colonies to independent members
of the United Nations.
But Britain has a Queen
a glamorous figure
to which many countries feel they want to remain attached
to remain members of this curious family
the British Commonwealth.
In this modern age
the strength and unity of the Commonwealth family
does not lie in common ancestry
nor in pursuing the same political line.
It springs from the knowledge
that we all share a lively concern
for individual freedom
and all the machinery which makes this possible.
[KERR]: She doesn't think that she has a right
to be Queen of any of these countries.
She believes in multi-racialism.
I think, interestingly, as a black person growing up
she was probably the only public figure
that I regularly saw with other black people
and she seemed to treat them in a position of equality.
I think it makes her a very modern, contemporary figure.
Almost ahead of her times.
She works very, very hard
at knowing what goes on in those countries
about their current preoccupations
and they always feel that they have a friend at court
and that means an enormous amount to them.
[CROWD CHEERS]
She is the glue that holds all these countries together.
[LACEY]: Britain is rather an empty concept
in some ways, in the 1970s.
It's lost its empire.
What can it turn to?
[HARDMAN]: From very early on, the '70s
become this period of great turmoil.
Britain starts to not quite fall apart
but it's a very troubled place.
[CROWD CLAMOURS]
[REPORTER]: It seemed like a sure formula for trouble
a major National Front march, and at the same spot
a left-wing rally with one object
to oppose the Front.
Despite a massive police presence
the trouble came almost immediately.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTS]
[LACEY]: Britain in the 1970s was a succession of crises.
Absolute confrontation between certain sections
of the population and the government.
[REPORTER]: Every day, new rubbish is added
to already decaying piles
almost twice as fast as the troops can cope.
[REPORTER 2]: Squares as famous as Leicester Square
had been transformed into special dumps.
[HARDMAN]: The unions versus
the Conservative government of Edward Heath
becomes the sort of dominant story
of the early '70s.
You know, the economy is getting progressively worse.
Industrial unrest is breaking out all over the place.
[MAN]: What do we need? - More pay!
When do we want it? - Now!
[INDISTINCT SHOUTS]
The UK was not a happy country to be in
and people needed something
to be able to let their hair down.
[WIND CHIMES JINGLE]
[PEOPLE CHATTER]
[ARBITER]: The government decided
yes, there would be a celebration
for the Silver Jubilee
but a lot of money wouldn't be spent on it
cos it would be the wrong thing to do.
At this moment, of my Silver Jubilee
I want to thank all those in Britain
and the Commonwealth
who, through their loyalty and friendship
have given me strength and encouragement
during these last 25 years.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[ARBITER]: The Queen did travel
to Australia, New Zealand
and the Pacific Islands
and to Canada and to the West Indies...
and I think she did something like 36 counties
in the United Kingdom
travelling something like 7,000 miles.
So, she did her duty.
People turned up in their tens of thousands to see her.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[ELIZABETH]: When I was 21
I pledged my life to the service of our people.
Although that vow was made
in my salad days, when I was green in judgement
I do not regret nor retract one word of it.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[HARDMAN]: People always want something
to be proud of, something to cheer them up
in a crisis.
The Jubilee, for people, it represents a moment
to come together and be proud of being British.
It's an excuse for a party.
It's one of the rare moments
of a sort of national unity
after several years of national discord.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[REPORTER]: Is there any possibility
of any announcement of your marriage
in the near future, can you tell me?
[BOY YELLS]: Prince Charles' wifey!
Can you tell me if there's any possibility?
I'm not going to say anything, I'm afraid.
Oh, sorry! - Prince Charles did give us
a hint himself.
He said we wouldn't have to wait too long.
Careful! - [THEY LAUGH]
[MORTON]: In the early days
the Queen's relationship with Diana was very good.
I mean, she welcomed Diana into the fold.
As she and Prince Philip used to say
"She's one of us," and she was.
The Queen felt that she was a great addition
to the family, and she liked the fact
that she was boisterous, fun
someone who could jolt Prince Charles
out of his melancholic state.
[PEOPLE CHANT]: We want Di!
[CROWD CHEERS]
[] Diana, Princess of Wales
was just something so new for the Royal Family.
A young, fresh approach to life
obviously able to communicate
and get on very easily with people.
[REPORTER]: Lady Diana Spencer is soon to become
Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales.
[OWEN]: In the earlier stages
they seemed like the most glamorous couple in the world.
[REPORTER]: What about the proposal, Your Royal Highness?
How did that come about?
Um... Well, I...
I asked Diana
before she went to Australia.
You actually said...
[DIANA]: Yes, quite promptly. - [HE LAUGHS]
[REPORTER]: Hello, good morning.
Well, the big day has arrived.
Britain and the world will celebrate
the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[OWEN]: It was generally seen
that this was an ideal way
to modernise the Royal Family, to have a couple
who could seem much more part
of the modern age, if you like.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[HARDMAN]: The Queen is obviously still
very much in charge.
She's still very well-regarded
hugely respected and admired
but in terms of public interest
the sort of tectonic plates have shifted.
People want to know all they can about this
the most glamorous young couple on Earth.
[CROWD CLAMOURS]
[CROWD ROARS]
[SIRENS WAIL]
The Queen did go through difficult years
when I was there.
I don't think it was my fault
and it wasn't her fault either.
I think the one that really does come to mind is 1992.
We knew that there was a book coming out
but there'd been so many books about the Royal Family.
Some of them fairly bland
some of them sensational
some of them sort of blue-sky thinking
sort of looking up and thinking, "Well, what can I make up now?"
And there I was, reading in black and white
stuff that could have only come from her.
It couldn't have come from anybody else.
And Diana phoned me at about half past four
five o'clock that morning
"What do I do?" she said, in a panic.
I said, "Ma'am, you've already done it."
[MORTON]: In 1991, '92, Diana felt
very much a prisoner of the palace.
She felt that she was isolated.
She felt that she was marginalised.
She felt that her husband was effectively
living with another man's wife, Camilla Parker Bowles.
She just felt that she was living a lie
and she wanted to tell the truth.
We wouldn't have published this story if it wasn't true
and hundreds of journalists around the world
have spent the last week trying to find
some flaw in this story.
It is an accurate story. It's a true account.
The people at the centre of it have stood by their stories.
I stand resolutely behind them.
The story was effectively
one which those inside the Royal Family knew about.
They were aware that Prince Charles was seeing
another man's wife.
They were aware that Diana had suffered
from an eating disorder, bulimia nervosa.
They couldn't believe that something
which had been kept behind closed doors
was now out in the public.
[ARBITER]: The Queen was, at first, angry.
Prince Philip was very angry.
[MORTON]: One of the overriding qualities
that the Queen has shown during her long reign
has been a sense of duty
a profound sense of duty.
And she expected her son
to adhere to that
and she did feel that with Charles and Diana
that they should make a genuine attempt
to make the marriage work
because it was so damaging
to the House of Windsor and to the monarchy.
[CAMERAS CLICK]
[REPORTER]: Backbench MPs have called it a savage attack
on the personal lives of the Royal Family.
To anyone watching the sheer number of press
surrounding members of the Royal Family
there might be an impression of a monarchy under siege.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[CHARLES ANSON]: The family troubles and the separations
and divorces and various other sort of gossipy stories
did have an impact on people's perception of the family.
This looked like the monarchy was on its way out.
That year was a year of endless surprises
and nothing was more surprising
when on that Friday morning
on a perfectly normal Friday morning
one of my team came in and said...
there's a small fire at Windsor
and this is looking very serious.
The fire is spreading very quickly.
[KERR]: I've known Windsor Castle since I was a little boy
since I was brought up very close
so that was really, really shocking.
So, to see that building I'd known and loved all my life
massively in flames
and the flames rising hundreds of feet...
I'll never forget that sight.
[ANSON]: She was out there
and was able, of course, to see all that was going on.
[ARBITER]: The Queen had lived there during the war.
Five years during the war, it really was home from home.
She had first gone to Windsor
when her grandfather was there, George V.
So it played a very pivotal role in her life
and to see this centuries-old castle go up
was very emotional, it was very emotional for everybody.
[ANSON]: And of course, we all said how sorry
we were about it, and the Queen...
just looked up and smiled and said
"At least we saved the pictures"
which was a typical... majestic understatement
of what had been a very troubling day.
[DISTANT OFFICER SHOUTS]
[SOLDIERS MARCH]
[ANSON]: That speech at the Guildhall
in 1992 was at quite an emotional moment.
It had been a difficult year already
and then the fire at Windsor on the Friday...
She'd had a very, very difficult sort of three days
quite emotionally draining.
It made for quite an emotional moment for the Queen.
1992 is not a year
on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.
In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents
it has turned out to be an annus horribilis.
[QUIET CHUCKLES]
But the crack in the voice
the smoke in her lungs
and in her speech was sort of evident
and made it feel as if the Queen was almost on the edge of tears.
I sometimes wonder how future generations
will judge the events of this tumultuous year.
I daresay that history would take
a slightly more moderate view
than that of some contemporary commentators.
There can be no doubt, of course
that criticism is good for people
and institutions that are part of public life
and that scrutiny, by one part of another
can be just as effective
if it is made with a touch of gentleness
good humour and understanding.
[ANSON]: This was not a self-pitying speech.
It was a speech about standards in public life
the standing of our institutions in a modern society
and the fact that it was healthier
that there was criticism
and, you know, the monarchy needed to examine itself
just as did other parts of it.
[REPORTER]: It was the Queen voicing her own thoughts
under pressure to defend her institution and her family.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[ELIZABETH]: Mr President, I am delighted to welcome you
to Buckingham Palace
on this, the first state visit to Britain
by a president of South Africa
and thus to underline once more
the close friendship between our two countries.
[REPORTER]: Meanwhile, the princess
last seen with Prince Charles in public at Eton
she has apparently yet to reply to the letter from the Queen
urging an early divorce.
According to friends, she's determined
there will be no divorce
until her future status is assured.
Let's just remind people who are just joining us
of why we're on the air.
We have reports from Paris
that Diana Princess of Wales has been killed
in a car accident.
[FAINT BIRDSONG]
The silence from Balmoral was deafening.
I think everybody was looking for leadership
and for comfort.
[REPORTER]: Nicholas Owen, our royal correspondent
is with me in the studio.
Nicholas?
[OWEN IN FOOTAGE]: This is an occasion when frankly
words are not adequate at all.
The most...
I would say almost
the most loved member of the Royal Family...
[OWEN]: I went down there
and I began to hear the whispers of criticism
of the Queen.
She looked uncaring.
There was a danger of the monarchy
getting into serious disrepute.
People might really turn against the Queen herself.
[ARBITER]: There were all sorts of headlines.
"Your people need you, ma'am."
Well, there were two people who needed her more
William and Harry.
[ARBITER]: To her, it was important
that her grandsons came out of this OK.
The Queen stayed at Balmoral
to be a granny, and not Queen.
First time she has put family above duty.
The Queen's flight is expected
to arrive at Northolt any minute now.
She'll then make her way to Buckingham Palace
to prepare for her live broadcast to the nation
at six o'clock tonight.
[KERR]: The Queen seemed off-balance.
There was almost a sort of revolutionary atmosphere.
There was this anger in the streets.
[ARBITER]: Coming back to London
with the attack from the media in the back of your mind.
"Is this going to be OK?"
[KERR]: Outside the gates of Buckingham Palace
there's this tumult of flowers and bouquets
and silent people.
Were they going to be angry?
[ARBITER]: There was a bit of apprehension
as to what sort of reception there would be.
[CROWD CHATTERS]
[CROWD APPLAUDS]
[SIR MCDONALD]: I don't think I'd ever seen an image
of the Queen outside Buckingham Palace on foot
but it was an indication
of the depth of feeling, I think...
that she should at some stage acknowledge
all those people who expressed
such great sorrow about the passing of Diana.
[ARBITER]: They looked at floral tributes.
They put flowers down for mourners.
They talked to mourners.
When she came out, she kind of looked at me
for a bit of reassurance, I suppose
and I just said, "That was fine, Your Majesty"
because it was fine.
Since last Sunday's dreadful news
we have seen throughout Britain and around the world
an overwhelming expression of sadness
at Diana's death.
The line I always remember
the line that always came out to me was
"as your Queen and a grandmother."
So, what I say to you now
as your Queen and as a grandmother
I say from my heart.
Head of the nation, head of state
and also somebody who was absolutely deeply
personally touched by what had happened
and it was absolutely the key moment, I think
the key moment to turn public opinion round.
[ELIZABETH]: First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself.
I admired and respected her
for her energy and commitment to others
and especially for her devotion to her two boys.
I share in your determination to cherish her memory.
Thank God for someone
who made many, many people happy.
Suddenly, people thought
"Oh, gosh, yeah. This is a tragedy for her as well."
And sympathy switched very much
towards the Queen at that point.
[REPORTER]: And the Queen standing there
in front of the gate of Buckingham Palace.
A sight that no one has seen before
because it hasn't happened before.
[ARBITER]: As the gun carriage went past
the Queen bowed.
The Queen doesn't normally bow.
She was showing a mark of respect
that only she could've done.
I think that's the closest we're ever going to come
to knowing what the Queen thinks
how the Queen feels.
[BELL TOLLS]
[KERR]: There was a breach between the British people
and their monarchy that week.
[BELL TOLLS]
But the Queen...
through powerful personal leadership
healed the breach.
[BELL TOLLS]
And yet again, she connected very powerfully
at this moment of crisis.
[ANSON]: The newspapers were saying
that there was virtually no interest whatsoever
in the Golden Jubilee.
And this showed how much
the public were simply not interested
in the monarchy and the Royal Family.
And certainly less interested five years after
the tragic death of Princess Diana.
[LACEY]: As Elizabeth approaches her Jubilee
her own life has been challenged
by the death in short order of her mother
and her sister Margaret
both of them incredibly strong figures
with whom she spent all her life to date.
[ANSON]: There was a sort of sense
that the Jubilee was going to be a very low-key occasion.
[CROWD CHATTERS]
[CROWD CHEERS]
[ANSON]: But in fact, it turned out
that the public wanted to celebrate
both the Queen
as well as where Britain was, and what it stood for.
[SIR MCDONALD]: Looking down the Mall on that day
you could see nothing but people.
[ANSON]: Crowds of over a million.
The same scale of public acclaim
as after the end of the Second World War.
You know, on VE Day.
And as the Queen and Prince Philip
came through Admiralty Arch...
[CROWD CHEERS]
...the rush of air of people...
gasping, "There is the Queen" was massive.
It was literally the rushing of a mighty wind down the Mall.
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]
The Queen very rarely looks surprised
after 50 years of her reign
but she looked quite startled
that there was this much sort of public acclamation.
Often, her look is a very serious one
but when she breaks into a smile
it is such a big smile.
It's a smile that welcomes everybody.
[SIR MCDONALD]: It was an enormous success
despite all the discussions
about whether the days of monarchy
are coming to an end.
People wanted to come out and show their respect
their regard for the job that she's done so well
over so many years.
[BELLS RING]
[LACEY]: William's marriage is very important
to his grandmother.
After these years of marital disharmony
suddenly here is a classic young royal romance.
Kate Middleton seems the ideal future successor.
People already at this stage are talking of her
as a future Elizabeth II...
which will lead, everybody hopes
to seeing the monarchy clear
into future decades
maybe even to the end of the century.
[CROWD CHEERS]
[NIKKHAH]: When Harry gets married to Meghan
the feeling from the public is overwhelmingly joyful.
The crowds are all behind them
the press is all behind them.
There is a feeling that the future is
interesting and diverse
and modern.
[REPORTER]: Breaking news tonight.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced
that they are carving out
what they call a "new role" for themselves.
[LACEY]: Certainly the way ahead which seemed so clear
for the Royal Family, these two brothers
and their beautiful wives moving forward
into a new generation, goes sour.
[CAMERAS CLICK]
[NIKKHAH]: I think Harry and Meghan's decision
to leave the Royal Family is a huge source
of disappointment to the Queen.
She does say
"We would much rather they had remained
working members of the Royal Family."
And that's from the Queen herself
so you get a strong insight there
into what she wanted.
[NIKKHAH]: She understands
how difficult things have been for them
and so while it's a source of great regret
and disappointment to her
this is her grandson, she's not going to hold him back.
[LACEY]: Then suddenly
the Queen is faced with, effectively
a second abdication.
A couple going off into exile...
and it's this curious echo of her early years.
It's an unresolved issue.
She moves ahead.
Harry and Meghan go to live in America
but it...
it's something that sours these later years of her reign.
[BIRDSONG]
[REPORTER]: We are breaking into programmes
to bring you an announcement from the Royal Household.
Buckingham Palace has announced the death
of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
who has passed away at the age of 99.
[BORIS JOHNSON]: Prince Philip earned the affection
of generations here in the United Kingdom
across the Commonwealth
and around the world.
[OFFICER]: Fire! Fire! - [CANNON FIRES]
Fire! - Fire!
[LACEY]: With no relatives beside her
suddenly a widow, having to face the future
without the man whose laughter and ideas
and companionship has always kept her going.
[LACEY]: Without her mother
without her sister...
no confidantes, really.
That image of her at her husband's funeral
physically on her own
it's something that's haunting, somehow
and stands for everything
in these final years, which is difficult.
[CANNON FIRES]
Let me begin by saying thank you
to all the thousands of kind people
who have sent me messages of goodwill.
At such a time
it is a great help to know
that there are multitudes of friends
all round the world
who are thinking of me
and who wish me well.
There is a motto
which has been borne by many of my ancestors.
A noble motto.
"I serve."
[CROWD CHEERS]
I declare before you all
that my whole life
whether it be long or short
shall be devoted to your service
and to the service of our great imperial family
to which we all belong.
But I shall not have strength
to carry out this resolution alone
unless you join in it with me...
[CROWD CHEERS]
...as I now invite you to do.
I know that your support will be unfailingly given.
God help me to make good my vow
and God bless all of you
who are willing to share in it.