A BBC documentary featuring never-before-seen footage of the Queen from her personal archive will include clips of the monarch beaming on her engagement ring – months before the announcement went public.
The Queen has granted the BBC unprecedented access to hundreds of homemade recordings shot by her, her parents and the Duke of Edinburgh in honor of her upcoming platinum jubilee.
The home movies, which had been privately held by the Royal Collection in the vaults of the British Film Institute (BFI), capture the Queen’s life from being pushed in a pram by her mother to her coronation in 1953.
The 75-minute documentary, titled Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen, captures Prince Philip’s first extended visit to Balmoral in 1946 when the couple’s engagement was still not public.
(PENNSYLVANIA)
It depicts a beaming Princess Elizabeth showing the camera her engagement ring.
The Queen was a young princess when she first met sea cadet Prince Philip of Greece in 1939 during a visit to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth where he was studying.
Philip, who was just 18, was introduced to 13-year-old Elizabeth at the college captain’s house.
The couple began to write to each other and Philip was invited to spend Christmas 1943 with the royal family in Windsor.
It was previously suggested the couple became unofficially engaged in the summer of 1946 while staying at Balmoral, but the official announcement was delayed until Princess Elizabeth was 21 and returned from a royal tour of South Africa the following year.
The couple married in November 1947 and were married for 73 years before the Duke of Edinburgh died last April, just months before his 100th birthday.
(PENNSYLVANIA)
The BBC documentary will depict rare moments including footage of Princess Elizabeth with her uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent, who tragically died in a plane crash in 1942 while on active duty, and the the King’s last visit to Balmoral in 1951.
It will also show the Queen as a young mother with the King and Queen as the loving grandparents of Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
BBC Studios has sifted through more than 400 film reels, uncovering lost newsreels and behind-the-scenes recordings of state events, believed to have been privately commissioned by the Royal Family.
Simon Young, BBC History Editor, said: “We are honored that the Queen has given the BBC unprecedented access to her personal film collection.
“This documentary is an extraordinary insight into a deeply personal side of the royal family that is rarely seen, and it’s wonderful to be able to share it with the nation as we celebrate its platinum jubilee.”
Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on May 29.
More about this article: Read More
Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-05-08 11:33:08