Thoughts whilst watching “Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen”:
How remarkable that one of (if not the) most photographed/filmed people in the world has kept such a massive collection of, until now, entirely private photos and videos for all these years. In this modern age of social media and oversharing, I think this documentary is a reminder of the value of photos and videos primarily as personal memories to treasure, and not just as self-advertising to broadcast for meaningless likes and views. It’s a reminder of the importance of documenting personal, family memories simply for that purpose alone, not for filtering the hell out of and using to try and gain some sort of meaningless popularity. Just my rambling thoughts.
A treasure trove of footage of the Queen taken from her personal film archive is to be shown for the first time, including clips of the young princess showing off her engagement ring months before the announcement was made public.
The monarch granted documentary-makers unprecedented access to hundreds of home recordings filmed by her, her parents and the Duke of Edinburgh to mark her upcoming Platinum Jubilee.
The home movies, which had been held privately 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, includes the first extended visit of Prince Philip to Balmoral in 1946 while the couple’s engagement was still private.
It features a delighted Princess Elizabeth showing the camera her engagement ring.
The BBC documentary will depict rare moments including footage of Princess Elizabeth with her uncle Prince George.
The Duke of Kent, who died in a plane crash in 1942 while on active service, and the King’s last visit to Balmoral in 1951 will also feature.
It will also show the Queen as a young mother with the King and Queen fond grandparents to Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
BBC Studios reviewed more than 400 reels of film, discovering lost newsreel and behind-the-scenes recordings of state events, believed to have been privately commissioned by the royal family.
Filmmakers listened to more than 300 of the Queen’s speeches, spanning over eight decades, to make the film which will be narrated by the Queen’s own voice and words alongside newsreel audio.
