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00:00:04,780 --> 00:00:09,220
For Edwardian Britons, a Bradshaw's
was an indispensable guide

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00:00:09,220 --> 00:00:13,740
to the railway
network at its peak.

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00:00:13,740 --> 00:00:17,460
I'm using an early 20th century
edition to navigate

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00:00:17,460 --> 00:00:19,980
a vibrant and
optimistic Britain

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00:00:19,980 --> 00:00:23,100
at the height of its power
and influence in the world...

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..but a nation wrestling
with political,

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00:00:28,180 --> 00:00:31,260
social and industrial
unrest at home.

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My train travels have brought me
from the far-flung coasts of Norfolk

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to England's southern shores.

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On this part of my journey,

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I'll glimpse a place
where Queen Victoria died,

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and so where
the Edwardian era began,

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and I'll follow the king's passions
for motor cars and yachts...

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..oh, and actresses.

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I'm following a route
that has taken me

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from Cromer to Cambridge's
venerable university

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and onwards to the delights
of Edwardian London.

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I've journeyed south to Sussex
and I'll wend my way

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along the south coast,
alighting at the Isle of Wight,

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Bournemouth and Poole.

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The fourth leg of my journey
begins at Chichester,

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in West Sussex,
and continues to Portsmouth.

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Then I'll cross the Solent
to find out about the royals

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on the Isle of Wight.

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Along my way I encounter
an Edwardian duo

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who made motoring history...

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Excuse me, I'm off for a little R&R.

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..learn the secrets
of the royal nursery...

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Albert Edward would fly into rages
and got very, sort of, frustrated.

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..and for one night only,
I tread the boards.

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You are real thespians!

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APPLAUSE

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The Sketch newspaper March 11, 1903.

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"A great honour has
fallen to the automobile club

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"of Great Britain and Ireland.

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"Nothing less than the
patronage of his most gracious

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"Majesty King Edward VII,
himself a keen automobilist."

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And here is a fine photograph
of the honourable CS Rolls

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on his 80 horsepower racing car.

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To find out what happened to
Mr Rolls, I'll alight at Chichester

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and head to Goodwood,
a name steeped in petrol vapours.

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TANNOY: Mind the gap between
the train and the platform.

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Chichester's 1950s
Festival of Britain-style

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railway station contrasts
with the much older

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Georgian architecture of the
West Sussex county town.

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I've arranged to meet Andrew Ball
of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

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Andrew, hello.
Michael, hi.

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I mean, this car
is aesthetic perfection.

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It is so indescribably beautiful.

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What is it? Michael, this is a
1908 Rolls-Royce 40/50 horsepower,

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known popularly as a Silver Ghost.

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This is a one-off
and this is The Silver Dawn.

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The turn of the 20th century
heralded the motoring age.

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A self-made businessman
named Henry Royce

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began to build
his first motor car in 1903.

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And in that same year,
an Eton-educated aristocrat

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called Charles Rolls
broke the land speed record.

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So what brought
Rolls and Royce together?

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So, the two gentlemen met -

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they were introduced by mutual
acquaintance in 1904 on 4th May

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at Midland Hotel in Manchester.

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Rolls was looking for
the best engineer in the world

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to build a car, a British car,
that he could sell

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from CS Rolls, his dealership
in Fulham in London.

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He was very keen
to sell a British car

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but it had to be a brilliant British
car, an exquisite British car.

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And in Royce, he found
the engineer he was looking for.

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Right, may we sit in the back?
Please.

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Andrew, the sheer luxury of this.

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It's like being in
a horse-drawn carriage.

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And I think early cars were known
as horseless carriages,

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weren't they? That's correct.

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Of course at the time, Rolls-Royce
would build you your rolling

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chassis, which would then be taken
to a coach builder for you

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to have your own bodywork built just
for you to your own commission.

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Cue the owner, Georgina Wood,

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managing director of a company
that restores vintage Rolls-Royces.

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Georgina, hello. I'm Michael.
Lovely to meet you.

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What a beautiful purring noise
that makes. Thank you, she's superb.

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Ah, gorgeous. I'll sit well back.

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King Edward VII was a keen motorist.

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He owned several cars,

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including two Mercedes
and a Daimler,

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all in his
signature claret colour.

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Motoring was an expensive luxury
and car ownership grew slowly.

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The poor old British motor industry
was held back for years,

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wasn't it, by that absurd
legislation that you had to

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carry a flag with a man
walking in front of the car.

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It's a miracle that this sort
of thing

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was produced after that period.

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That's true
and actually, it was Charles Rolls

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and a group of motoring pioneers
who fought that legislation.

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In 2003, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
moved its manufacturing base

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from Crewe, setting up near one
of motor racing's most famous

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circuits at Goodwood.

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It had moved close to the
home of Sir Henry Royce,

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who lived just a few miles
away until his death in 1933.

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A magnificent, magnificent sight.

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I wasn't sure that in your factory
I would see mass production

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but we are standing
above a production line.

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We are, Michael, but we definitely
aren't a mass-producer.

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We're very much a rare
drop in the automotive ocean.

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This is our assembly line for
Ghost, Wraith and Dawn.

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Here we have today 1,700
skilled men and women

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and every car that we build here at
the home of Rolls-Royce is bespoke.

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Crafting each car can
take 400 hours of skilled labour.

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The bodywork is meticulously
painted and joined to the chassis.

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Wood trim is painstakingly
prepared to ensure that the grain

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is perfectly symmetrical.

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And to create the luxurious
leather interiors,

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up to nine hides are used, stitched
by artisans under the watchful eye

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of manager Brian Staite.

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I must say, Brian,
if I were blindfolded

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I would know I was in the leather
shop. Such a gorgeous smell.

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Where does it all come from?

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All of our leather comes
from our supplier based in Germany.

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You've got an amazing
range of colours.

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You actually make use of all
these colours, do you? We do, yes.

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I don't want to insult
any of your customers,

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but I find some of these quite hard
to imagine. These are outlandish.

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I thought I had bright tastes,
but this is extraordinary.

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I think when we look
at individual colours like this,

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we have to think about the context
with which that customer's

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going to be using their vehicle.

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You know, they may be by the sea,
by the beach.

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A single machinist stitches
together the interior for each car.

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And every completed vehicle
receives a test drive

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before it leaves Goodwood.

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ENGINE REVS

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King Edward VII was very
keen on making alliances,

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but during his reign
one of the most important unions

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was made without royal intervention,
between Rolls and Royce.

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00:09:09,020 --> 00:09:11,540
Now, excuse me,
I'm off for a little R&R.

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My journey takes me further west,

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tracing a route around
beautiful Chichester Harbour,

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past Hayling Island
and towards Portsmouth.

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I have here the
programme for the opening night

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of the King's Theatre,
Albert Road, Southsea in Portsmouth,

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September 30th 1907.

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"HB Irving and his own company
will appear for six nights."

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00:10:25,020 --> 00:10:28,620
Portsmouth has been
a naval dockyard since 1194.

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00:10:31,100 --> 00:10:34,300
TANNOY: The train now approaching
platform one...

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The former suburb of Southsea
became a popular seaside resort

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00:10:43,300 --> 00:10:46,660
in its own right
in the 19th century,

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00:10:46,660 --> 00:10:49,940
and by the 20th,
required entertainment possibilities

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00:10:49,940 --> 00:10:51,460
of its own.

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The King's Theatre was designed
by renowned architect Frank Matcham.

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00:10:56,900 --> 00:11:01,140
The Kings Theatre has a wonderful
facade and now for the interior...

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00:11:05,180 --> 00:11:07,020
The foyer is delicious.

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It's 1907 and the important thing
when you come to the theatre is to

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leave behind the grime of your home,
leave your troubles outside,

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to come to somewhere majestic.

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And there is the crown of the king

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and the roof is held
aloft by angels,

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00:11:23,100 --> 00:11:28,140
because I've now entered
a world of illusions, of magic.

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I'm going to meet
archivist Peter Rann.

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Peter, hello. Hello there.
Nice to meet you.

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Wow! A vast auditorium.

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00:11:55,820 --> 00:12:00,060
And every detail
of this theatre is superb.

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00:12:00,060 --> 00:12:03,540
And this is the work of
Frank Matcham, is it? Who was he?

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00:12:03,540 --> 00:12:06,180
Frank Matcham was
a theatre designer.

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00:12:06,180 --> 00:12:10,620
He was responsible for changing
and building up to 150 theatres

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00:12:10,620 --> 00:12:12,860
throughout the country
during his lifetime.

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00:12:12,860 --> 00:12:16,460
Which were his others that
I might know? The London Palladium,

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00:12:16,460 --> 00:12:19,100
The Buxton Opera house. Superb.

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00:12:19,100 --> 00:12:20,980
The Grand at Blackpool.

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00:12:20,980 --> 00:12:24,660
It sounds then as though this was
a period of great theatre building.

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00:12:24,660 --> 00:12:27,500
Yes, it was
because the period was changing

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00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:30,060
from the Victorian
to the Edwardian times

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when people wanted to have fun.

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Therefore, they wanted to go
out and enjoy themselves.

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Though he never qualified,
Frank Matcham was the most prolific

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00:12:41,780 --> 00:12:46,340
and successful British
theatre architect of his day,

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known for his opulent interiors.

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Tell me about the features that
Matcham put into his theatre here.

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00:12:54,100 --> 00:12:56,980
Well, some of the innovations
that he put in -

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00:12:56,980 --> 00:13:00,580
his idea was that he got
a maximum number of people

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00:13:00,580 --> 00:13:03,860
into the theatre
with excellent sightlines

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00:13:03,860 --> 00:13:07,100
and good safety, because there were
a lot of theatres burning down

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00:13:07,100 --> 00:13:09,220
and having accidents in those days.

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00:13:09,220 --> 00:13:11,340
So the safety curtain
was one of the things

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00:13:11,340 --> 00:13:13,420
that he made sure was installed.

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00:13:13,420 --> 00:13:16,460
He put the
cantilevered balconies in.

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As you'll notice, there aren't
so many holes and posts.

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00:13:19,460 --> 00:13:23,100
People can get a much better view
without pillars in the way.

186
00:13:23,100 --> 00:13:26,060
Was he really a kind of standard
and trend setter, would you say?

187
00:13:26,060 --> 00:13:28,700
I would say he was
a great trendsetter, yes.

188
00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:31,660
He had a vision of elegance
about him,

189
00:13:31,660 --> 00:13:35,300
a magic that made
things really, really work.

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00:13:35,300 --> 00:13:38,700
Playing now is a
community theatre production

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00:13:38,700 --> 00:13:42,660
of Lads In The Village,
a farce about the First World War,

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00:13:42,660 --> 00:13:46,300
which was first
performed here in 1917.

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00:13:46,300 --> 00:13:49,020
And I'm being offered the chance to
find out what it's like

194
00:13:49,020 --> 00:13:51,020
to tread the boards.

195
00:13:51,020 --> 00:13:54,060
Let's hope I don't get stage fright.

196
00:13:54,060 --> 00:13:56,060
'Ere, what did you get it for, 'Erb?

197
00:13:56,060 --> 00:13:58,460
Oh, I got it for being
a bad lad, Mum. That's my boy.

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00:13:58,460 --> 00:14:00,540
That's my boy!

199
00:14:00,540 --> 00:14:06,620
Ladies and gentlemen,
on this au...spicious occasion

200
00:14:06,620 --> 00:14:09,220
I thought there could
be no better commemoration

201
00:14:09,220 --> 00:14:11,420
than to have 'Erb's photo took.

202
00:14:11,420 --> 00:14:15,780
And I shall take the honour
of standing by myself. Oh, yes!

203
00:14:17,700 --> 00:14:20,580
Oh, Mr Mayor, I am his mother.

204
00:14:20,580 --> 00:14:23,060
You must have me in the photo.

205
00:14:23,060 --> 00:14:25,580
I've been living
in this village...

206
00:14:25,580 --> 00:14:27,940
ALL: Oh, do shut up!

207
00:14:27,940 --> 00:14:30,020
Quiet! Still, please.

208
00:14:34,660 --> 00:14:37,540
Here, we've forgotten Sally.

209
00:14:37,540 --> 00:14:39,740
ALL: Sally?

210
00:14:39,740 --> 00:14:41,300
Oh, what a privilege.

211
00:14:41,300 --> 00:14:43,780
You are real thespians.

212
00:14:45,780 --> 00:14:48,420
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

213
00:15:07,580 --> 00:15:12,220
The Solent, this narrow straight,
is today one of the busiest

214
00:15:12,220 --> 00:15:14,020
sailing areas in the world.

215
00:15:15,660 --> 00:15:21,420
The fastest way to the Isle of Wight
and with no bovver is by hover.

216
00:15:21,420 --> 00:15:24,660
This service has
been running since 1965.

217
00:15:24,660 --> 00:15:28,060
It's carried 29 million people
in that time.

218
00:15:28,060 --> 00:15:30,900
It is the longest running
hovercraft service in the world.

219
00:15:30,900 --> 00:15:34,180
It is now the only commercial
hovercraft service in Europe

220
00:15:34,180 --> 00:15:36,580
and it will get
me there in 10 minutes.

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00:15:44,740 --> 00:15:46,940
We have liftoff.
The hovercraft is now riding

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00:15:46,940 --> 00:15:49,940
on its own cushion of air.

223
00:15:52,820 --> 00:15:55,660
And we do a 180 degree spin...

224
00:15:57,820 --> 00:15:59,580
..head out over the beach,

225
00:15:59,580 --> 00:16:01,980
scattering pebbles
in every direction,

226
00:16:01,980 --> 00:16:04,660
and arrive on the sea.

227
00:16:13,380 --> 00:16:16,420
Travelling by hovercraft
is called flying,

228
00:16:16,420 --> 00:16:19,820
and you can certainly feel
the surge as you get airborne.

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00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:26,500
It's 3.4 miles
from Portsmouth to Ryde.

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00:16:32,460 --> 00:16:36,500
Up onto dry land again.
It has taken 10 minutes.

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00:16:36,500 --> 00:16:38,580
This is my destination.

232
00:16:38,580 --> 00:16:40,140
I've got a ticket to Ryde.

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00:16:49,420 --> 00:16:52,180
The largest town
on the Isle of Wight,

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00:16:52,180 --> 00:16:54,820
Ryde is known as the
gateway to the island

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00:16:54,820 --> 00:16:57,620
and carries a charming
aura of past times

236
00:16:57,620 --> 00:16:59,860
on its salty air.

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00:17:03,140 --> 00:17:06,780
I'll be spending the night
at the Royal Esplanade Hotel,

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00:17:06,780 --> 00:17:08,860
described by Bradshaw's
as "high-class".

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00:17:20,180 --> 00:17:23,540
This morning,
I feel the call of the sea.

240
00:17:23,540 --> 00:17:26,420
I'm taking a constitutional
on Ryde Pier.

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00:17:28,340 --> 00:17:31,260
Ryde is really
one of my favourite piers.

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00:17:31,260 --> 00:17:35,340
Not only can you promenade,
you can drive along it

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00:17:35,340 --> 00:17:37,220
and of course you can
take the train.

244
00:17:37,220 --> 00:17:39,620
Oh, and did I mention it's very
long?

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00:17:39,620 --> 00:17:42,140
You feel like you could walk
halfway to Portsmouth.

246
00:17:43,580 --> 00:17:46,980
And for those like me who don't
fancy the walk back to shore,

247
00:17:46,980 --> 00:17:48,860
the rail station on the
pier beckons.

248
00:17:52,100 --> 00:17:54,940
I used to take summer holidays
on the Isle of Wight every year

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00:17:54,940 --> 00:17:58,780
with my family and we would
travel on this rail service,

250
00:17:58,780 --> 00:18:00,820
which in those days was steam.

251
00:18:00,820 --> 00:18:03,220
But now the service
is provided by trains

252
00:18:03,220 --> 00:18:05,060
taken from London Underground.

253
00:18:21,780 --> 00:18:25,820
The London Underground carriages
used on the Island Line,

254
00:18:25,820 --> 00:18:31,100
which runs from the
pier to Shanklin, date back to 1938.

255
00:18:31,100 --> 00:18:34,380
They're the oldest passenger
rolling stock

256
00:18:34,380 --> 00:18:37,140
on the national rail network
to operate a timetabled service.

257
00:18:42,500 --> 00:18:45,140
At Smallbrook Junction,
passengers connect

258
00:18:45,140 --> 00:18:49,660
to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway,
a five mile heritage line.

259
00:18:57,500 --> 00:19:01,140
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway
has a first-class compartment

260
00:19:01,140 --> 00:19:05,700
and it is springily
and luxuriously upholstered.

261
00:19:05,700 --> 00:19:08,060
And I like this touch.

262
00:19:08,060 --> 00:19:12,420
This is known as an antimacassar
and it's here to prevent the oil

263
00:19:12,420 --> 00:19:15,980
the gentleman used in their hair
from staining the seat.

264
00:19:15,980 --> 00:19:20,420
And it's very elegantly
embroidered "SR", Southern Railway.

265
00:19:32,220 --> 00:19:33,780
The end of the line is at Wootton.

266
00:19:38,100 --> 00:19:40,540
Goodbye!

267
00:19:40,540 --> 00:19:44,340
I've alighted
here on my way to Osborne House,

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00:19:44,340 --> 00:19:47,500
where the future King Edward VII
spent much of his childhood.

269
00:19:56,220 --> 00:19:59,260
I've come to meet curator
Michael Hunter.

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00:20:05,700 --> 00:20:07,980
Well, Michael, on a day like today
with the blue sky,

271
00:20:07,980 --> 00:20:10,620
the colour of the architecture,
the architecture itself,

272
00:20:10,620 --> 00:20:13,540
the intensity of the sunlight,
we could be in Italy, couldn't we?

273
00:20:13,540 --> 00:20:15,340
Who created this magnificent palace?

274
00:20:15,340 --> 00:20:17,500
Well, it was really created
by Prince Albert,

275
00:20:17,500 --> 00:20:20,180
Queen Victoria's husband,
in the 1840s.

276
00:20:20,180 --> 00:20:23,620
He and Queen Victoria came here
very soon into their marriage

277
00:20:23,620 --> 00:20:26,260
and they were looking
for a private family home,

278
00:20:26,260 --> 00:20:28,300
somewhere that they could call their
own.

279
00:20:28,300 --> 00:20:30,740
And the spectacular
setting of Osborne here,

280
00:20:30,740 --> 00:20:33,580
the privacy of the estate,
the view down to the beach

281
00:20:33,580 --> 00:20:36,660
and the view across to Portsmouth
reminded him of the Bay of Naples.

282
00:20:40,220 --> 00:20:44,100
Prince Albert designed
the Italianate house as a place

283
00:20:44,100 --> 00:20:48,420
to enjoy a relaxing family life
away from the formality of court.

284
00:20:50,220 --> 00:20:52,860
And so it would have been
here that Edward VII,

285
00:20:52,860 --> 00:20:54,940
Bertie as he was known
in those days,

286
00:20:54,940 --> 00:20:58,740
spent important periods
of his childhood. He did.

287
00:20:58,740 --> 00:21:01,620
Obviously, Osborne was one of
Queen Victoria's favourite places

288
00:21:01,620 --> 00:21:05,180
to be and so she, Prince Albert and
their nine children

289
00:21:05,180 --> 00:21:08,540
would come here to Osborne,
principally in the summer months

290
00:21:08,540 --> 00:21:12,020
and was out walking,
riding, swimming on the beach,

291
00:21:12,020 --> 00:21:14,220
enjoying the fresh air here.

292
00:21:14,220 --> 00:21:17,300
So there were happy family times
here at Osborne.

293
00:21:19,580 --> 00:21:22,620
Now open to the public,
the house is enjoyed by over

294
00:21:22,620 --> 00:21:24,900
a quarter of a million visitors
each year.

295
00:21:27,700 --> 00:21:30,820
Many of them make their way
through the grand corridor linking

296
00:21:30,820 --> 00:21:33,260
the main wings,
conceived by Prince Albert

297
00:21:33,260 --> 00:21:34,860
as a sculpture gallery.

298
00:21:37,740 --> 00:21:40,380
Michael is taking me
up to the nursery quarters,

299
00:21:40,380 --> 00:21:43,980
dedicated to the children,
their nannies and tutors.

300
00:21:45,500 --> 00:21:48,300
What a thoroughly evocative room
this is -

301
00:21:48,300 --> 00:21:50,460
cots, cradles, chamber pots.

302
00:21:50,460 --> 00:21:53,540
What do you think the scene
was like when the family was here?

303
00:21:53,540 --> 00:21:55,220
Well, I think these rooms up here

304
00:21:55,220 --> 00:21:57,060
were the busiest
in the house, really,

305
00:21:57,060 --> 00:21:59,500
the most important part of Osborne,
I suppose.

306
00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:03,020
Now, this room emphasises play
but Bertie, the Prince of Wales,

307
00:22:03,020 --> 00:22:04,900
had to be educated.
How did that go?

308
00:22:04,900 --> 00:22:07,620
Well, yes, there was a great plan,
really, wasn't there,

309
00:22:07,620 --> 00:22:08,940
to educate him.

310
00:22:08,940 --> 00:22:12,940
He had to become the perfect
constitutional monarch

311
00:22:12,940 --> 00:22:16,140
and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
had very unrealistic,

312
00:22:16,140 --> 00:22:19,100
I suppose in many ways,
expectations for him.

313
00:22:19,100 --> 00:22:23,380
And so he was exposed to a very
rigorous educational programme.

314
00:22:23,380 --> 00:22:26,540
Albert Edward was by no means
an intellectual and

315
00:22:26,540 --> 00:22:29,260
it's well documented that he found
it very difficult to concentrate

316
00:22:29,260 --> 00:22:31,660
on his lessons
and would fly into rages

317
00:22:31,660 --> 00:22:33,860
and got very, sort of, frustrated.

318
00:22:35,460 --> 00:22:39,260
Even playtime had an educational
element for the nine little

319
00:22:39,260 --> 00:22:42,140
princes and princesses.

320
00:22:42,140 --> 00:22:44,420
Though they had the
kind of Wendy house

321
00:22:44,420 --> 00:22:47,660
that other children
could only dream of.

322
00:22:47,660 --> 00:22:50,700
The Swiss cottage turns out to
be quite a major structure.

323
00:22:50,700 --> 00:22:53,940
What was it that the royal children
could do in it and around it?

324
00:22:53,940 --> 00:22:55,980
Well, it's a glorified playhouse.

325
00:22:55,980 --> 00:22:59,620
And here the royal princesses would
learn how to cook and housekeep in

326
00:22:59,620 --> 00:23:01,460
the kitchens on the ground floor,

327
00:23:01,460 --> 00:23:03,700
and upstairs
they would often entertain

328
00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:06,900
their parents to afternoon tea,
serving them the cakes and biscuits

329
00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:10,340
that they had previously
cooked themselves downstairs.

330
00:23:10,340 --> 00:23:14,060
And in the surrounding gardens,
each child had a plot of ground

331
00:23:14,060 --> 00:23:17,340
in which they would grow fruit,
flowers and vegetables.

332
00:23:17,340 --> 00:23:20,900
So Queen Victoria died
at Osborne House in 1901.

333
00:23:20,900 --> 00:23:23,980
Does the new King Edward VII
come here quite soon after that?

334
00:23:23,980 --> 00:23:26,820
He was obviously here
for when his mother passed away.

335
00:23:26,820 --> 00:23:31,140
But he came back a number of times
soon after her death.

336
00:23:31,140 --> 00:23:33,340
He came down here
to the Swiss cottage

337
00:23:33,340 --> 00:23:36,180
with one of his courtiers
Sir Lionel Cust

338
00:23:36,180 --> 00:23:39,020
and Sir Lionel
mentions in his memoirs

339
00:23:39,020 --> 00:23:41,860
that the king
was incredibly moved,

340
00:23:41,860 --> 00:23:44,060
he was really
sort of fighting back the tears.

341
00:23:44,060 --> 00:23:47,580
So I think that gives an indication
of how important Osborne was

342
00:23:47,580 --> 00:23:50,580
to the king,
particularly this area here

343
00:23:50,580 --> 00:23:53,340
which he and his siblings remembered

344
00:23:53,340 --> 00:23:56,900
throughout their lives as they
were adults with great affection.

345
00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:07,260
Queen Victoria's coffin was mounted
on a horse-drawn gun carriage

346
00:24:07,260 --> 00:24:11,100
to make the journey to East Cowes,
where it was placed on board

347
00:24:11,100 --> 00:24:13,900
the Royal Yacht Alberta.

348
00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:22,100
Today, Cowes is a yachting centre,

349
00:24:22,100 --> 00:24:24,660
well-known for its annual summer
regatta,

350
00:24:24,660 --> 00:24:27,380
the largest of many such events
that take place here

351
00:24:27,380 --> 00:24:28,980
throughout the summer.

352
00:24:28,980 --> 00:24:32,300
Look at that big class
two over there.

353
00:24:32,300 --> 00:24:36,020
Bradshaw's comments
that the annual Cowes Week Regatta,

354
00:24:36,020 --> 00:24:40,100
a seven day festival of sailing
in the presence of royalty,

355
00:24:40,100 --> 00:24:42,860
attracts a great crowd
of fashionable visitors.

356
00:24:46,460 --> 00:24:49,300
Nowadays, it's still
the largest event of its kind

357
00:24:49,300 --> 00:24:51,740
anywhere in the world.

358
00:24:51,740 --> 00:24:54,580
Kate Johnson
is on the executive team.

359
00:24:56,100 --> 00:25:00,700
I imagine organising Cowes Week is
a bit of a nightmare, isn't it?

360
00:25:00,700 --> 00:25:03,140
Well, I wouldn't say it's a
nightmare but it's a bit of a feat,

361
00:25:03,140 --> 00:25:05,980
a feat of organisation -
a very enjoyable one.

362
00:25:05,980 --> 00:25:09,420
We have between
800 and 1,000 boats racing.

363
00:25:09,420 --> 00:25:11,860
That gives us
about 8,000 crew members

364
00:25:11,860 --> 00:25:14,180
and normally around 100,000
spectators

365
00:25:14,180 --> 00:25:15,740
who come to watch the week.

366
00:25:15,740 --> 00:25:19,340
Crews coming from how many
countries? From about 15.

367
00:25:19,340 --> 00:25:21,620
Most of our entries are UK.

368
00:25:21,620 --> 00:25:23,540
The second highest after
that is Netherlands.

369
00:25:23,540 --> 00:25:25,660
We have quite a lot of boats
from the Netherlands,

370
00:25:25,660 --> 00:25:28,740
but they come from as far afield
as the US, Australia, Hong Kong,

371
00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:31,460
all over the place. So it does have
a real international flavour.

372
00:25:31,460 --> 00:25:33,380
These waters are quite crowded.

373
00:25:33,380 --> 00:25:36,220
There are ferry boats and all
sorts of things all over the place.

374
00:25:36,220 --> 00:25:40,100
Is that a complication? It makes
it fun and quite a challenge.

375
00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:43,340
And in a way, that's sort of
what makes the Solent so special.

376
00:25:43,340 --> 00:25:46,580
It's a very protected stretch of
water because of the Isle of Wight,

377
00:25:46,580 --> 00:25:48,940
with fantastic tidal conditions
and a lot of shopping.

378
00:25:48,940 --> 00:25:51,260
I mean, we're on a
major shipping channel.

379
00:25:51,260 --> 00:25:54,660
So there's quite a lot for the boats
to think about when they're racing.

380
00:25:58,180 --> 00:26:01,820
The Royal Yacht Squadron
is an exclusive private sailing club

381
00:26:01,820 --> 00:26:05,060
with long-standing
royal connections.

382
00:26:05,060 --> 00:26:07,740
I'm meeting Commodore David Hughes.

383
00:26:07,740 --> 00:26:10,540
David, a brilliant setting.
It's wonderful, isn't it?

384
00:26:10,540 --> 00:26:12,820
But what was the origin of
the Royal Yacht Squadron?

385
00:26:12,820 --> 00:26:15,420
There was a group of gentlemen
who met in a tavern in London

386
00:26:15,420 --> 00:26:18,060
in 1815 on 1st June

387
00:26:18,060 --> 00:26:20,940
and they decided to form a thing
called the Yacht Club.

388
00:26:20,940 --> 00:26:23,860
And then later
when William IV was on the throne,

389
00:26:23,860 --> 00:26:26,820
he decreed it should be called
the Royal Yacht Squadron.

390
00:26:26,820 --> 00:26:29,580
Now, Bertie,
who became King Edward VII... Yes?

391
00:26:29,580 --> 00:26:32,700
..was he interested in yachting
from an early age? Yes, he was,

392
00:26:32,700 --> 00:26:36,460
right from the very beginning.
And he built a succession of yachts.

393
00:26:36,460 --> 00:26:38,980
The most famous of them all,
of course, was the Britannia,

394
00:26:38,980 --> 00:26:43,220
which was built in 1893
and she was a real trendsetter,

395
00:26:43,220 --> 00:26:44,900
different to anything else

396
00:26:44,900 --> 00:26:47,900
and she was a really,
really successful yacht.

397
00:26:49,980 --> 00:26:55,020
Cowes Week began in 1826
as a single race for seven yachts.

398
00:26:58,780 --> 00:27:02,980
And the social side of Cowes
was important to King Edward VII.

399
00:27:02,980 --> 00:27:06,620
It was. You might say that
his period as King Edward VII

400
00:27:06,620 --> 00:27:09,660
was the pinnacle of
Cowes Week as a social scene,

401
00:27:09,660 --> 00:27:11,860
and people came in their droves
to spectate

402
00:27:11,860 --> 00:27:14,740
and do celebrity spotting.

403
00:27:24,420 --> 00:27:29,260
With the death of Queen Victoria
began the Edwardian era -

404
00:27:29,260 --> 00:27:31,820
looser and loucher.

405
00:27:31,820 --> 00:27:35,380
A spate of theatre building
brought troupes of dancers

406
00:27:35,380 --> 00:27:39,100
and thespians to every major town.

407
00:27:39,100 --> 00:27:43,580
Our racy king gave his royal
seal of approval to motoring

408
00:27:43,580 --> 00:27:46,740
and showed the cut
of his jib at Cowes.

409
00:27:46,740 --> 00:27:49,460
His visits to the Isle of Wight
brought back happy memories

410
00:27:49,460 --> 00:27:52,740
of childhood family holidays.

411
00:27:52,740 --> 00:27:56,060
Whenever I'm there,
for me, it's the same.

412
00:28:03,540 --> 00:28:04,780
Next time...

413
00:28:04,780 --> 00:28:06,180
At alert.

414
00:28:06,180 --> 00:28:09,740
..I promise to do
my best with the Scouts...

415
00:28:09,740 --> 00:28:12,380
Once a Scout, always a Scout.

416
00:28:12,380 --> 00:28:16,020
..find war horses
in the Hampshire wilderness...

417
00:28:16,020 --> 00:28:18,940
Do you like to be brushed?
Look at that.

418
00:28:18,940 --> 00:28:22,220
A beautiful sheen to this coat.

419
00:28:22,220 --> 00:28:25,220
..and experience the charms
of a British institution

420
00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:27,500
born in the Edwardian era.

421
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:30,460
Do you always dress
to match your beach hut? Yes.