1 00:00:01,702 --> 00:00:03,435 God help me to make good my vow 2 00:00:04,105 --> 00:00:05,904 and God bless all of you. 3 00:00:05,940 --> 00:00:06,972 If you haven't got a Queen, 4 00:00:07,008 --> 00:00:09,641 you make do with film stars and pop stars, 5 00:00:09,677 --> 00:00:11,276 but if you've got a Queen it obviously is 6 00:00:11,312 --> 00:00:12,344 so much better. 7 00:00:12,380 --> 00:00:13,912 NARRATOR: For over six decades, 8 00:00:13,948 --> 00:00:15,214 Queen Elizabeth II 9 00:00:15,249 --> 00:00:16,682 has been among the most famous 10 00:00:16,717 --> 00:00:18,751 and influential women in the world. 11 00:00:18,786 --> 00:00:21,353 SIMON LEWIS: The Queen has connected with the British people 12 00:00:21,389 --> 00:00:23,422 in the most extraordinary way. 13 00:00:23,457 --> 00:00:25,958 She's been as constant as the Northern Star. 14 00:00:25,993 --> 00:00:27,793 (EXPLOSIONS AND GUNFIRE) 15 00:00:27,828 --> 00:00:30,362 NARRATOR: She came of age amid the death and destruction 16 00:00:30,398 --> 00:00:32,097 of a world at war. 17 00:00:32,133 --> 00:00:33,465 SIR BEN KINGSLEY: In her lifetime 18 00:00:33,501 --> 00:00:35,534 we have been grievously threatened 19 00:00:35,569 --> 00:00:38,537 by a power that would've annihilated us. 20 00:00:38,572 --> 00:00:41,373 Her parents were putting their lives on the line. 21 00:00:41,409 --> 00:00:43,509 And Elizabeth knew that. 22 00:00:43,544 --> 00:00:45,911 A German plane dropped its bombs. 23 00:00:45,946 --> 00:00:47,112 (EXPLOSION) 24 00:00:47,148 --> 00:00:49,982 And nearly killed the King and Queen. 25 00:00:51,519 --> 00:00:54,119 (QUEEN ELIZABETH II READING) 26 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,494 NARRATOR: In the tumultuous decades after World War II, 27 00:01:02,530 --> 00:01:05,064 Elizabeth II shepherded her realm 28 00:01:05,099 --> 00:01:07,266 through often violent political and social turmoil. 29 00:01:07,301 --> 00:01:08,634 (SIRENS BLARING) 30 00:01:08,669 --> 00:01:12,805 Her reign has been a reign of extraordinary change and challenge. 31 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,340 SIR JOHN MAJOR: She has a very strong sense of duty. 32 00:01:15,376 --> 00:01:17,309 In private, she's very human. 33 00:01:17,344 --> 00:01:21,013 She's a warm human being. And that comes through when you meet her. 34 00:01:21,782 --> 00:01:24,016 NARRATOR: Through her eventful decades on the throne, 35 00:01:24,051 --> 00:01:26,685 she has endured scandal and tragedy. 36 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,689 It has turned out to be an annus horribilis. 37 00:01:31,992 --> 00:01:35,027 But she showed her usual stiff upper lip. 38 00:01:35,062 --> 00:01:37,729 NARRATOR: Her steadfast character forged in war 39 00:01:37,765 --> 00:01:39,932 and tempered in turbulent times, 40 00:01:39,967 --> 00:01:42,501 she's kept a promise made to her subjects. 41 00:01:43,003 --> 00:01:46,371 She avowed that whether her life was long or short, 42 00:01:46,407 --> 00:01:49,341 she would devote it entirely to the people of England. 43 00:01:49,376 --> 00:01:52,077 She said she'd stay and she's staying. 44 00:01:52,113 --> 00:01:55,647 NARRATOR: This is the story of Queen Elizabeth II. 45 00:01:55,683 --> 00:01:58,183 (ELIZABETH II SPEAKING) 46 00:02:07,795 --> 00:02:10,262 NARRATOR: In Their Own Words is made possible in part 47 00:02:10,297 --> 00:02:12,898 by contributions to your PBS station 48 00:02:12,933 --> 00:02:14,500 from viewers like you. 49 00:02:14,535 --> 00:02:15,868 Thank you. 50 00:02:16,971 --> 00:02:19,438 ELIZABETH II: My own association with the Commonwealth 51 00:02:19,473 --> 00:02:23,876 has taught me that the most important contact between nations 52 00:02:23,911 --> 00:02:26,979 is usually contact between its peoples. 53 00:02:27,014 --> 00:02:32,017 NARRATOR: Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her diamond jubilee in 2012, 54 00:02:32,052 --> 00:02:35,387 marking her six decades as Britain's reigning monarch. 55 00:02:35,422 --> 00:02:37,656 Her father had a great comment 56 00:02:37,691 --> 00:02:40,492 when he was congratulated for becoming King. 57 00:02:40,528 --> 00:02:43,862 He said, well, you know, it's not that great a job. 58 00:02:43,898 --> 00:02:46,465 There's no room for advancement. 59 00:02:47,601 --> 00:02:49,701 In a way, she can do nothing 60 00:02:49,737 --> 00:02:52,538 and in a way, she can do a lot. 61 00:02:53,007 --> 00:02:54,673 NARRATOR: Beginning in the Middle Ages, 62 00:02:54,708 --> 00:02:58,610 the British monarchy has evolved from a sovereign with absolute power 63 00:02:58,646 --> 00:03:00,746 into a constitutional monarchy 64 00:03:00,781 --> 00:03:03,815 in which an elected parliament has the power to govern 65 00:03:03,851 --> 00:03:05,918 and the King or Queen is a figurehead, 66 00:03:05,953 --> 00:03:07,886 a ceremonial head of state. 67 00:03:07,922 --> 00:03:10,822 I pray that the blessing of almighty God 68 00:03:11,559 --> 00:03:13,492 may rest upon your councils. 69 00:03:13,827 --> 00:03:16,895 It is the ceremonial head of state 70 00:03:16,931 --> 00:03:21,900 that represents the history, the tradition of the country, 71 00:03:22,336 --> 00:03:24,636 and she has performed that function 72 00:03:24,672 --> 00:03:26,638 absolutely brilliantly. 73 00:03:26,974 --> 00:03:29,608 NARRATOR: While exercising her ceremonial role, 74 00:03:29,643 --> 00:03:32,644 the modern English monarch maintains strict neutrality 75 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:34,213 in matters of state. 76 00:03:34,248 --> 00:03:36,915 The Queen is above politics. 77 00:03:36,951 --> 00:03:41,153 Indeed much of her influence is precisely because she is above politics. 78 00:03:41,755 --> 00:03:44,356 She exercises her influence by example. 79 00:03:44,858 --> 00:03:47,993 And her example particularly in terms of 80 00:03:48,028 --> 00:03:52,164 public duty and public responsibility is quite remarkable. 81 00:03:52,633 --> 00:03:55,434 What we like about the monarchy is, first of all, the continuity. 82 00:03:55,903 --> 00:04:00,038 The fact that the monarchy is a seemingly unending institution 83 00:04:00,074 --> 00:04:02,374 that passes from generation to generation. 84 00:04:02,409 --> 00:04:05,944 She's really, for many people, a symbol of what Britain was 85 00:04:05,980 --> 00:04:07,112 and what Britain is, 86 00:04:07,147 --> 00:04:08,680 and in that kind of symbolic role, 87 00:04:08,716 --> 00:04:11,783 that's where the real power of monarchy kind of lies today. 88 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,822 NARRATOR: There have been 66 British monarchs since the year 827, 89 00:04:16,857 --> 00:04:20,225 when King Egbert ruled all of Anglo-Saxon England. 90 00:04:20,261 --> 00:04:22,861 None reigned longer than Queen Victoria and 91 00:04:22,896 --> 00:04:26,031 her great-great-granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II. 92 00:04:26,066 --> 00:04:30,502 She is the living embodiment of 12 centuries of royal tradition. 93 00:04:30,537 --> 00:04:33,572 The essence of something that is very hard to define 94 00:04:33,607 --> 00:04:35,140 and put into words. 95 00:04:35,175 --> 00:04:37,209 But at the heart of that something 96 00:04:37,244 --> 00:04:40,245 is that extraordinary language, lineage, 97 00:04:40,281 --> 00:04:43,248 presence, comfort, reassurance, 98 00:04:43,884 --> 00:04:48,020 a steadfastness, but also a kindness 99 00:04:48,055 --> 00:04:49,855 and concern that has allowed 100 00:04:50,190 --> 00:04:51,990 us to have a mom. 101 00:04:52,326 --> 00:04:55,994 And for us to be our mom in a reign of extraordinary change. 102 00:04:56,030 --> 00:04:58,964 MAJOR: The monarchy, they say, is slow to change. 103 00:04:58,999 --> 00:05:00,666 This queen has evolved. 104 00:05:00,701 --> 00:05:05,737 At a time in history when the world has moved in all its aspects faster 105 00:05:05,773 --> 00:05:08,040 and more comprehensively than ever before. 106 00:05:08,075 --> 00:05:13,278 Elizabeth II is as relevant now as she was in 1952. 107 00:05:14,081 --> 00:05:16,214 ELIZABETH II: (OVER RADIO) I declare before you all that... 108 00:05:27,361 --> 00:05:30,862 They became the House of Windsor because of World War I. 109 00:05:30,898 --> 00:05:32,264 (CANNONS FIRING) 110 00:05:32,299 --> 00:05:35,667 NARRATOR: With his realm at war with Germany in 1917, 111 00:05:35,703 --> 00:05:38,437 Queen Elizabeth's grandfather, King George V, 112 00:05:38,472 --> 00:05:42,774 changes his family's name from the very German "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" 113 00:05:42,810 --> 00:05:45,077 to the very British "Windsor." 114 00:05:46,914 --> 00:05:49,581 SEIDLER: He thought, well, how can we get a good English name 115 00:05:49,616 --> 00:05:52,884 and somebody said, well, "You know, you stay at Windsor Castle, 116 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,821 "wouldn't that be a good name," and that's what they picked. 117 00:05:57,024 --> 00:06:00,158 NARRATOR: King George V and Queen Mary have six children. 118 00:06:00,194 --> 00:06:01,560 The oldest are boys, 119 00:06:01,595 --> 00:06:03,562 David, the heir to the throne, 120 00:06:03,597 --> 00:06:06,665 and his younger brother Albert, known as "Bertie." 121 00:06:06,700 --> 00:06:09,101 David is still a bachelor in 1923, 122 00:06:09,136 --> 00:06:12,671 when Bertie marries Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, 123 00:06:12,706 --> 00:06:14,806 the daughter of a Scottish Earl. 124 00:06:15,442 --> 00:06:19,144 She turned down the King quite often on his many proposals, 125 00:06:19,179 --> 00:06:22,848 uh, because she didn't really want to have a life that was particularly in the limelight. 126 00:06:22,883 --> 00:06:24,983 SEIDLER: She accepted it the third time, 127 00:06:25,018 --> 00:06:27,652 partly because he stuttered 128 00:06:27,688 --> 00:06:31,923 and she realized, oh, well, they can't really push him forward 129 00:06:31,959 --> 00:06:34,092 for a lot of royal duties. 130 00:06:34,128 --> 00:06:36,561 The whole notion that he would have to 131 00:06:36,597 --> 00:06:38,830 stand before the British people 132 00:06:38,866 --> 00:06:40,532 and be a leader 133 00:06:40,567 --> 00:06:42,667 was sort of terrifying to him. 134 00:06:43,871 --> 00:06:47,072 NARRATOR: The Prince and Princess give birth to their first child, 135 00:06:47,107 --> 00:06:52,310 Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, on April 21, 1926. 136 00:06:52,346 --> 00:06:55,981 BEDELL SMITH: Princess Elizabeth had quite an idyllic childhood. 137 00:06:56,016 --> 00:06:57,649 Her mother and father were 138 00:06:57,684 --> 00:07:02,954 for their generation quite involved in their children's lives. 139 00:07:02,990 --> 00:07:06,992 They did some traveling for their royal duties. 140 00:07:07,027 --> 00:07:10,128 They actually missed Elizabeth's first birthday 141 00:07:10,164 --> 00:07:12,431 because they were off on a royal tour. 142 00:07:12,466 --> 00:07:15,767 But by and large it was a very loving family. 143 00:07:17,337 --> 00:07:20,539 NARRATOR: Elizabeth's only sibling, Princess Margaret Rose, 144 00:07:20,574 --> 00:07:23,041 is born in August of 1930. 145 00:07:23,076 --> 00:07:26,978 BEDELL SMITH: Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth were very close. 146 00:07:27,014 --> 00:07:29,781 Temperamentally, they couldn't have been more different. 147 00:07:29,817 --> 00:07:34,052 Princess Elizabeth was quiet, reserved, conscientious, 148 00:07:34,087 --> 00:07:35,854 always did the right thing. 149 00:07:35,889 --> 00:07:39,090 Margaret was the joker, the entertainer. 150 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,494 NARRATOR: Elizabeth's uncle David, the heir to the throne, 151 00:07:42,529 --> 00:07:44,896 is a jazz age bachelor playboy. 152 00:07:45,566 --> 00:07:49,734 In contrast, her family projects an ideal of English domesticity. 153 00:07:50,804 --> 00:07:53,104 The young princess is tutored at home, 154 00:07:53,140 --> 00:07:57,709 a tradition in the Royal Family for a child who isn't destined for the throne. 155 00:08:01,949 --> 00:08:07,285 Princess Elizabeth is a few months shy of 10 years old on January 20, 1936, 156 00:08:07,321 --> 00:08:10,388 when her grandfather, George V dies, 157 00:08:10,424 --> 00:08:13,825 and her uncle David becomes King Edward VIII. 158 00:08:14,895 --> 00:08:17,929 David had been adored by the British 159 00:08:18,665 --> 00:08:21,266 for being a playboy. They actually loved it. 160 00:08:21,301 --> 00:08:22,934 It was the flapper era. 161 00:08:22,970 --> 00:08:27,506 It was the wild and gay twenties and so he personified that. 162 00:08:27,541 --> 00:08:31,610 He spent much of his time playing polo 163 00:08:31,645 --> 00:08:34,412 and wining and dining and being a playboy. 164 00:08:36,850 --> 00:08:40,485 NARRATOR: With the carnage of World War I fresh in the national memory 165 00:08:40,521 --> 00:08:43,622 and Adolf Hitler building a German war machine 166 00:08:43,657 --> 00:08:46,091 that threatens his European neighbors, 167 00:08:46,126 --> 00:08:48,493 Edward VIII has a problem. 168 00:08:49,897 --> 00:08:53,565 David definitely had sympathies 169 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,569 for the Nazi party and admiration for Adolf Hitler. 170 00:08:57,604 --> 00:09:01,106 BEDELL SMITH: And any notion of sympathy toward 171 00:09:01,141 --> 00:09:02,908 what was going on in Germany 172 00:09:02,943 --> 00:09:05,243 in the 1930s was worrying. 173 00:09:05,279 --> 00:09:08,647 O'NEILL: He wanted to be part of the international discussion 174 00:09:08,682 --> 00:09:11,316 and the Germans were happy to help him out with this. 175 00:09:11,351 --> 00:09:14,185 He wanted to be a modern man and eventually a modern monarch 176 00:09:15,222 --> 00:09:17,422 and to have a modern kind of wife. 177 00:09:17,457 --> 00:09:19,424 And that really got him into trouble. 178 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,294 NARRATOR: Soon after his accession to the throne, 179 00:09:22,329 --> 00:09:24,796 a scandal erupts over the King's desire 180 00:09:24,831 --> 00:09:27,198 to make Wallis Simpson his wife. 181 00:09:27,234 --> 00:09:28,833 SEIDLER: That was a huge problem 182 00:09:28,869 --> 00:09:32,637 because she was a twice-divorced American. 183 00:09:32,673 --> 00:09:34,940 My goodness. How bad can it get? 184 00:09:34,975 --> 00:09:38,476 LORD NORWICH: He was like a 15-year-old in love for the first time. 185 00:09:38,512 --> 00:09:41,980 First of all, he thought she was the most beautiful thing since Helen of Troy. 186 00:09:42,015 --> 00:09:44,449 We all thought she looked like the back of a bus. 187 00:09:45,152 --> 00:09:49,287 And the government tried everything to discourage him. 188 00:09:51,224 --> 00:09:53,592 NARRATOR: Intent on marrying Mrs. Simpson, 189 00:09:53,627 --> 00:09:57,395 Edward VIII yields to intense pressure and abdicates 190 00:09:57,431 --> 00:09:59,631 after just 10 months on the throne. 191 00:10:00,133 --> 00:10:02,167 EDWARD VIII: (ON RADIO) You all know the reasons 192 00:10:02,202 --> 00:10:05,904 which have impelled me to renounce the throne. 193 00:10:05,939 --> 00:10:10,008 NARRATOR: The scandal has a profound effect on Princess Elizabeth. 194 00:10:10,043 --> 00:10:13,311 BEDELL SMITH: She had a relatively normal childhood 195 00:10:13,347 --> 00:10:14,779 for 10 years. 196 00:10:14,815 --> 00:10:17,849 And life changed obviously enormously after the abdication. 197 00:10:19,119 --> 00:10:21,319 NARRATOR: On the day her uncle abdicates, 198 00:10:21,355 --> 00:10:26,224 10-year-old Elizabeth's father is formally proclaimed King George VI. 199 00:10:26,259 --> 00:10:29,160 Bertie was not brought up to be King. 200 00:10:29,529 --> 00:10:33,064 Up until the abdication, he did not want that role, 201 00:10:33,100 --> 00:10:35,066 and felt himself to be unprepared for it. 202 00:10:35,102 --> 00:10:37,669 And much of the country thought he would be unprepared for it. 203 00:10:38,438 --> 00:10:41,539 There were articles in the British papers 204 00:10:41,575 --> 00:10:45,944 specifically saying, "Oh, he is such a frail man, 205 00:10:45,979 --> 00:10:48,313 "He just won't live very long." 206 00:10:48,348 --> 00:10:51,349 They totally underestimated the man. 207 00:10:54,021 --> 00:10:56,354 NARRATOR: "The Accidental King" is crowned 208 00:10:56,390 --> 00:10:59,724 at Westminster Abbey on May 12, 1937. 209 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,894 RADIO ANCHOR: Elizabeth, heiress to the throne is 11 years old. 210 00:11:02,929 --> 00:11:06,998 One day she will be the principle in the stately and elaborate coronation rite 211 00:11:07,034 --> 00:11:09,868 which goes back more than 1,000 years. 212 00:11:09,903 --> 00:11:11,703 BEDELL SMITH: Suddenly her father 213 00:11:11,738 --> 00:11:13,872 had this burden thrust upon him. 214 00:11:13,907 --> 00:11:15,607 CROWD: God save the King! 215 00:11:16,643 --> 00:11:19,010 And his daughter became the heiress presumptive. 216 00:11:19,513 --> 00:11:21,846 LADY ELIZABETH: While her father was learning to be King, 217 00:11:22,382 --> 00:11:24,482 she was incredibly close to her father 218 00:11:25,118 --> 00:11:27,052 and was always with him. 219 00:11:27,087 --> 00:11:30,689 When he knew that she was going to be his heir 220 00:11:30,724 --> 00:11:34,492 a program of preparation was set in motion. 221 00:11:41,868 --> 00:11:46,271 NARRATOR: Elizabeth celebrates her 13th birthday in the spring of 1939, 222 00:11:46,306 --> 00:11:49,674 and soon begins an intensive course of private study 223 00:11:49,710 --> 00:11:52,177 under the vice-provost of Eton College. 224 00:11:52,212 --> 00:11:54,946 BEDELL SMITH: In addition to that, she had her father, 225 00:11:54,981 --> 00:11:59,050 who was the only person who could really talk to her about 226 00:11:59,086 --> 00:12:01,586 the challenges of being a monarch. 227 00:12:01,621 --> 00:12:03,755 Her mother also played a role. 228 00:12:04,257 --> 00:12:08,760 Her mother knew that Elizabeth was innately shy. 229 00:12:09,129 --> 00:12:12,897 So she would pretend to be various dignitaries 230 00:12:12,933 --> 00:12:17,535 and she would teach Princess Elizabeth how to have conversations with them. 231 00:12:18,038 --> 00:12:20,872 All of which stood her in good stead 232 00:12:20,907 --> 00:12:22,540 when the time eventually came. 233 00:12:22,576 --> 00:12:24,476 And she had no idea when it would come. 234 00:12:24,511 --> 00:12:27,879 NARRATOR: In the summer of '39, with war on the horizon, 235 00:12:27,914 --> 00:12:31,249 the Royal Family visits the Royal Dartmouth Naval College, 236 00:12:31,284 --> 00:12:35,520 where 13-year-old Elizabeth meets cadet Prince Philip of Greece. 237 00:12:35,555 --> 00:12:40,892 He was an 18-year-old naval officer in training. 238 00:12:40,927 --> 00:12:43,194 He was extremely dishy, it has to be said, 239 00:12:43,230 --> 00:12:47,398 tall and upstanding and in the Navy, it was everything right. 240 00:12:47,434 --> 00:12:49,734 NARRATOR: Philip is the son of Prince Andrew of Greece, 241 00:12:49,770 --> 00:12:52,370 and as a great-great grandson of Queen Victoria, 242 00:12:52,405 --> 00:12:55,373 he's Elizabeth's second cousin once removed. 243 00:12:56,009 --> 00:12:58,510 SEIDLER: They clearly hit it off on this meeting 244 00:12:58,545 --> 00:13:02,981 and as the royal yacht sailed out of the harbor, 245 00:13:03,517 --> 00:13:07,919 here was young Philip stripped to the waist, quite a handsome young lad, 246 00:13:07,954 --> 00:13:12,223 rowing madly after the boat, waving goodbye to the princess. 247 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,661 NARRATOR: Philip's family has origins in Denmark and Germany. 248 00:13:16,696 --> 00:13:19,063 Imported to Greece in the mid-19th century, 249 00:13:19,099 --> 00:13:23,067 they were deposed and exiled when Philip was just a year old. 250 00:13:23,103 --> 00:13:25,770 Elizabeth's parents are not in favor of her interest 251 00:13:25,806 --> 00:13:28,807 in a banished and impoverished Greek prince. 252 00:13:28,842 --> 00:13:31,409 BEDELL SMITH: Elizabeth's mother really wanted her daughter 253 00:13:31,444 --> 00:13:34,512 to marry an English aristocrat with a big estate 254 00:13:34,548 --> 00:13:36,815 and a title similar to her own. 255 00:13:36,850 --> 00:13:39,818 SEIDLER: She didn't think that Philip was appropriate at all, 256 00:13:39,853 --> 00:13:43,755 she referred to him privately as Philip the Hun. 257 00:13:54,201 --> 00:13:56,835 Princess Elizabeth's war years 258 00:13:56,870 --> 00:14:00,905 were a really important shaping experience for her. 259 00:14:00,941 --> 00:14:03,474 NARRATOR: The second chapter of Elizabeth's life 260 00:14:03,510 --> 00:14:05,210 and the Second World War, 261 00:14:05,245 --> 00:14:08,012 both begin on September 1, 1939, 262 00:14:08,048 --> 00:14:10,882 with Hitler's crushing invasion of Poland. 263 00:14:10,917 --> 00:14:13,985 Two days later, Britain declares war on Germany. 264 00:14:14,020 --> 00:14:17,989 SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL: We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, 265 00:14:18,024 --> 00:14:20,391 we shall fight on the beaches, 266 00:14:20,427 --> 00:14:25,029 we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields 267 00:14:25,065 --> 00:14:28,766 and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. 268 00:14:28,802 --> 00:14:30,702 We shall never surrender. 269 00:14:30,737 --> 00:14:34,105 Monarchs from all over Europe were leaving their countries 270 00:14:34,140 --> 00:14:37,308 and the Queen mother said, "You know, the King will never leave the country, 271 00:14:37,344 --> 00:14:41,079 "and if the King doesn't leave the country, neither will I or my daughters." 272 00:14:41,114 --> 00:14:44,249 The war is depicted as the people's war, 273 00:14:44,284 --> 00:14:47,051 and the monarchy, by staying in London 274 00:14:47,087 --> 00:14:49,320 and by not sending the princesses away, 275 00:14:49,356 --> 00:14:52,390 kind of depicts themselves as one of the people. 276 00:14:52,425 --> 00:14:54,959 BEDELL SMITH: They remained at Windsor Castle. 277 00:14:54,995 --> 00:14:58,529 A very well fortified, very well guarded Windsor Castle, 278 00:14:58,565 --> 00:14:59,998 but there they remained. 279 00:15:00,033 --> 00:15:04,469 In her lifetime, we have been grievously threatened 280 00:15:04,504 --> 00:15:08,239 by a power that would've annihilated us 281 00:15:08,275 --> 00:15:10,942 or tried to if they'd got on our shores. 282 00:15:10,977 --> 00:15:14,145 NARRATOR: France falls to Hitler in June of 1940. 283 00:15:14,180 --> 00:15:16,714 O'NEILL: Once France has fallen, 284 00:15:16,750 --> 00:15:18,883 there's a moment and it's a very fragile moment 285 00:15:18,919 --> 00:15:22,120 where England decides that it's gonna stand pretty much 286 00:15:22,155 --> 00:15:23,354 alone against Hitler. 287 00:15:23,390 --> 00:15:25,490 LORD NORWICH: In the summer of 1940 288 00:15:25,525 --> 00:15:29,360 we were absolutely convinced that we were going to be invaded. 289 00:15:29,396 --> 00:15:31,763 The question is when are they going to invade? 290 00:15:31,798 --> 00:15:33,998 Is it going to be next week or is it going to be the week after? 291 00:15:34,034 --> 00:15:36,601 NARRATOR: While the British people worry about invasion, 292 00:15:36,636 --> 00:15:39,904 many English cities come under aerial bombardment. 293 00:15:39,940 --> 00:15:43,341 The daily death and devastation of the Blitz. 294 00:15:43,376 --> 00:15:46,477 Hitler tries to bomb the British into submission. 295 00:15:46,513 --> 00:15:47,712 (EXPLOSIONS) 296 00:15:49,449 --> 00:15:52,116 MAN: (OVER RADIO) 60,000 civilians dead, 297 00:15:52,152 --> 00:15:54,252 row upon row of homes, 298 00:15:54,287 --> 00:15:57,155 nearly four million damaged or destroyed. 299 00:15:57,190 --> 00:16:00,291 SEIDLER: It's very hard for people who have not lived through it 300 00:16:00,327 --> 00:16:04,329 to comprehend the all-encompassing fear 301 00:16:04,364 --> 00:16:07,765 and terror of those attacks. 302 00:16:07,801 --> 00:16:10,368 And the King and Queen were under attack. 303 00:16:10,403 --> 00:16:15,606 Her parents spent many of their days at Buckingham Palace in London, 304 00:16:15,642 --> 00:16:18,676 which was bombed nine times. 305 00:16:19,279 --> 00:16:23,014 They were having breakfast together, they could hear an approaching plane 306 00:16:23,049 --> 00:16:25,783 and it seemed to be getting closer and closer, 307 00:16:25,819 --> 00:16:28,653 the King got up and he went to the window and looked out and he said, 308 00:16:28,688 --> 00:16:31,856 "Good God, it's one of theirs." 309 00:16:31,891 --> 00:16:35,893 And a German plane came right over Buckingham Palace 310 00:16:35,929 --> 00:16:37,528 and dropped its bombs. 311 00:16:37,564 --> 00:16:38,896 (EXPLOSIONS) 312 00:16:42,168 --> 00:16:44,569 BEDELL SMITH: And nearly killed the King and Queen. 313 00:16:45,605 --> 00:16:47,839 They were putting their lives on the line. 314 00:16:47,874 --> 00:16:50,808 And Elizabeth knew that. 315 00:16:50,844 --> 00:16:54,512 Can you imagine a little girl growing up in that atmosphere? 316 00:16:54,848 --> 00:16:57,582 Terrible bombing and destruction. 317 00:16:58,051 --> 00:17:01,085 NARRATOR: Princess Elizabeth watches her parents conduct themselves 318 00:17:01,121 --> 00:17:04,655 amid the Blitz with dignity, good humor and firm resolve. 319 00:17:05,525 --> 00:17:09,227 LORD POWELL: The Royal Family toured London and other places which were bombed 320 00:17:09,262 --> 00:17:11,829 to share people's experience of the horrors of war. 321 00:17:11,865 --> 00:17:17,035 That was a very important demonstration of what the monarchy is about. 322 00:17:17,070 --> 00:17:19,670 That you're there at times of danger for the country. 323 00:17:19,706 --> 00:17:22,306 NARRATOR: Led by the example of her mother and father, 324 00:17:22,342 --> 00:17:26,444 14-year-old Princess Elizabeth begins to take on a more public role. 325 00:17:26,479 --> 00:17:30,648 In the fall of 1940, she makes her first public speech on radio, 326 00:17:30,683 --> 00:17:33,751 addressing children evacuated due to the war. 327 00:17:33,787 --> 00:17:36,320 (ELIZABETH II SPEAKING) 328 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,167 NARRATOR: For Elizabeth and her sister Margaret, 329 00:17:49,202 --> 00:17:53,805 life during wartime at Windsor Castle is dominated by men in uniform. 330 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,407 BEDELL SMITH: They were surrounded by all the officers 331 00:17:56,443 --> 00:17:59,277 who were assigned to protect the Royal Family. 332 00:17:59,312 --> 00:18:03,147 Among the guests were visiting officers from places 333 00:18:03,183 --> 00:18:07,518 like the United States and Australia, New Zealand and Canada. 334 00:18:07,554 --> 00:18:10,721 This was the world that she was gonna be in 335 00:18:10,757 --> 00:18:13,491 when she became Queen, surrounded by 336 00:18:13,526 --> 00:18:15,860 all these advisors who were men. 337 00:18:17,063 --> 00:18:20,498 NARRATOR: Princess Elizabeth also does her part for the war effort. 338 00:18:20,533 --> 00:18:25,369 In March of '45, she joins the Auxiliary Territorial Service. 339 00:18:25,405 --> 00:18:29,073 She basically learned to be a car and truck mechanic, 340 00:18:29,109 --> 00:18:32,743 how to drive three-ton trucks through the streets of London, 341 00:18:32,779 --> 00:18:36,481 she learned how to strip an engine, how to change tires. 342 00:18:36,516 --> 00:18:39,917 It acts as a doorway to adulthood for her in some ways. 343 00:18:39,953 --> 00:18:42,954 It's a way to introduce Elizabeth as the young woman 344 00:18:42,989 --> 00:18:46,958 to the public at large, as someone who had served in this war, 345 00:18:46,993 --> 00:18:50,328 and was both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. 346 00:18:52,432 --> 00:18:54,966 NARRATOR: After six long, brutal years of war, 347 00:18:55,001 --> 00:18:58,336 the Germans surrender on May 8, 1945. 348 00:18:58,371 --> 00:19:01,772 VE Day brings joy to a war-weary nation. 349 00:19:01,808 --> 00:19:03,407 (CHEERING) 350 00:19:03,443 --> 00:19:05,042 BEDELL SMITH: London went wild, 351 00:19:05,078 --> 00:19:09,347 and there was a great kind of spontaneous thing 352 00:19:09,382 --> 00:19:12,316 that she and her sister did. 353 00:19:12,652 --> 00:19:16,220 They saw these massive celebrating crowds 354 00:19:16,723 --> 00:19:18,289 and they wanted to be part of it. 355 00:19:18,324 --> 00:19:20,658 MARGARET RHODES: The King and Queen were very, um, farsighted and kind 356 00:19:20,693 --> 00:19:22,827 and let the two girls come out 357 00:19:22,862 --> 00:19:26,264 and walk the streets with a lot of friends. 358 00:19:26,299 --> 00:19:28,933 NARRATOR: Margaret Rhodes and her two royal cousins, 359 00:19:28,968 --> 00:19:30,668 Princess Elizabeth and Margaret, 360 00:19:30,703 --> 00:19:33,437 join the joyous throngs in the streets of London. 361 00:19:33,473 --> 00:19:36,073 Everybody was slapping everybody on the back, 362 00:19:36,109 --> 00:19:37,542 kissed everybody, you could see. 363 00:19:37,577 --> 00:19:41,145 And it was just such a wonderful moment of abandon 364 00:19:41,181 --> 00:19:43,514 after years of doom and gloom. 365 00:19:48,188 --> 00:19:50,988 NARRATOR: A mature, 19-year-old Princess Elizabeth 366 00:19:51,024 --> 00:19:55,026 emerges from the bleak war years a bright star on the rise. 367 00:19:55,061 --> 00:19:56,460 She was a babe. 368 00:19:56,496 --> 00:20:00,031 She was a very lovely young lady, 369 00:20:00,066 --> 00:20:02,833 and the British public adored that. 370 00:20:02,869 --> 00:20:06,904 NARRATOR: Elegant Elizabeth is already becoming a style and fashion icon, 371 00:20:06,940 --> 00:20:10,408 her clothes created by England's finest designers. 372 00:20:10,443 --> 00:20:13,511 BEDELL SMITH: Elizabeth was a celebrity from a very early age. 373 00:20:13,546 --> 00:20:16,380 I think she would cringe from being called a celebrity. 374 00:20:16,416 --> 00:20:19,684 LORD POWELL: The monarchy dislikes the idea of celebrity, 375 00:20:19,719 --> 00:20:22,720 does not want it and feels it would be cheapened by it. 376 00:20:22,755 --> 00:20:25,456 BEDELL SMITH: Her every move was chronicled 377 00:20:25,491 --> 00:20:28,159 and when she made speeches, 378 00:20:28,194 --> 00:20:29,894 they were followed very closely. 379 00:20:30,797 --> 00:20:32,863 This is a happy day for me, 380 00:20:33,399 --> 00:20:36,801 but it is also one that brings serious thoughts, 381 00:20:37,437 --> 00:20:41,305 thoughts of life looming ahead with all its challenges 382 00:20:41,341 --> 00:20:43,507 and with all its opportunity. 383 00:20:44,444 --> 00:20:47,245 O'NEILL: She's in South Africa for her 21st birthday 384 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,014 and she gives this very famous broadcast 385 00:20:50,049 --> 00:20:55,686 in which she pledges her life basically to the service of what she calls, quote, 386 00:20:55,722 --> 00:20:57,288 "Our Imperial family." 387 00:20:57,323 --> 00:21:00,725 I declare before you all that my whole life, 388 00:21:01,327 --> 00:21:03,261 whether it be long or short, 389 00:21:03,863 --> 00:21:05,830 shall be devoted to your service 390 00:21:06,532 --> 00:21:09,867 and to the service of our great Imperial family 391 00:21:09,902 --> 00:21:11,469 to which we all belong. 392 00:21:11,938 --> 00:21:16,340 NARRATOR: Elizabeth is keenly aware she'll one day succeed her frail father. 393 00:21:16,376 --> 00:21:19,577 George VI helped lead his country to win the war, 394 00:21:19,612 --> 00:21:23,147 but the stress of his duties has further weakened his health. 395 00:21:23,750 --> 00:21:28,753 I always get the impression that she was and is her father's daughter. 396 00:21:29,022 --> 00:21:32,890 Her father had returned from a Commonwealth tour, 397 00:21:32,925 --> 00:21:37,395 the wind was blowing and a lock of hair fell across his forehead 398 00:21:37,430 --> 00:21:41,966 and his daughter reaches up and strokes his hair back. 399 00:21:42,001 --> 00:21:46,370 And it's the most tender father-daughter moment 400 00:21:46,406 --> 00:21:48,105 that one could wish to see. 401 00:21:59,619 --> 00:22:02,486 NARRATOR: After years of courtship, 21-year-old Elizabeth 402 00:22:02,522 --> 00:22:05,923 and 26-year-old Prince Philip are determined to marry. 403 00:22:05,958 --> 00:22:08,659 Much has changed since they met before the war. 404 00:22:08,695 --> 00:22:11,896 Philip's aristocratic uncle, Earl Louis Mountbatten, 405 00:22:11,931 --> 00:22:13,798 has given him the family name 406 00:22:13,833 --> 00:22:17,868 and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten is now a decorated naval officer. 407 00:22:17,904 --> 00:22:21,005 BEDELL SMITH: He fought in several significant battles, 408 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:24,208 he was awarded for his valor. 409 00:22:24,243 --> 00:22:29,046 NARRATOR: The Palace announces their engagement on July 10, 1947. 410 00:22:29,082 --> 00:22:32,616 SEIDLER: The King and the Queen were not terribly pleased, 411 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:36,754 but young Elizabeth was very insistent. 412 00:22:37,156 --> 00:22:39,056 RADIO ANNOUNCER: Nationwide rejoicing marks the announcement 413 00:22:39,092 --> 00:22:40,991 of the engagement of Princess Elizabeth 414 00:22:41,027 --> 00:22:42,893 to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, RN, 415 00:22:42,929 --> 00:22:45,262 who relinquished his title as Prince Philip of Greece 416 00:22:45,298 --> 00:22:47,031 to become a citizen of Britain. 417 00:22:47,533 --> 00:22:49,100 BEDELL SMITH: For her to choose him 418 00:22:49,135 --> 00:22:51,836 and to be fairly adamant about it 419 00:22:51,871 --> 00:22:54,605 was a mark of her strength of character and independence. 420 00:22:55,341 --> 00:23:00,311 NARRATOR: London still bears scars from the Blitz on November 20, 1947, 421 00:23:00,346 --> 00:23:02,813 when the bells of Westminster Abbey ring out 422 00:23:02,849 --> 00:23:06,283 for the royal wedding of Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth, 423 00:23:06,319 --> 00:23:09,653 resplendent in a gown designed by Norman Hartnell. 424 00:23:09,689 --> 00:23:13,391 O'NEILL: These were tough times, and there was a lot of concern 425 00:23:13,426 --> 00:23:16,660 among the Royal Family and among the powers that be 426 00:23:16,696 --> 00:23:20,131 that this was not a time for an elaborate royal wedding 427 00:23:20,166 --> 00:23:22,333 and so they thought maybe we can skip it this time. 428 00:23:22,368 --> 00:23:24,535 But they didn't and that was a good thing, 429 00:23:24,570 --> 00:23:26,871 because people wanted that splash of color. 430 00:23:26,906 --> 00:23:28,672 LORD NORWICH: There was great rejoicing, 431 00:23:28,708 --> 00:23:32,076 because we loved our princess who was jolly attractive 432 00:23:32,111 --> 00:23:35,813 and had seemed to hurl herself into the war effort 433 00:23:35,848 --> 00:23:38,015 in the most magnificent way. 434 00:23:38,885 --> 00:23:40,518 We were all very pleased. 435 00:23:43,289 --> 00:23:46,190 NARRATOR: A year after their wedding, Elizabeth and Philip 436 00:23:46,225 --> 00:23:49,059 welcome the royal heir, Prince Charles. 437 00:23:49,095 --> 00:23:51,962 RHODES: It was just the usual story of a mother being delighted 438 00:23:51,998 --> 00:23:54,799 by producing a lovely baby boy. 439 00:23:54,834 --> 00:23:56,934 NARRATOR: Six days after Charles' birth, 440 00:23:56,969 --> 00:24:01,839 Elizabeth travels to Malta, where Philip is stationed with the Mediterranean fleet. 441 00:24:01,874 --> 00:24:05,443 RHODES: Some people criticized her for leaving the children, 442 00:24:05,478 --> 00:24:08,212 but I did the same with my children when I went abroad. 443 00:24:08,247 --> 00:24:12,249 I mean, if you've got a nanny and you've got them comfortably installed, 444 00:24:12,285 --> 00:24:16,754 that baby will be much happier than being traipsed off to foreign parts. 445 00:24:16,789 --> 00:24:19,457 NARRATOR: For the next two years, Elizabeth divides her time 446 00:24:19,492 --> 00:24:21,659 between London and Malta, 447 00:24:21,694 --> 00:24:26,030 where Philip rises to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in command of his own ship. 448 00:24:26,065 --> 00:24:30,401 In August of 1950, their second child, Anne, is born. 449 00:24:30,436 --> 00:24:34,972 BEDELL SMITH: He was moving smartly up the line of command 450 00:24:35,007 --> 00:24:38,542 when he and Elizabeth had to leave Malta 451 00:24:38,578 --> 00:24:41,712 and come back to London in 1951 452 00:24:41,747 --> 00:24:46,383 as she was expected to take over more duties from her father. 453 00:24:46,419 --> 00:24:49,420 It wasn't known widely, but it was known within the family 454 00:24:49,455 --> 00:24:51,155 that he had lung cancer. 455 00:24:54,026 --> 00:24:56,927 NARRATOR: In January of '52, Elizabeth and Philip 456 00:24:56,963 --> 00:25:00,464 substitute for the ailing King on an ambitious tour of East Africa, 457 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:02,600 Australia and New Zealand. 458 00:25:02,635 --> 00:25:05,002 While visiting Kenya on February 6, 459 00:25:05,037 --> 00:25:08,572 they learn that Elizabeth's father has passed away. 460 00:25:08,608 --> 00:25:10,841 RADIO ANNOUNCER: This is London, the following bulletin 461 00:25:10,877 --> 00:25:13,344 was issued at 9:25. 462 00:25:13,379 --> 00:25:18,015 "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close." 463 00:25:18,351 --> 00:25:20,918 SEIDLER: The Queen Mother always felt 464 00:25:20,953 --> 00:25:23,153 that David's abdication 465 00:25:23,189 --> 00:25:27,024 and Bertie's being forced to be a reluctant King 466 00:25:27,059 --> 00:25:30,261 is what killed him and he died way too young. 467 00:25:30,296 --> 00:25:33,864 NARRATOR: 25-year-old Elizabeth is now the Queen. 468 00:25:33,900 --> 00:25:38,302 Despite her profound grief over losing her father at the young age of 56, 469 00:25:38,337 --> 00:25:42,406 she returns to England to bravely take on the heavy burdens of the crown. 470 00:25:44,076 --> 00:25:48,445 Her father's state funeral is held on February 15,1952. 471 00:25:49,982 --> 00:25:52,583 The lines of mourners are breathtaking. 472 00:25:52,618 --> 00:25:55,352 It is thousands and thousands and thousands. 473 00:25:55,388 --> 00:25:59,723 We're not very expressive as a culture, 474 00:25:59,759 --> 00:26:04,261 but when it's time to grieve, there is a solemnity 475 00:26:04,297 --> 00:26:08,098 and a dignity that is pretty well unparalleled 476 00:26:08,134 --> 00:26:09,833 in modern society. 477 00:26:21,881 --> 00:26:24,114 NARRATOR: After a suitable period of official mourning 478 00:26:24,150 --> 00:26:27,217 for the late King, the coronation of Elizabeth II 479 00:26:27,253 --> 00:26:30,321 is celebrated on June 2, 1953, 480 00:26:30,356 --> 00:26:34,692 the first major international event to be broadcast on television. 481 00:26:34,727 --> 00:26:36,393 It almost wasn't televised. 482 00:26:36,429 --> 00:26:40,130 Elizabeth was actually not on board for quite some time, 483 00:26:40,166 --> 00:26:43,767 but she was convinced and it was great for the television industry. 484 00:26:43,803 --> 00:26:45,970 ARCHBISHOP: Receive the royal scepter, 485 00:26:46,005 --> 00:26:48,606 the ensign of kingly power. 486 00:26:48,641 --> 00:26:52,476 NARRATOR: An estimated 27 million Britons watch the ceremony 487 00:26:52,511 --> 00:26:55,279 on 2.7 million TV sets. 488 00:26:55,314 --> 00:26:57,381 I was, uh, 10 years old. 489 00:26:57,416 --> 00:26:59,817 Somehow my father had scraped together enough money 490 00:26:59,852 --> 00:27:01,719 to buy a small black and white television 491 00:27:01,754 --> 00:27:06,357 and invited half the street in, and I saw this spectacular ceremony. 492 00:27:06,392 --> 00:27:08,425 We had a new television 493 00:27:08,728 --> 00:27:12,763 and it was close enough to World War II 494 00:27:12,798 --> 00:27:16,734 for our spirits to be lifted and celebrated. 495 00:27:16,769 --> 00:27:19,737 The British public just responded to this. 496 00:27:19,772 --> 00:27:24,675 It was the first time in years they saw color and glamour and luxury 497 00:27:24,710 --> 00:27:25,976 and it was wonderful 498 00:27:26,012 --> 00:27:29,413 and it started her reign off on a brilliant note. 499 00:27:29,448 --> 00:27:31,515 NARRATOR: The new Queen's coronation gown 500 00:27:31,550 --> 00:27:33,717 is another design by Norman Hartnell. 501 00:27:33,753 --> 00:27:36,253 Her clothes are an essential tool of her office, 502 00:27:36,288 --> 00:27:38,889 requiring four to five changes a day. 503 00:27:38,924 --> 00:27:40,591 Following her coronation, 504 00:27:40,626 --> 00:27:45,129 she and Prince Philip embark on a six-month tour of the Commonwealth countries. 505 00:27:45,164 --> 00:27:50,100 Her wardrobe for the trip includes more than 100 new custom-made outfits. 506 00:27:50,903 --> 00:27:54,838 Yet for Elizabeth II, her first Commonwealth tour as monarch 507 00:27:54,874 --> 00:27:57,875 has far more to do with substance than style. 508 00:27:58,811 --> 00:28:00,010 (TRIBAL SINGING) 509 00:28:02,948 --> 00:28:05,616 At its height in 1922, the British empire 510 00:28:05,651 --> 00:28:09,153 encompassed nearly a quarter of the Earth's dry land. 511 00:28:09,188 --> 00:28:13,190 After the Second World War, many British colonies gain independence. 512 00:28:13,225 --> 00:28:17,127 O'NEILL: The Commonwealth of Nations is basically a compromise 513 00:28:17,163 --> 00:28:21,398 between Britain and its former Imperial powers 514 00:28:21,434 --> 00:28:25,736 who want their freedom, but want those ties to Britain still. 515 00:28:25,771 --> 00:28:30,674 So we go from an empire in which Britain rules over others, 516 00:28:30,710 --> 00:28:34,445 to a commonwealth of nations where everyone tries 517 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,414 to work together as a whole. 518 00:28:37,450 --> 00:28:39,817 NARRATOR: The Queen is head of the Commonwealth, 519 00:28:39,852 --> 00:28:43,287 a figurehead symbol of their voluntary association. 520 00:28:43,322 --> 00:28:46,590 When the Queen became monarch in 1952, 521 00:28:46,625 --> 00:28:50,160 the Commonwealth were four, perhaps five nations, no more. 522 00:28:50,196 --> 00:28:52,930 The Queen and the Commonwealth have grown up together. 523 00:28:52,965 --> 00:28:57,234 O'NEILL: Elizabeth sees her role as someone whose life is pledged 524 00:28:57,269 --> 00:28:59,136 to that Imperial family, 525 00:28:59,171 --> 00:29:02,740 but that Imperial family becomes increasingly fractious and problematic 526 00:29:02,775 --> 00:29:04,374 as her reign goes on. 527 00:29:05,311 --> 00:29:09,113 NARRATOR: The royal couple returns to England after six months abroad, 528 00:29:09,148 --> 00:29:10,981 and the Queen resumes regular meetings 529 00:29:11,016 --> 00:29:14,885 with 79-year-old Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. 530 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,322 LORD NORWICH: She recognized how incredibly lucky 531 00:29:18,357 --> 00:29:19,990 she herself was 532 00:29:20,526 --> 00:29:22,459 to have a Prime Minister 533 00:29:22,828 --> 00:29:25,662 who happened actually to be one of the great men of history 534 00:29:25,698 --> 00:29:29,266 and who loved her in return. 535 00:29:29,301 --> 00:29:32,903 One of the extraordinary things is to think that the Queen's first 536 00:29:32,938 --> 00:29:35,405 Prime Minister was Winston Churchill, 537 00:29:36,008 --> 00:29:37,975 and there have been 14 since. 538 00:29:38,010 --> 00:29:40,110 MAJOR: When you meet the Queen privately every week 539 00:29:40,146 --> 00:29:44,114 as Prime Ministers do, just the two of them sitting there, absolutely nobody else. 540 00:29:44,150 --> 00:29:46,416 Of course you discuss policy. 541 00:29:46,452 --> 00:29:48,352 She won't say to the Prime Minister, 542 00:29:48,387 --> 00:29:50,854 I think you should do this or I think you should do that. 543 00:29:50,890 --> 00:29:52,422 But the drift of the conversation 544 00:29:52,458 --> 00:29:55,926 gives you a pretty clear impression of what the Queen's views really are. 545 00:29:55,961 --> 00:29:58,428 And in that way, she exercises her influence. 546 00:29:58,464 --> 00:30:00,898 HOWARD MORGAN: She has this immense knowledge of countries 547 00:30:00,933 --> 00:30:04,501 because many countries, she's not just been to once, twice, three times, 548 00:30:04,537 --> 00:30:06,370 she's been four, five, six times. 549 00:30:06,405 --> 00:30:11,008 So she has an amazing, intimate knowledge of various countries around the world. 550 00:30:11,043 --> 00:30:13,710 In a way that the Foreign Office can't match. 551 00:30:13,746 --> 00:30:16,513 ELIZABETH II: I pray that Australia will continue to prosper 552 00:30:16,549 --> 00:30:18,949 in a happy and peaceful future. 553 00:30:18,984 --> 00:30:20,951 Elizabeth is the one who knows them all 554 00:30:20,986 --> 00:30:22,186 and has been to them all. 555 00:30:22,221 --> 00:30:24,021 She's the linchpin. 556 00:30:24,423 --> 00:30:27,357 NARRATOR: The Queen must deal with her first government transition 557 00:30:27,393 --> 00:30:30,928 as Prime Minister Churchill resigns in 1955. 558 00:30:31,564 --> 00:30:35,332 BEDELL SMITH: When he had a stroke, she was very protective of him 559 00:30:35,367 --> 00:30:38,602 and Anthony Eden was pressing pretty hard for her 560 00:30:38,637 --> 00:30:41,471 to encourage Churchill to move aside 561 00:30:41,507 --> 00:30:44,741 and she was quite delicate about that process. 562 00:30:44,777 --> 00:30:46,410 NARRATOR: She will have to deal delicately 563 00:30:46,445 --> 00:30:49,580 with another difficult situation in the coming year, 564 00:30:49,615 --> 00:30:51,481 a deeply personal one. 565 00:30:53,619 --> 00:30:57,287 Her sister, Princess Margaret, falls in love with a war hero, 566 00:30:57,323 --> 00:30:59,156 Group Captain Peter Townsend, 567 00:30:59,191 --> 00:31:02,960 an ace who shot down seven German planes in the skies over Britain. 568 00:31:05,130 --> 00:31:07,831 BEDELL SMITH: They had this quiet romance 569 00:31:07,867 --> 00:31:10,400 that eventually became public. 570 00:31:10,436 --> 00:31:14,504 And she declared her intention to marry him. 571 00:31:15,274 --> 00:31:18,609 That was quite a scandal, he was a man who was a hero, 572 00:31:18,644 --> 00:31:20,410 he had fought in the Battle of Britain 573 00:31:20,446 --> 00:31:22,980 and had acquitted himself brilliantly. 574 00:31:23,015 --> 00:31:26,049 But he was a divorced man 575 00:31:26,719 --> 00:31:30,254 and the idea of the Queen's sister marrying a divorced man 576 00:31:30,289 --> 00:31:33,624 in those days was absolutely out of the question. 577 00:31:33,659 --> 00:31:37,861 The problem for Elizabeth was can you let Margaret marry 578 00:31:37,897 --> 00:31:41,131 this divorce when your father became King 579 00:31:41,166 --> 00:31:43,867 because his brother wasn't allowed to marry a divorcee? 580 00:31:43,903 --> 00:31:47,905 BEDELL SMITH: The Queen was put in the very awkward position of having 581 00:31:47,940 --> 00:31:50,641 to tell her sister that she couldn't marry 582 00:31:50,676 --> 00:31:52,276 Group Captain Peter Townsend. 583 00:31:52,311 --> 00:31:55,078 SEIDLER: Which destroyed her life totally 584 00:31:55,114 --> 00:32:00,017 because she figured, "All right, if i can't have happiness domestically, 585 00:32:00,052 --> 00:32:05,422 "I will do what I damn well please," and she started going to nightclubs 586 00:32:05,457 --> 00:32:09,459 and kicking up her heels... It was an act of defiance, there's no question. 587 00:32:09,495 --> 00:32:13,263 Princess Margaret drank too much and partied too much. 588 00:32:13,299 --> 00:32:16,466 And that was always a worry to the Queen. 589 00:32:17,136 --> 00:32:20,938 NARRATOR: Elizabeth's husband must also make a personal sacrifice. 590 00:32:20,973 --> 00:32:22,973 With his wife on the throne of England, 591 00:32:23,008 --> 00:32:26,877 Lieutenant Commander Philip Mountbatten's naval career is over. 592 00:32:26,912 --> 00:32:30,047 It was very tough for him to give up this career 593 00:32:30,783 --> 00:32:33,817 and quite a few people say he could have risen right to the top. 594 00:32:33,852 --> 00:32:36,720 He would have ended up as an active admiral of the fleet 595 00:32:36,755 --> 00:32:38,055 or something of that sort. 596 00:32:38,090 --> 00:32:41,825 But he knew he had to do it and he had to make the best of it. 597 00:32:41,860 --> 00:32:46,463 He's been a huge support to the Queen, always someone she can rely on in private. 598 00:32:46,498 --> 00:32:48,932 LORD NORWICH: Imagine the loneliness of that job. 599 00:32:49,301 --> 00:32:51,935 If you haven't got the occasional shoulder to cry on, 600 00:32:52,905 --> 00:32:54,871 I mean, it must be an absolute nightmare. 601 00:32:56,575 --> 00:33:00,043 I cannot think of a more appropriate point 602 00:33:00,079 --> 00:33:03,313 for us to start our visit to the United States. 603 00:33:03,849 --> 00:33:06,783 NARRATOR: In 1957, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip 604 00:33:06,819 --> 00:33:09,553 make their first state visit to the United States, 605 00:33:09,588 --> 00:33:11,755 where they meet with President Eisenhower 606 00:33:11,790 --> 00:33:15,592 and the Queen addresses the United Nations in New York City. 607 00:33:15,627 --> 00:33:20,030 That same year, 9-year-old Prince Charles enters public school. 608 00:33:20,933 --> 00:33:23,500 I used to think about Prince Charles, he was at the same time the luckiest 609 00:33:23,535 --> 00:33:25,669 and the most unlucky person in the land. 610 00:33:25,704 --> 00:33:28,605 NARRATOR: Just three years old when his mother became Queen, 611 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:31,608 the young prince spends many months in the care of a governess 612 00:33:31,643 --> 00:33:35,212 while his royal mother travels the world on official duties. 613 00:33:35,247 --> 00:33:37,647 FREARS: She was away when he was a young child, 614 00:33:37,683 --> 00:33:42,052 and when she came back he had to stand in a line of dignitaries to say hello. 615 00:33:42,955 --> 00:33:45,422 Prince Charles had an extremely unhappy childhood, 616 00:33:45,457 --> 00:33:48,658 I don't think his parents were very conscientious. 617 00:33:48,694 --> 00:33:51,461 They sent him to an incredibly tough school 618 00:33:51,497 --> 00:33:55,432 which was bang wrong for this very intelligent, sensitive boy. 619 00:33:55,467 --> 00:33:59,436 When he wanted to practice his cello he was told to go and have a cold shower. 620 00:33:59,471 --> 00:34:01,805 NARRATOR: Three years later, in 1960, 621 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:04,408 Elizabeth gives birth to her third child. 622 00:34:04,877 --> 00:34:07,411 RADIO ANNOUNCER: Prince Andrew, born in 1960, 623 00:34:07,446 --> 00:34:10,781 brought yet more happiness to a family already blessed in good measure. 624 00:34:11,383 --> 00:34:15,285 NARRATOR: For the young Queen, balancing the pressing demands of her royal duties 625 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:18,855 with the responsibilities of motherhood will be a lifelong challenge. 626 00:34:29,201 --> 00:34:33,236 For Queen Elizabeth, the next two decades are marked by existential challenges 627 00:34:33,272 --> 00:34:35,572 to her cherished Commonwealth of Nations, 628 00:34:35,607 --> 00:34:37,941 especially in South Africa, 629 00:34:37,976 --> 00:34:42,245 where resistance to the racist, segregationist policy of apartheid 630 00:34:42,281 --> 00:34:43,980 is met with deadly violence. 631 00:34:44,817 --> 00:34:47,050 RADIO ANNOUNCER: At Sharpeville, thousands gather outside 632 00:34:47,086 --> 00:34:50,053 a police station in protest against new laws 633 00:34:50,089 --> 00:34:53,490 requiring every African to carry a pass at all times. 634 00:34:53,525 --> 00:34:56,059 The crowd refused to disperse, stoning the police, 635 00:34:56,095 --> 00:34:57,894 who opened fire into the crowd. 636 00:34:57,930 --> 00:35:00,197 Between 50 and 100 were killed. 637 00:35:01,633 --> 00:35:05,802 The major problem for Elizabeth with apartheid in South Africa, 638 00:35:05,838 --> 00:35:08,705 is that it's very much against 639 00:35:08,740 --> 00:35:12,642 what the other powers of the Commonwealth ruled by black Africans 640 00:35:12,678 --> 00:35:13,810 are willing to accept. 641 00:35:13,846 --> 00:35:16,313 Whatever affection the Queen had for South Africa, 642 00:35:16,348 --> 00:35:18,148 as a long standing ally of the United Kingdom, 643 00:35:18,183 --> 00:35:22,152 she would've had no affection for the extreme discrimination of apartheid. 644 00:35:22,187 --> 00:35:25,355 She judges people on the basis of their character 645 00:35:25,390 --> 00:35:27,357 and not on the basis of their color. 646 00:35:28,193 --> 00:35:29,993 NARRATOR: Over the next three decades, 647 00:35:30,028 --> 00:35:33,130 the Queen will wage a quiet campaign against apartheid. 648 00:35:33,165 --> 00:35:36,066 When she goes to Ghana and she dances 649 00:35:36,101 --> 00:35:38,902 with their ruler, South Africans are shocked by this, 650 00:35:38,937 --> 00:35:41,471 but this is a sign to the rest of the Commonwealth 651 00:35:41,507 --> 00:35:46,643 that she doesn't have the same kind of racial biases that people in South Africa do. 652 00:35:46,678 --> 00:35:49,212 NARRATOR: Meanwhile, a revolution in British politics 653 00:35:49,248 --> 00:35:51,515 and pop culture is underway. 654 00:35:51,550 --> 00:35:56,153 Jamaica gains independence in 1962, but stays in the Commonwealth. 655 00:35:56,188 --> 00:35:59,389 A year later, the Beatles release their first album, 656 00:35:59,424 --> 00:36:01,358 and are honored by the Queen. 657 00:36:01,393 --> 00:36:04,528 In '64, Queen Elizabeth gives birth to Edward, 658 00:36:04,563 --> 00:36:06,796 her fourth and last child. 659 00:36:08,033 --> 00:36:10,433 RADIO ANNOUNCER: The pleasures of family life are enjoyed by the baby's 660 00:36:10,469 --> 00:36:13,937 mother and father less frequently than by ordinary parents. 661 00:36:14,573 --> 00:36:17,541 To be head of the Commonwealth entails longs absences abroad. 662 00:36:18,010 --> 00:36:19,843 And what a sacrifice that must be. 663 00:36:20,412 --> 00:36:23,013 LEWIS: Growing up in North London in the 1960s and the 1970s, 664 00:36:23,048 --> 00:36:27,751 the Royal Family was obviously a very big symbolic important institution, 665 00:36:27,786 --> 00:36:30,253 there was a great sense of tradition. 666 00:36:42,401 --> 00:36:45,068 NARRATOR: The stress of family and monarchy on the Queen 667 00:36:45,103 --> 00:36:48,205 is never more apparent than in the Irish troubles. 668 00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:50,307 RADIO ANNOUNCER: Northern Ireland remains locked in the grip 669 00:36:50,342 --> 00:36:53,109 of a civil war which turns Catholic against Protestant, 670 00:36:53,145 --> 00:36:54,544 neighbor against neighbor, 671 00:36:54,580 --> 00:36:56,746 death in the streets is a daily tragedy. 672 00:36:58,250 --> 00:37:02,219 NARRATOR: For centuries, governing Ireland has been a problem for English monarchs. 673 00:37:02,854 --> 00:37:06,923 The largely Catholic south won independence in 1922, 674 00:37:06,959 --> 00:37:11,094 but predominantly protestant Northern Ireland remained part of Great Britain. 675 00:37:11,129 --> 00:37:13,663 Yet, many in Northern Ireland's Catholic minority 676 00:37:13,699 --> 00:37:15,699 yearn to throw off British rule, 677 00:37:15,734 --> 00:37:20,036 and in 1969, simmering tensions erupt in open violence 678 00:37:20,706 --> 00:37:24,207 and bombings by the anti-British Irish Republican army. 679 00:37:25,210 --> 00:37:28,078 British soldiers are deployed to restore order. 680 00:37:28,113 --> 00:37:32,816 "The troubles" are a grave challenge to peace within Elizabeth's realm. 681 00:37:32,851 --> 00:37:35,485 By the will of the people of Northern Ireland 682 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:39,689 is British territory and she would've seen murder and mayhem in Northern Ireland 683 00:37:39,725 --> 00:37:41,925 and been very distressed by it. 684 00:37:46,431 --> 00:37:51,101 NARRATOR: On August 27, 1979, the murder and mayhem in Northern Ireland, 685 00:37:51,136 --> 00:37:53,837 strike close to the heart of the Royal Family. 686 00:37:56,275 --> 00:37:58,241 Members of the Irish Republican Army 687 00:37:58,277 --> 00:38:03,480 assassinated Earl Mountbatten, who was Prince Philip's uncle and the Queen's cousin 688 00:38:03,515 --> 00:38:05,749 in a particularly horrific bombing 689 00:38:05,784 --> 00:38:09,886 that also killed several members of Mountbatten's family. 690 00:38:09,921 --> 00:38:14,090 This was a particularly high profile and violent IRA atrocity. 691 00:38:14,126 --> 00:38:16,092 O'NEILL: It was a great blow to Elizabeth herself 692 00:38:16,128 --> 00:38:19,229 and it really brought home the dangers of the troubles, 693 00:38:19,264 --> 00:38:21,598 but also the dangers a monarch could face. 694 00:38:26,705 --> 00:38:28,538 NARRATOR: In that same eventful year, 695 00:38:28,573 --> 00:38:32,542 Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first female Prime Minister. 696 00:38:32,577 --> 00:38:35,578 BEDELL SMITH: The Queen and Margaret Thatcher were, as they say in England, 697 00:38:35,614 --> 00:38:36,680 chalk and cheese. 698 00:38:36,715 --> 00:38:39,449 They were not exactly naturally simpatico. 699 00:38:39,484 --> 00:38:42,819 LORD NORWICH: She was always telling the Queen what to do, 700 00:38:42,854 --> 00:38:45,055 she had this terrible patronizing, 701 00:38:45,090 --> 00:38:49,092 "Oh, really, Your Majesty, you must understand," 702 00:38:49,127 --> 00:38:52,095 it must have driven the Queen absolutely up the wall. 703 00:38:52,130 --> 00:38:54,564 MAJOR: You had two very strong-willed women 704 00:38:54,599 --> 00:38:57,867 who both had the interests of the United Kingdom at heart, 705 00:38:57,903 --> 00:38:59,869 from time to time they had differences. 706 00:38:59,905 --> 00:39:04,074 But they respected one another, I have not a shadow of doubt. 707 00:39:04,976 --> 00:39:07,344 NARRATOR: While helping to guide the ship of state, 708 00:39:07,379 --> 00:39:10,847 Elizabeth is also dealing with an important family matter, 709 00:39:10,882 --> 00:39:14,184 in 1981, her 33-year-old son and heir 710 00:39:14,219 --> 00:39:17,387 becomes engaged to 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer. 711 00:39:17,422 --> 00:39:19,222 I think everybody was absolutely thrilled, 712 00:39:20,025 --> 00:39:23,159 the Queen knew Lady Diana's family since she was very, very young 713 00:39:23,195 --> 00:39:26,629 and she was very, very pleased that Prince Charles had decided to settle down. 714 00:39:28,533 --> 00:39:32,802 NARRATOR: The wedding of Charles and Diana on July 29, 1981 715 00:39:32,838 --> 00:39:35,305 is a worldwide media sensation. 716 00:39:35,674 --> 00:39:39,075 The romance of it and this extraordinarily beautiful young princess 717 00:39:39,111 --> 00:39:41,044 and everything that went with that. 718 00:39:41,079 --> 00:39:44,047 This was a truly epic royal event. 719 00:39:56,661 --> 00:39:59,763 NARRATOR: By the 1980s, Queen Elizabeth has been conducting 720 00:39:59,798 --> 00:40:03,333 her behind-the-scenes campaign against South African apartheid 721 00:40:03,368 --> 00:40:04,901 for two decades. 722 00:40:04,936 --> 00:40:08,638 But the Queen and her Prime Minister do not agree on how to deal with 723 00:40:08,673 --> 00:40:10,807 this cancer on the Commonwealth. 724 00:40:10,842 --> 00:40:15,512 The Queen was promoting a path of dialogue and reconciliation. 725 00:40:15,547 --> 00:40:20,450 Our common language, our shared history, give the Commonwealth 726 00:40:20,485 --> 00:40:24,087 its unique quality as a friendly family of nations. 727 00:40:24,122 --> 00:40:29,592 From the family relationship comes the capacity to disagree without breaking up. 728 00:40:29,961 --> 00:40:33,029 Margaret Thatcher was much more dug into the notion that 729 00:40:33,064 --> 00:40:36,166 sanctions on South Africa would hurt business. 730 00:40:36,201 --> 00:40:39,402 We all detest the system of apartheid in South Africa 731 00:40:39,438 --> 00:40:42,439 and want to see it demolished as soon as possible. 732 00:40:42,474 --> 00:40:45,175 But we don't quite agree how best to do it. 733 00:40:45,210 --> 00:40:50,013 The Queen felt very strongly against apartheid. I know that she suspected that 734 00:40:50,048 --> 00:40:53,416 Mrs. Thatcher was as white a supremacist 735 00:40:53,752 --> 00:40:57,320 as you could find anywhere in the union of South Africa. 736 00:40:57,355 --> 00:41:02,492 When Thatcher in 1986 refuses to place sanctions on South Africa, 737 00:41:02,694 --> 00:41:05,128 there's a leak from Buckingham Palace 738 00:41:05,163 --> 00:41:08,198 that states that the Queen does not agree with Mrs. Thatcher's policies, 739 00:41:08,233 --> 00:41:10,366 and this is that kind of moment of crisis where 740 00:41:10,402 --> 00:41:13,002 the Queen is seemingly becoming political. 741 00:41:13,038 --> 00:41:16,906 They say there is a misunderstanding between the newspaperman 742 00:41:16,942 --> 00:41:20,043 and an official from Buckingham Palace 743 00:41:20,078 --> 00:41:22,812 but in the Commonwealth, it's taken as a truth. 744 00:41:23,682 --> 00:41:26,516 NARRATOR: Elizabeth wins her discreet tug-of-war with Thatcher 745 00:41:26,785 --> 00:41:30,286 and in 1990, the South African government finally releases 746 00:41:30,322 --> 00:41:33,857 anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela from prison. 747 00:41:33,892 --> 00:41:39,095 Four years later, he's elected president in the nation's first universal elections. 748 00:41:39,130 --> 00:41:43,166 Mandela was extraordinarily fond of the Queen and the Royal Family 749 00:41:43,201 --> 00:41:45,068 and everything that they stood for. 750 00:41:45,103 --> 00:41:49,172 BEDELL SMITH: He forged a wonderful relationship with the Queen. 751 00:41:49,207 --> 00:41:53,877 He quite prominently was the only leader who called her Elizabeth. 752 00:41:53,912 --> 00:41:55,845 Nobody else got away with that. 753 00:41:56,081 --> 00:41:58,314 NARRATOR: Mandela is elected in the same year 754 00:41:58,350 --> 00:42:00,850 that Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister. 755 00:42:00,886 --> 00:42:04,420 Though they didn't always agree, the Queen shows Mrs. Thatcher compassion 756 00:42:04,456 --> 00:42:05,855 in the years ahead. 757 00:42:05,891 --> 00:42:08,925 At Thatcher's 80th birthday party in 2005, 758 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:11,828 her declining mental health is apparent to the Queen, 759 00:42:11,863 --> 00:42:13,863 who guides her through the event. 760 00:42:13,899 --> 00:42:18,635 The Queen very gently and kindly took her by the hand and led her around the party, 761 00:42:18,670 --> 00:42:21,671 just so that she would be aware of where she was and where she was going. 762 00:42:22,207 --> 00:42:25,708 LADY ELIZABETH: The Queen just took it in her stride and we went around. 763 00:42:26,077 --> 00:42:28,845 Sadly, two days later when I saw Lady Thatcher, 764 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:30,480 she asked me whether the Queen had been there. 765 00:42:32,684 --> 00:42:35,518 NARRATOR: President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush, 766 00:42:35,554 --> 00:42:38,488 get to know the Queen well in the early 1990s. 767 00:42:38,523 --> 00:42:42,458 BARBARA BUSH: I don't think people realize how really bright she is. 768 00:42:42,494 --> 00:42:47,430 I think that comes across enormously, that she's up with world affairs. 769 00:42:47,766 --> 00:42:52,101 GEORGE BUSH: She's a Queen, of course, but there is a warmth to her as a person 770 00:42:52,137 --> 00:42:53,436 that comes through when you meet her. 771 00:42:54,072 --> 00:42:58,174 BARBARA BUSH: I saw her hugged by a great big lady 772 00:42:59,811 --> 00:43:01,945 and people were shocked. 773 00:43:02,180 --> 00:43:05,882 But Her Majesty carried it off as though this was perfectly normal. 774 00:43:06,751 --> 00:43:10,119 GEORGE BUSH: In public, she's dignified and always on display. 775 00:43:10,155 --> 00:43:12,956 Privately, she's got a warm side to her, 776 00:43:13,358 --> 00:43:16,559 good humor and really a down to earth person. 777 00:43:16,861 --> 00:43:19,862 MORGAN: In private, she's continental, much more Italian, 778 00:43:19,898 --> 00:43:22,632 she talks with her hands. All the time. 779 00:43:22,834 --> 00:43:27,070 She's not this, she's this. Effusive, interesting, 780 00:43:27,572 --> 00:43:29,072 and theatrical. 781 00:43:37,949 --> 00:43:42,118 NARRATOR: By 1992, Elizabeth has been the Queen for 40 years, 782 00:43:42,153 --> 00:43:44,354 and in personal and family matters, 783 00:43:44,389 --> 00:43:46,956 '92 will be her worst. 784 00:43:46,992 --> 00:43:48,925 During the course of that bleak year, 785 00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:52,562 her son Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah Ferguson separate 786 00:43:52,597 --> 00:43:57,767 and Prince Charles formally separates from his very popular wife, Lady Diana. 787 00:43:57,802 --> 00:44:02,505 Those marriages fell apart in a very public way 788 00:44:02,707 --> 00:44:07,076 with lurid tabloid stories accompanying each one. 789 00:44:07,112 --> 00:44:12,215 It can't be easy. I mean, if your children do something that's sad or difficult, 790 00:44:12,250 --> 00:44:14,350 then it's world-known. 791 00:44:14,386 --> 00:44:15,785 And that's hard. 792 00:44:15,820 --> 00:44:18,521 FREARS: Diana was a rather spectacularly independent woman. 793 00:44:18,556 --> 00:44:21,424 So, I always thought the wedding was catastrophic 794 00:44:21,459 --> 00:44:25,328 and I imagine that Prince Charles would agree with every word I've said. 795 00:44:25,363 --> 00:44:29,666 The Queen herself saw that there was no alternative. 796 00:44:29,701 --> 00:44:32,602 Those two could not conceivably live together for the rest of their lives, 797 00:44:32,637 --> 00:44:33,703 they had to go. 798 00:44:34,773 --> 00:44:37,674 NARRATOR: Then in November of that year, Windsor Castle 799 00:44:37,709 --> 00:44:39,509 is partially destroyed by fire. 800 00:44:40,979 --> 00:44:46,082 It was devastating for her to be standing outside her home, 801 00:44:46,117 --> 00:44:49,986 watching it with uncontrollable flames going through it. 802 00:44:50,522 --> 00:44:54,257 (ELIZABETH II SPEAKING) 803 00:45:07,605 --> 00:45:10,073 LORD POWELL: The Queen did have an annus horribilis, 804 00:45:10,108 --> 00:45:12,408 but she showed her usual stiff upper lip. 805 00:45:12,444 --> 00:45:14,310 She was prepared to take it in her stride 806 00:45:14,345 --> 00:45:17,413 and set an example for everyone who has a bad time 807 00:45:17,449 --> 00:45:19,015 at some stage in their lives. 808 00:45:19,451 --> 00:45:23,686 NARRATOR: But 1992 would not be the end of hard times for the Royal Family. 809 00:45:25,090 --> 00:45:28,291 5 years later, on August 31, 1997, 810 00:45:28,326 --> 00:45:31,994 Lady Diana is killed in a car crash in Paris. 811 00:45:33,264 --> 00:45:35,098 LEWIS: It was unlike anything else I think most 812 00:45:35,133 --> 00:45:36,833 people in Britain had experienced. 813 00:45:36,868 --> 00:45:39,736 A combination of the outpouring of public grief 814 00:45:39,771 --> 00:45:44,440 and this media storm around the circumstances of her death 815 00:45:44,476 --> 00:45:46,142 and the reaction of the Royal Family. 816 00:45:46,177 --> 00:45:48,444 So it's hard in a way, looking back now, 817 00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:52,014 to remember just what a toxic combination that was. 818 00:45:53,551 --> 00:45:57,086 NARRATOR: The Royal Family goes into seclusion at Balmoral, 819 00:45:57,122 --> 00:45:58,888 their estate in Scotland. 820 00:45:58,923 --> 00:46:02,125 LEWIS: The Queen's first thoughts must've been for those grandchildren. 821 00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:04,193 They had just lost their mother 822 00:46:04,229 --> 00:46:07,830 and her first priority was with those boys, William and Harry. 823 00:46:07,866 --> 00:46:10,399 LADY ELIZABETH: She had the two boys up at Balmoral. 824 00:46:10,435 --> 00:46:12,368 Where could she take them? What could she do? 825 00:46:12,403 --> 00:46:14,203 She brought them back to Buckingham Palace, 826 00:46:14,239 --> 00:46:16,606 they were amongst all that loads of flowers, 827 00:46:16,641 --> 00:46:19,008 if they went to St. James's Palace, the same thing happened. 828 00:46:19,043 --> 00:46:23,946 It was far kinder to keep them where they were in Scotland. 829 00:46:31,389 --> 00:46:33,856 NARRATOR: For four long days after Diana's death, 830 00:46:33,892 --> 00:46:36,425 the Queen and her family remain at Balmoral, 831 00:46:36,461 --> 00:46:39,662 silent, as the British public expresses its grief. 832 00:46:40,331 --> 00:46:42,231 It was the only time in my life 833 00:46:42,267 --> 00:46:43,833 that the Queen really got into a mess. 834 00:46:44,402 --> 00:46:47,370 She always appeared to have the people's touch to her, 835 00:46:47,405 --> 00:46:50,206 and this time, clearly didn't. 836 00:46:50,241 --> 00:46:51,474 LORD POWELL: There was certainly a point 837 00:46:51,509 --> 00:46:54,110 at which people found it a bit hard to understand 838 00:46:54,512 --> 00:46:56,379 why the Royal Family were not ready 839 00:46:56,414 --> 00:46:59,148 to pay more respect to Princess Diana. 840 00:47:00,051 --> 00:47:02,819 LORD NORWICH: This was really about the direct relationship 841 00:47:02,854 --> 00:47:04,720 between the Queen and her people. 842 00:47:04,756 --> 00:47:06,422 LORD POWELL: And I think the Queen read the situation 843 00:47:06,457 --> 00:47:08,057 and did what was the right thing to do. 844 00:47:09,127 --> 00:47:11,727 NARRATOR: A monarch who, since the dark days of the Blitz, 845 00:47:11,763 --> 00:47:14,163 had been trained to keep her emotions in check, 846 00:47:14,199 --> 00:47:17,733 is now required to wear her emotion on her royal sleeve. 847 00:47:18,336 --> 00:47:22,104 I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. 848 00:47:22,140 --> 00:47:25,808 She was an exceptional and gifted human being. 849 00:47:25,844 --> 00:47:28,010 In good times and bad, 850 00:47:28,046 --> 00:47:31,480 she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, 851 00:47:31,516 --> 00:47:34,684 nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. 852 00:47:35,854 --> 00:47:38,087 NARRATOR: After conferring with her advisors, 853 00:47:38,122 --> 00:47:42,258 Elizabeth directs that a national public funeral be held in Westminster Abbey. 854 00:47:42,861 --> 00:47:44,894 It's no small gesture on her part 855 00:47:44,929 --> 00:47:49,498 to honor Lady Diana with a funeral fit for a Queen. 856 00:47:49,534 --> 00:47:52,802 LEWIS: Look at the polls about what people thought about the monarchy 857 00:47:52,837 --> 00:47:55,371 during that week after the death of the Princess of Wales. 858 00:47:55,406 --> 00:47:56,472 There was a slight dip. 859 00:47:56,774 --> 00:47:58,007 NARRATOR: But thanks in large part 860 00:47:58,042 --> 00:48:01,277 to the Queen's personal gestures towards Diana, 861 00:48:01,312 --> 00:48:04,914 the popularity of the monarchy is restored within weeks. 862 00:48:04,949 --> 00:48:06,649 BEDELL SMITH: After the death of Princess Diana, 863 00:48:06,684 --> 00:48:08,684 the Queen and Prince Phillip 864 00:48:08,720 --> 00:48:10,853 have taken a very active interest 865 00:48:10,889 --> 00:48:13,789 in the upbringing of William and Harry. 866 00:48:13,825 --> 00:48:17,360 She is sometimes criticized because she wasn't able to give her own children 867 00:48:17,395 --> 00:48:18,527 the time and attention 868 00:48:18,563 --> 00:48:20,897 that perhaps they would have been better served by. 869 00:48:20,932 --> 00:48:23,499 And maybe in a sense she's making up for that, 870 00:48:23,534 --> 00:48:25,401 in the way she has looked after 871 00:48:25,436 --> 00:48:28,104 and helped to shape this new generation. 872 00:48:34,379 --> 00:48:36,245 NARRATOR: After the gloom of Diana's death, 873 00:48:36,281 --> 00:48:38,381 the Queen's reign is brightened the next year, 874 00:48:39,017 --> 00:48:40,683 when the Good Friday Agreement 875 00:48:40,718 --> 00:48:43,286 ends the troubles in Northern Ireland. 876 00:48:43,488 --> 00:48:46,422 She was always extraordinarily interested in the peace process, 877 00:48:46,457 --> 00:48:47,890 when it began in the early '90s, 878 00:48:47,926 --> 00:48:50,126 and when it was concluded in the late '90s, 879 00:48:50,161 --> 00:48:51,861 she took a tremendous interest in it. 880 00:48:52,563 --> 00:48:54,664 After the conclusion of the peace process, 881 00:48:54,699 --> 00:48:56,699 she made a very famous state visit to Ireland, 882 00:48:56,734 --> 00:48:58,901 which was a huge success. 883 00:48:58,937 --> 00:49:02,138 NARRATOR: Queen Elizabeth becomes the first British monarch 884 00:49:02,173 --> 00:49:04,807 to visit Ireland in more than a century. 885 00:49:13,184 --> 00:49:17,486 It may have been one of the most significant things she did in her entire reign. 886 00:49:17,889 --> 00:49:21,490 It was a message of reconciliation and forgiveness. 887 00:49:21,526 --> 00:49:25,261 The impact of that has been that relations now between Britain and Ireland 888 00:49:25,296 --> 00:49:28,831 are quite frankly better than they have ever been 889 00:49:28,866 --> 00:49:31,000 at any time in our joint histories. 890 00:49:31,202 --> 00:49:32,435 And I think that gives the Queen 891 00:49:32,470 --> 00:49:33,569 a very great degree of pleasure. 892 00:49:34,105 --> 00:49:39,642 Change has become a constant. The way we embrace it defines our future. 893 00:49:40,078 --> 00:49:44,113 I would like, above all, to declare my resolve to continue, 894 00:49:44,148 --> 00:49:46,716 with the support of my family, 895 00:49:46,751 --> 00:49:51,554 to serve the people of this great nation of ours to the best of my ability 896 00:49:52,256 --> 00:49:54,290 through the changing times ahead. 897 00:49:54,792 --> 00:49:59,562 NARRATOR: In 2002, the Queen celebrates her 50th year on the throne. 898 00:49:59,597 --> 00:50:01,797 But the joy of her golden jubilee is tempered 899 00:50:01,833 --> 00:50:04,133 by the loss of her sister and mother, 900 00:50:04,168 --> 00:50:06,836 who die less than two months apart. 901 00:50:06,871 --> 00:50:09,505 It was an extraordinary tough period for her 902 00:50:09,540 --> 00:50:14,510 because on a daily basis she spoke both to her mother and to her sister. 903 00:50:15,947 --> 00:50:17,413 NARRATOR: As the Queen bids farewell 904 00:50:17,448 --> 00:50:19,582 to an older generation of Windsors, 905 00:50:19,617 --> 00:50:23,152 a younger generation breathes new life into the monarchy. 906 00:50:23,521 --> 00:50:27,857 In the spring of 2011, Elizabeth's grandson Prince William 907 00:50:27,892 --> 00:50:29,592 marries Catherine Middleton. 908 00:50:29,627 --> 00:50:31,594 William is third in line to the throne. 909 00:50:31,863 --> 00:50:33,396 Kate is a commoner. 910 00:50:33,431 --> 00:50:36,032 Their wedding is a worldwide media event. 911 00:50:36,534 --> 00:50:37,633 I, William Arthur Philip Louis, 912 00:50:37,668 --> 00:50:39,101 take thee, Catherine Elizabeth. 913 00:50:39,137 --> 00:50:41,137 -MAN: To my wedded wife. -To my wedded wife. 914 00:50:41,172 --> 00:50:44,540 The Queen said to me, "The world's gone mad. Look behind me." 915 00:50:44,575 --> 00:50:47,510 And there were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people. 916 00:50:47,712 --> 00:50:53,549 And I think that none of us realized the impact that wedding was gonna have. 917 00:50:54,318 --> 00:50:56,919 POWELL: Prince William and Kate are a different generation. 918 00:50:56,954 --> 00:50:59,555 And they understand, I'm sure, better than the Queen does, 919 00:50:59,590 --> 00:51:02,091 what a new generation feels like, 920 00:51:02,126 --> 00:51:04,427 what it looks for, and that sort of thing. 921 00:51:04,462 --> 00:51:07,229 But once again you have to draw a very careful line 922 00:51:07,265 --> 00:51:09,532 between spontaneous behavior, 923 00:51:09,567 --> 00:51:11,467 which appeals to a younger generation, 924 00:51:11,502 --> 00:51:13,836 and the vulgarity that goes with celebrity. 925 00:51:14,505 --> 00:51:17,940 NARRATOR: The following year, the Queen herself takes center stage, 926 00:51:17,975 --> 00:51:22,311 as the nation celebrates her 60th anniversary on the throne. 927 00:51:22,346 --> 00:51:26,782 Elizabeth is only the second British monarch to celebrate a diamond jubilee, 928 00:51:26,818 --> 00:51:28,918 the other was Queen Victoria. 929 00:51:28,953 --> 00:51:31,754 There was an amazing pageant on the River Thames. 930 00:51:31,789 --> 00:51:34,123 Hundreds of thousands of people 931 00:51:34,158 --> 00:51:36,459 lined the whole of the Thames route 932 00:51:36,494 --> 00:51:38,794 to see the pageant and cheer the Queen. 933 00:51:38,830 --> 00:51:41,964 And the Duke then being 89, the Queen then being 86, 934 00:51:41,999 --> 00:51:44,800 stood for hours in the pouring rain 935 00:51:44,836 --> 00:51:46,602 throughout the whole of that long day. 936 00:51:46,637 --> 00:51:49,705 It was an astonishing illustration of their willpower 937 00:51:49,740 --> 00:51:51,307 and their sense of public duty. 938 00:51:52,877 --> 00:51:55,544 On September 9th, 2015, 939 00:51:55,580 --> 00:51:59,715 Elizabeth II becomes the longest reigning sovereign in British history. 940 00:52:00,318 --> 00:52:02,618 LORD NORWICH: I think Queen Victoria was a horrible old bag 941 00:52:02,653 --> 00:52:05,054 and this Queen I think is perfectly wonderful. 942 00:52:05,089 --> 00:52:08,591 NARRATOR: As she solemnly promised her subjects at the age of 21, 943 00:52:08,626 --> 00:52:12,161 Elizabeth plans to remain Queen for the rest of her life. 944 00:52:13,197 --> 00:52:15,364 Once you're Queen, you're Queen. 945 00:52:15,900 --> 00:52:17,399 We don't do abdications in this country, 946 00:52:17,835 --> 00:52:20,236 even in the case of George III, 947 00:52:20,271 --> 00:52:22,671 when the monarch has gone stark-staring mad, 948 00:52:22,707 --> 00:52:24,006 they still stay on. 949 00:52:24,041 --> 00:52:29,044 She said that the only unusual circumstance she could envision 950 00:52:29,280 --> 00:52:30,813 would be if she were to be 951 00:52:30,848 --> 00:52:33,182 mentally or physically incapacitated. 952 00:52:33,217 --> 00:52:34,250 In which case, 953 00:52:34,285 --> 00:52:36,051 she still wouldn't step down. 954 00:52:36,087 --> 00:52:38,154 Prince Charles would become the Prince Regent 955 00:52:38,189 --> 00:52:41,190 basically taking all the powers of the monarch 956 00:52:41,225 --> 00:52:43,359 but without the monarch stepping down. 957 00:52:48,733 --> 00:52:51,300 I don't think she has put a foot wrong in 60 years. 958 00:52:51,335 --> 00:52:53,335 I mean, it's incredible. 959 00:52:53,371 --> 00:52:55,738 KINGSLEY: There's not a lazy molecule in her. 960 00:52:55,773 --> 00:52:59,942 It is that complete commitment to her unique position. 961 00:53:00,278 --> 00:53:03,078 There is only one in the whole world. 962 00:53:03,114 --> 00:53:06,682 And her joyful embrace of it must be exhausting. 963 00:53:06,717 --> 00:53:09,552 And that exhaustion is never seen. 964 00:53:09,587 --> 00:53:12,288 LEWIS: The Queen has connected with the British people 965 00:53:12,323 --> 00:53:13,756 in the most extraordinary way. 966 00:53:13,791 --> 00:53:16,158 If you think of the number of people she's met, 967 00:53:16,194 --> 00:53:19,228 the connection she's had with communities up and down the country, 968 00:53:19,263 --> 00:53:21,897 she's been as constant as the Northern Star. 969 00:53:22,300 --> 00:53:26,101 LORD POWELL: The Queen is a very important part of Britain's brand in the world. 970 00:53:26,304 --> 00:53:27,937 We live with our history all around us, 971 00:53:27,972 --> 00:53:29,872 we're very proud of our institutions. 972 00:53:30,107 --> 00:53:33,475 And I think there's nothing we're prouder of than the monarchy itself. 973 00:53:33,511 --> 00:53:37,246 I think we are incredibly lucky as a country 974 00:53:37,281 --> 00:53:40,082 to have such a wonderful woman as our monarch. 975 00:53:40,384 --> 00:53:46,522 If I may put it this way, for us to have a mum is very, very important, 976 00:53:47,358 --> 00:53:48,624 and we have one. 977 00:53:48,826 --> 00:53:54,830 She will go down in history as one of the major monarchs of England. 978 00:53:55,600 --> 00:53:57,366 MAJOR: Politicians wear out their public persona 979 00:53:57,401 --> 00:53:59,735 in eight years, 10 years at most. 980 00:53:59,770 --> 00:54:03,005 The Queen is as popular with the British public today 981 00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:04,940 as she was when she was crowned. 982 00:54:04,976 --> 00:54:08,010 How fitting it is that one of our best, 983 00:54:08,045 --> 00:54:10,512 and frankly best-loved monarchs, 984 00:54:10,548 --> 00:54:13,215 should have become our longest-serving monarch. 985 00:54:20,725 --> 00:54:22,458 Next time on In Their Own Words 986 00:54:22,560 --> 00:54:26,362 "This is the legend of Cassius Clay, the most beautiful fighter in the world today" 987 00:54:26,464 --> 00:54:29,698 He was one of history's greatest and most impassioned fighters, 988 00:54:29,800 --> 00:54:32,368 "Big mouth, loud mouth, Louisville lip" 989 00:54:32,470 --> 00:54:35,037 "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" 990 00:54:35,139 --> 00:54:40,042 Muhammed Ali fearlessly fused religion, race, sports and politics 991 00:54:40,144 --> 00:54:42,211 "Ali is the revolution" 992 00:54:42,313 --> 00:54:45,714 His battles inside and outside the ring transcended the sport itself 993 00:54:45,816 --> 00:54:47,216 "There'll never be another Muhammed Ali" 994 00:54:47,318 --> 00:55:03,032 "I am the Greatest" 995 00:55:03,067 --> 00:55:05,868 "Queen Elizabeth II: In Their Own Words" 996 00:55:05,903 --> 00:55:07,436 is available on DVD. 997 00:55:07,471 --> 00:55:10,105 To order, visit shopPBS.org 998 00:55:10,141 --> 00:55:13,375 or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 999 00:55:20,818 --> 00:55:23,285 is made possible in part" Theis 1000 00:55:23,321 --> 00:55:25,921 by contributions to your PBS station 1001 00:55:25,956 --> 00:55:27,523 from viewers like you. 1002 00:55:27,558 --> 00:55:27,523 Thank you.