1 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,720 100 years separates their reigns. 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,280 Different eras, different societies. 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,760 Almost different worlds. 4 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,400 Two women, Elizabeth and Victoria. 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,400 Two queens who have steered their course through periods 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:22,840 of extraordinary change. 7 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,880 In the British monarchy's 1,000-year history, 8 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:31,720 their like has rarely been seen, their longevity is unrivalled. 9 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:33,160 On the 9th of September, 10 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:37,520 Queen Elizabeth II will become the longest-reigning monarch 11 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,200 in British history. She will break the record 12 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,600 set by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, 13 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:48,360 who was on the throne for 63 years and seven months. 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:53,040 Yet, they became monarchs unexpectedly at a young age. 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,280 Neither Queen Victoria nor Queen Elizabeth 16 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:57,760 were born to be Queen, 17 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,480 and indeed there was no great expectation 18 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,400 that either of them would be. 19 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,600 I think certainly we'll look back and say 20 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:07,800 there's been the biggest changes in society 21 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:09,600 under these two female monarchs. 22 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,280 I think history will look back on them both and compare them, 23 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,400 because it's really so incredibly unique. 24 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:17,960 And both of them symbolise their country. 25 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:20,080 And that's what's so wonderful about monarchy, 26 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,600 it is a symbol above politics. 27 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,680 But what does it take to be a monarch who defines an era, 28 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,560 one who has the power to capture the hearts and minds of people 29 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:32,320 at home and abroad? 30 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:35,800 She is just brilliant. 31 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,920 At her age, to be still doing things like this, it is just fantastic. 32 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,000 I never really got this whole Queen thing, to be honest, 33 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,720 I really didn't. 34 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:46,600 But I've got it now. And I just... 35 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,200 OK, sorry, I posted on Facebook that I've fallen in love with the Queen! 36 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,520 As the Queen reaches this milestone, 37 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,720 we look at the long reigns of two extraordinary women, 38 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:02,280 and ask how they've managed to provide such enduring stability 39 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,640 in an ever-changing world. 40 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,840 It's March 2015 at Canterbury Cathedral. 41 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,040 And here she is, Elizabeth II, 42 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:29,320 the face of the modern monarchy. 43 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,160 She's here to unveil statues of herself and her husband, 44 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:35,440 Prince Philip... 45 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,640 ..immortalised in stone next to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, 46 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:46,440 in this, the year Elizabeth becomes the longest-reigning monarch 47 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:47,960 in British history. 48 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,440 Though when she came into the world, 49 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:54,160 nobody expected that. 50 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:59,200 On April the 21st 1926, 51 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,800 a child was born to the Duke and Duchess of York, 52 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,280 Elizabeth and Prince Albert, 53 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,760 who was the second son of King George V. 54 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,920 Elizabeth Alexandra Mary came into this world a princess. 55 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:18,080 Her popular uncle, the Prince of Wales, 56 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,320 was next in line to the throne, followed by her father, 57 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,280 so no-one ever expected that one day Elizabeth would become Queen. 58 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:27,960 And she certainly wasn't born in a palace. 59 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,520 In fact, she was born right here... 60 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:36,280 ..on Bruton Street in Mayfair. Now a restaurant. 61 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,480 A plaque is the only reminder that, before the bombings of World War II, 62 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,040 Elizabeth's home stood on this site. 63 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:49,960 And here they are, the family at their home in 1927. 64 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:52,120 A nanny and baby Elizabeth. 65 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,840 The young princess was expected to lead a relatively quiet life, 66 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,760 away from the full glare of the monarchy, 67 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:07,600 which is just what people thought at the birth of another royal infant. 68 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,720 Victoria was born in a palace, Kensington Palace, 69 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,440 on May the 24th 1819. 70 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,560 At birth, she was fifth in line to the throne. 71 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,480 And even though her mother was fiercely ambitious, 72 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:24,680 no-one could have known that Victoria 73 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:26,720 was destined to become Queen. 74 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,960 She too was raised quietly, away from court, 75 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:36,840 under the care of her strong-willed German mother, Victoria Marie Luise, 76 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:38,640 the Duchess of Kent. 77 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,960 - Here she is, Victoria. - Here she is. Victoria herself. 78 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:49,720 Victoria spent her childhood here in Kensington and she said herself, 79 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,440 "I had a very unhappy childhood." 80 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,000 And she was also a long way from the throne, 81 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,520 no-one thought she'd ever come anywhere near it. 82 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:01,040 Basically, when she was born, she was intended to be married 83 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,520 into other royal families, a very minor royal. 84 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,920 So no-one thought anything much of it. 85 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,200 By her own account, Victoria was brought up very simply 86 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:14,320 here in a suite of rooms on the first floor of Kensington Palace. 87 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,960 It was a privileged but isolated existence. 88 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,520 What we do know is that she remembered later on 89 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,480 this terrible, oppressive, melancholy childhood. 90 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,600 - We think it was a little bit more complex than that. - In what way? 91 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:34,120 Well, she was lonely, but she was also very imaginative. 92 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:35,840 She had 132 dolls 93 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:40,000 and they're all very neatly and in a very organised way 94 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,440 listed in her inventory which she kept at the time. 95 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:45,720 She must have had a sort of very, you know... 96 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,200 A dreamworld, the way she played with these dolls. 97 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,120 I suppose she had a lack of friends. 98 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,720 We wonder whether some of the costumes could possibly be made 99 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,880 - from fabrics that made Princess Victoria's dresses. - Really? 100 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,200 That's not something we're able to prove, but it's a possibility. 101 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:07,400 Before she was one, her grandfather and father died. 102 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,360 And when her uncle, George IV, passed away, 103 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,480 another uncle became King, 104 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:17,200 which meant she was next in line to the throne at the age of 11. 105 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,080 Life became even more restrictive. 106 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,680 Her mother kept her under pretty much lock and key. 107 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:28,720 They called it the Kensington System. 108 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:30,240 They wanted control of her. 109 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,360 So they kept her under 24-hour surveillance. 110 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:35,560 She wasn't allowed to have a single minute alone, 111 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,320 because what they wanted was her to come to the throne, 112 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,000 at, say, 10, 12, and they be the one in the power, 113 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,440 they be the one being Regent. 114 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,920 She was sheltered and protected 115 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,760 and she even shared a bedroom with her mother 116 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,240 until the day she became Queen, at the age of 18. 117 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:05,640 In stark contrast, Elizabeth's early life was happy and carefree. 118 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,160 She had the constant companionship of her younger sister, 119 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,320 Princess Margaret, and her parents, 120 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:17,320 a family who affectionately called themselves "We Four". 121 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:18,840 They had the common touch. 122 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,280 They had ordinary Scottish nannies looking after their girls. 123 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:24,800 When it was her birthday, 124 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:30,320 Bobo MacDonald taught her how to iron the wrapping paper of her presents 125 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,960 and put it away in a drawer so that she could reuse it. 126 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:39,800 But she went on the bus, she went to the museums, 127 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,920 and, all the time, in those early years, 128 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:44,600 she was just being prepared 129 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,960 for the life of a young lady of the middle-to-upper classes. 130 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:58,480 But all that changed suddenly in 1936. 131 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,160 It was the year of the three kings. 132 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,920 In January, King George V, Elizabeth's grandfather, died. 133 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,680 Her uncle took the throne as King Edward VIII. 134 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,800 But his reign lasted just 325 days. 135 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:15,880 He abdicated in order to marry 136 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:19,720 the twice divorced American Wallis Simpson. 137 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:21,880 By December that year, 138 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:24,200 Elizabeth's father was King. 139 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,320 Elizabeth moved here to Buckingham Palace with her family 140 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:33,960 at the age of just ten. 141 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:35,520 Her father was now King 142 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,400 and it must have been a huge change for the young princess, 143 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,680 who until then had been raised in a more modest family home, 144 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:43,000 albeit in Mayfair. 145 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,080 It was 1937, 146 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:49,840 exactly 100 years after Queen Victoria had arrived here, 147 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:51,520 at the age of 18. 148 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,920 Victoria left Kensington Palace just weeks after becoming Queen. 149 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:03,640 Her first requests were for time alone at last away from her mother 150 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,360 and a bedroom of her own. 151 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:09,800 She got much more than that. 152 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,720 Victoria became the first monarch to make Buckingham Palace 153 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:16,240 her official residence. 154 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,600 Over the years, she transformed the place, and visitors to this day 155 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,880 are still met by the paintings of her nearest and dearest. 156 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:31,000 How much did Queen Victoria change Buckingham Palace and why? 157 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:37,000 Well, I think she wanted to make it a centre of court life 158 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,800 and court life, I think, of a very different sort. 159 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,880 I mean, the thing about the monarchy in the middle of the Victorian period 160 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,920 was that it became respectable for the first time. 161 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:51,360 And really this was a palace which was going to house a court 162 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,080 which was the epitome of the kind of new morality 163 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,120 of the family and of society. 164 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,960 Elizabeth has transformed this palace in another way. 165 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:03,120 In 1962, she opened the Queen's Gallery 166 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,240 to give the paying public access to the Royal Art Collection. 167 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,800 In 1993, she opened the doors even wider - 168 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,480 tens of thousands now take the chance to wander through 169 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,440 the State Rooms, with ticket and gift shop sales 170 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,640 going towards the upkeep of the artworks and royal residences. 171 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:31,040 This evening, 300 guests are invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace 172 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,520 for the Queen's Award for Enterprise, 173 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:36,720 now in its 50th year. 174 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:40,480 And each guest is greeted personally. 175 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,880 It means a huge amount to these businesses. 176 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,400 You could be in China, you could be in India and Brazil, 177 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,600 people will see the emblem of these awards and they will know 178 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,040 that you've got that because you're a very successful British business 179 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:54,400 and it actually then leads to more business, 180 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:56,400 which is great news for Britain. 181 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,720 It's such a boost to me personally, to my confidence, 182 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,240 as a businesswoman, but obviously to the business. 183 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,880 I've met so many fantastic other businesses. 184 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,920 So I look forward to a lot more business networking, as well. 185 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:10,880 The questions she was asking tonight were quite interesting. 186 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,760 They were very business orientated, and she obviously knows 187 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,320 what's going on, which is great, you know. 188 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,280 The Queen herself is such an inspiration for all of us. 189 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:20,880 And for women in general. 190 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,760 I think, you know, I mean, an inspiration of hard work, 191 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:29,120 dedication, you know, like, what entrepreneurs should look up to. 192 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,560 Buckingham Palace, it's such an iconic building. 193 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:45,440 It's hard to imagine that it hasn't always looked like this. 194 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,280 But Queen Victoria wanted to extend the palace, 195 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:50,920 and so she sold Brighton Pavilion to pay for it 196 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,600 and added on this whole frontage, 197 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,000 everything you can see now, 198 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,760 including of course one of the most famous balconies in the world. 199 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,040 Here's Victoria in 1893, 200 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,080 first photographed on the balcony. 201 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,800 And Elizabeth, her great-great-granddaughter, 202 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,360 making her debut, as a baby. 203 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:13,800 Across time, 204 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,360 the balcony became a sort of rallying point for the nation, 205 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:22,680 no more so than in May 1945, when war in Europe ended, 206 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:26,920 and the crowds called for her father, George VI, 207 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,800 as Elizabeth stood proudly by him in her uniform. 208 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:41,200 Growing up during World War II shaped the future Queen. 209 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,680 In 1940, she was the teenager who gave this radio broadcast 210 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:49,400 for children forced to evacuate their homes. 211 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:54,800 My sister, Margaret Rose, and I feel so much for you, 212 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:59,320 as we know from experience what it means to be away 213 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:01,840 from those we love most of all. 214 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,720 You would have thought that the Royal Family would have been 215 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,720 moved a long way away to safety, but instead the princesses came here. 216 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,880 They lived here in Windsor Castle for much of the war. 217 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,600 And the castle was stripped of all its finery, 218 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,880 the paintings were removed and hidden in caves in Wales and other places. 219 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,120 And it was a very much diminished castle, 220 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:26,360 except for the magnificence of the buildings. 221 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,520 There was a big air-raid shelter built under one of the towers, 222 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:33,880 which no-one liked using, but they did when the air-raid sirens sounded. 223 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:40,640 As the bombing raids of the Blitz hit, 224 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:44,040 it was suggested that the princesses should be evacuated, 225 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,560 to which the Queen Mother had an immediate reply. 226 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:51,160 She said, "The children would never leave without me. 227 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,440 "I would never leave without the King. 228 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,080 "And the King will never leave." 229 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,280 Indeed, in September 1940, 230 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:02,120 the King and Queen were very nearly killed when a German bomber 231 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:06,560 flew up The Mall and dropped its bombs directly on Buckingham Palace. 232 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:11,800 They concealed how nearly they came to death. 233 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,080 They realised instantly that they had to be 234 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,320 the focal point of the nation at war. 235 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,760 And that was transferred to Princess Elizabeth 236 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:23,920 and we have seen that, ever since, 237 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,800 duty is what has defined her and led her and inspired her. 238 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:32,640 Elizabeth, unlike Victoria, 239 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:36,080 was able to learn the art of being a monarch from her parents. 240 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:42,600 But both entered public life in the same way and in the same place, 241 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,560 each showing their commitment to the Armed Forces. 242 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,680 Queen Victoria came here to Windsor Castle 243 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:03,640 to review her troops for the first time when she was just 18. 244 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,920 A century later, Elizabeth, then still a princess, 245 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,160 followed in her footsteps on her 16th birthday. 246 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,160 It was her first official engagement. 247 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:14,800 NEWSREEL: The British Grenadiers 248 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,680 then marched past her Royal Highness, the Colonel. 249 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,520 She's back. It's April 2015. 250 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,120 Now 89, the Queen is presenting new colours 251 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,360 to the 1st Battalion, the Welsh Guards. 252 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,120 OFFICER GIVES ORDER 253 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,840 She knows the military inside out, 254 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,480 and played her part in the war effort 255 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,400 when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service 256 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,240 at the age of 18. 257 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:48,240 One of the things she did was to learn how to strip down a truck. 258 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,960 And there are famous pictures of her doing so. 259 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,680 And she worked with other people who had been called up, 260 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:55,680 who were serving, from all walks of life. 261 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:58,760 And I think that was her first proper introduction 262 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,160 to life outside of the family. 263 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,800 And these were all sort of incremental steps in her training, 264 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,480 if you like, towards being the monarch. 265 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,600 OFFICER GIVES ORDER 266 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,480 Her Majesty the Queen knows absolutely everything 267 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,960 that's happening in the ceremonial state occasion. 268 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:19,360 But she knows that I'm there 269 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:24,840 to just make sure those people that don't know are led and guided 270 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,480 so that they can give the best performance. 271 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:32,160 I'm inspired by her. An absolutely wonderful lady. 272 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,200 I mean, the Queen is what we fight for, 273 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:38,800 fighting for the country 274 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,080 and she's sort of the head of the Army 275 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,920 and our regiment, so it's extremely special for the boys. 276 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,760 Do you think that the Queen really does understand what you do, 277 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,400 - what you go through? - 100%. 100%. 278 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:52,520 She... I think she probably knows more than anyone in her time 279 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,880 of understanding what sacrifice for the country is, 280 00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,240 and she's an extremely, extremely special person. 281 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:04,440 Recognition from the monarch has always been highly prized. 282 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:08,320 At the end of the Crimean War, in 1856, 283 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:12,520 Queen Victoria introduced the Victoria Cross for bravery. 284 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,720 A medal has been created in Elizabeth's name, too, 285 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:19,360 the Elizabeth Cross, 286 00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:22,400 for the next of kin of British servicemen and women 287 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,360 killed on military operations or by terrorism. 288 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:32,440 Two recent tours of Afghanistan have seen the Welsh Guards lose nine men. 289 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,760 Lieutenant Mark Evison was one of them. 290 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,400 - You have been awarded the Elizabeth Cross... - Yeah. 291 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:40,720 - ..in memory of your son. - Yes. 292 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:42,840 Just explain what the Elizabeth Cross is 293 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:44,520 and how important it is to you. 294 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,200 Most awards that are given are given to soldiers, 295 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,560 but this is something for the families, 296 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:51,920 which is actually saying, you know, 297 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,800 the families are involved in this, as well. 298 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:59,800 However prepared one is for soldier death, 299 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,720 it leaves a huge hole in families everywhere, 300 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,400 Afghanistan and the Falklands and everywhere. 301 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,200 And it's really important to acknowledge that. 302 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,600 And so, erm, this memory, 303 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:17,560 this little cross, signifies that, really. 304 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:22,320 Elizabeth is the daughter, mother and wife of military men. 305 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:26,520 By her side today, as he has been for every step of her reign, 306 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,800 is Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. 307 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,280 They got to know one another in 1939, 308 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,680 as Elizabeth accompanied her parents on an official visit 309 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,360 to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. 310 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:50,400 The cadet assigned to show her around was Philip, 311 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,440 a prince by birth of Greece and Denmark, 312 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:58,120 also a great-great-grandchild of Victoria's. 313 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:02,520 The Queen saw him, this handsome, young Viking, 314 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,640 with his sense of humour. 315 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:09,600 I think right at the start his lack of reverence, 316 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,680 his sense of informality appealed to her, 317 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:14,840 as well as his stunning good looks. 318 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:19,240 They became pen pals, 319 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,440 with Elizabeth keeping a photo of a bearded Philip, 320 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,360 as he fought for his adopted country, Britain. 321 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:26,680 It was a love match. 322 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:33,120 And in 1946, after a holiday at Balmoral, 323 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:35,480 they got engaged and... 324 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,000 Though secretly, 325 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,200 because the King and Queen asked them to postpone the public announcement 326 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:42,600 until the following year. 327 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,440 - NEWSREEL: - The Royal Family and Princess Elizabeth's fiance 328 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,480 have permitted these special film studies 329 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,320 to be made in response to the rapidly mounting worldwide interest 330 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,760 in the forthcoming royal wedding on the 20th of November 331 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:54,160 in Westminster Abbey. 332 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,280 I, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary... 333 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,760 - ..take thee, Philip... - ..take thee, Philip... 334 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,160 - ..to my wedded husband... - ..to my wedded husband... 335 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:02,800 ..to have and to hold... 336 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,400 They wed when Elizabeth was 21. 337 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,560 After 67 years, 338 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,720 the marriage of the Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, 339 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,440 is longer than that of any other British sovereign. 340 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,000 It's a cornerstone of Elizabeth's reign. 341 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:23,400 As she's said in several tributes to him, 342 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:27,840 he is the rock on which her work as a monarch has been based. 343 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:34,080 He has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years, 344 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:39,760 and I and his whole family, and this and many other countries, 345 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,960 owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall never know. 346 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:50,360 Queen Victoria had her rock, too. 347 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:56,640 For Victoria and now Elizabeth, a vital thread through their lives 348 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,240 has been the love and support of their husbands. 349 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:01,240 Both married European princes, 350 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,440 both met their husbands-to-be when they were very young 351 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,480 and then got to know them slowly through letters. 352 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,560 He also looked like a film star. 353 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:14,560 I mean, there's something very romantic in the fact that both 354 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:17,280 Prince Albert and Prince Philip were both sort of 355 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,480 gorgeous to look at, you know. That builds up the whole fairy tale. 356 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:28,400 Victoria was 16 when she met Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. 357 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,040 He was her first cousin from Germany. 358 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:35,320 It was determined more or less from childhood onwards 359 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,360 that Victoria would marry one of those Coburg children. 360 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:40,720 There were some other candidates for her to marry, 361 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,400 but that was the obvious one. 362 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:49,000 And it was her great luck that she fell in love with him, besottedly, 363 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:53,760 it was a real love affair, and love match, from the beginning. 364 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,440 They kept in touch by letters and she described him 365 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:03,040 as "so sensible, so kind and so good, and so amiable too." 366 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,760 She really hadn't had a chance to have anyone to love. 367 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:07,920 She and her mother had been at loggerheads, 368 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:09,680 she had no sister, no friend, 369 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,400 no father, so she had been a very lonely child 370 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,560 and all this passion had really pent up inside her. 371 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:20,600 Obviously, Victoria's wedding to Albert 372 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,120 on a grisly February day is essentially 373 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:25,920 a private service. 374 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,200 Victoria herself said that she noted every detail - indeed, 375 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:33,440 she does appear to have noted every detail in her journal afterwards. 376 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:39,160 I think for Victoria it was a wonderful day in every way. 377 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,280 The couple were married in 1840. 378 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,960 Victoria was already Queen, so she had to propose to him. 379 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,880 They went on to have nine children. 380 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:55,120 Albert brought an experience of the world Victoria had never known. 381 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:58,720 He developed a strong interest in arts and culture, 382 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,720 and built the Italian Gardens in Kensington 383 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,040 as a testimony of his love for her. 384 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:07,920 She rejoiced in her marriage to Albert 385 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,000 and it had for her a significance only rivalled by her coronation day. 386 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:18,280 Victoria's coronation came after the death of her uncle, William IV. 387 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:20,680 It's one of the quirks of the hereditary system 388 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,600 that one is expected both to mourn and rejoice at the same time - 389 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:27,200 mourn the death of one sovereign, rejoice in the accession of the next. 390 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,960 I think in 1837 there is a definite imbalance. 391 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,640 There is notably more rejoicing than mourning. 392 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,000 She loves being Queen at the age of 18. 393 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,360 She tells the wife of her courtier that she woke up one morning 394 00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:41,400 afraid it might all turn out to be a dream. 395 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,360 She thoroughly enjoys the dream. 396 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:49,320 400,000 people flocked to London for her coronation, 397 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,840 helped by the transport revolution, the railways, 398 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:57,200 and the hopes of a nation resting on youthful shoulders, 399 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:01,760 something shared by only two women in more than 100 years. 400 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:09,680 Elizabeth's path to accession came in 1952. In January, 401 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,320 she and Philip were waved off at the airport by her father, 402 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:17,600 King George VI, as they began a Commonwealth tour in his name. 403 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,200 It was the last time they would see one another. 404 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:25,880 He was only 56. 405 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:31,680 - ARCHIVE: - On February 6th, 4,000 miles away from London, 406 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,520 Princess Elizabeth was brought the news the world was soon to hear. 407 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,480 It was announced from Sandringham at 10:45 today 408 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:44,640 that the King, who retired to rest last night in his usual health, 409 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:49,160 passed peacefully away in his sleep earlier this morning. 410 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,520 People were shocked by the death of the King. 411 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:53,640 It wasn't anticipated, 412 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,880 except in an inner circle, who knew just how ill he was. 413 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,640 Elizabeth returned to London in mourning, 414 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:07,320 a young woman who now held the future of the monarchy in her hands. 415 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:14,360 For four days, King George VI lay in state in Westminster. 416 00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:21,960 I remember walking past the catafalque of King George VI. 417 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:28,320 My mother took me and my brother Rory, and I was only three, 418 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:32,920 and we queued for hours - you can't imagine that now, can you? 419 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,840 Queuing for hours outside Westminster Hall, 420 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:40,400 but she said, "You will remember, you will remember this all your life, 421 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:42,560 "and this is something we owe him." 422 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:48,760 The nation mourned for the man who had saved the British monarchy. 423 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:53,080 He passed on the essential value of duty to his daughter, 424 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:57,720 something his great-grandmother Victoria understood well herself. 425 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,720 In 1838, Queen Victoria, at the age of 19, 426 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,200 came here to Westminster Abbey for her coronation. 427 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:09,880 Just over a century later, 428 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:14,000 her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth followed in her footsteps 429 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,240 and was crowned right here in the very same place. 430 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,800 More than 8,000 people packed the abbey that day 431 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,320 and millions were watching on the television around the world. 432 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:29,320 Elizabeth was 27 years old and the mother of two young children. 433 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:34,000 ORCHESTRA PLAYS AND CHOIR SINGS: I Was Glad by CHH Parry 434 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,960 How was Elizabeth received at the Coronation? 435 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,560 We all became romantics on a huge, collective scale 436 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,240 and of course, the setting in this abbey, where the very stones talk, 437 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,760 with the old statesmen in marble looking down on her, 438 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:58,600 Disraeli, Gladstone, Peel, 439 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,920 we were right in the middle of this wonderful combination 440 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,560 which the Brits pride themselves on, or did, of juxtaposing 441 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,560 tradition and modernity and making the two work together, 442 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,840 but above all, the young woman sitting just over there. 443 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,240 FANFARE PLAYS 444 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,880 It's seared across the Velcro of memory 445 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:20,800 and it's a very dazzling searing 446 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,120 because post-war London was very drab. 447 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:26,480 We had lost a third of our wealth in the war 448 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:30,840 and there was still rationing. Very few people had any new clothes 449 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:35,040 and yet suddenly in amidst this heroic drabness, 450 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,520 there was the starburst of the Coronation, 451 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:39,120 of the new beautiful young queen. 452 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:42,160 CHOIR: Zadok The Priest 453 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,920 I remember it. I was on Victoria Embankment 454 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:54,320 and it was a kind of magic moment when the great golden coach went by 455 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,720 and then this smiling figure, 456 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,120 it was one of the moments of the reawakening of the country 457 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:06,080 after a long and tense and deprived period. 458 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,000 And for those who weren't there, 459 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:14,320 thanks to the revolution of television, the nation could watch from their living rooms. 460 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:18,440 27 million people in Britain in June 1953 461 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,760 watch at least half a day's television coverage. 462 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,200 The number of BBC licence holders doubles that day, so there is 463 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:30,800 this sense of what newspapers referred to as "Coronation fever". 464 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:34,000 We've only known in recent years that it was in fact the Queen 465 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,840 who said yes, it ought to be televised, 466 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:38,720 an acknowledgement that the... 467 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,840 ..the monarchy, as it were, belongs to the people, 468 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,280 you've got to, with the new means of communication. 469 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,480 CROWD CHEERS 470 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:51,960 And then this smiling figure, 471 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:56,480 just all the diamonds refracting and with the Duke of Edinburgh, I mean, 472 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,080 I remember it so absolutely vividly. 473 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,440 Five months after her coronation, 474 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:09,040 Elizabeth returned to the Commonwealth tour she had begun 475 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:10,880 before her father's death. 476 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:15,240 Now she was Queen, and also Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, 477 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:19,480 which from small beginnings has expanded during her reign 478 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,280 to take in 53 countries. 479 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,040 She has visited almost all of them. 480 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:27,400 I think historians will look back 481 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:30,480 on the reign and achievements of Elizabeth II 482 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,080 and pick out the Commonwealth. 483 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,000 The Commonwealth is a real family. 484 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:39,680 It's so successful that countries that are not former British colonies 485 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,160 have asked to join and been allowed to join. 486 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,840 For Victoria, she was Empress of India, 487 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:51,120 with the reach of a global superpower, the British Empire. 488 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,520 Not that she saw much of it. 489 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:58,200 Britain did rule half the world and it stretched everywhere, 490 00:29:58,200 --> 00:29:59,600 from Canada to Australia 491 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,360 and included great tracts of Asia and Africa, 492 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:07,000 and it's true that Queen Victoria didn't visit any of these places. 493 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,080 She was very much in touch and thinking about them a lot. 494 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:16,400 She became besotted with India and Indian culture in her later years. 495 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:18,800 She taught herself Hindustani 496 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:22,600 and she could speak a little bit of Urdu. 497 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,960 She would have loved to go to India but they didn't let her, 498 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,760 so in her mind and her spirit, she travelled, 499 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:32,760 completely unlike Queen Elizabeth, who actually travels. 500 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:38,840 Queen Elizabeth II has crisscrossed the globe for more than 60 years. 501 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,920 Here and abroad, she has shaken the hands of history. 502 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,520 It's June 2015 and once again 503 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:52,840 the red carpet is laid out on foreign soil. 504 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:57,120 This is Berlin's Tegel Airport, where the Queen's plane is 505 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:01,160 touching down at the start of her four-day state visit to Germany. 506 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:03,120 It's been pouring with rain here all day. 507 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:04,880 It's going to be a soggy reception, 508 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:09,000 but that will not faze the most well-travelled monarch in history. 509 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:16,200 The Queen first came to Germany on a state visit in 1965. 510 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:20,400 It was a country still divided by Cold War Communism. 511 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,440 Her visit was a gesture of solidarity and a step towards 512 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:28,480 normalising relations with Germany in the decades after World War II. 513 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,520 People still remember the impact of that historic visit. 514 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:38,800 I thank you warmly for your welcome. 515 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:44,480 For my husband and me, it is a deeply moving experience 516 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:48,520 to be with you here in this courageous and famous city. 517 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,240 CHEERING 518 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:57,400 50 years on, Germany, now a unified country, has changed dramatically. 519 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,360 The welcome for the Queen hasn't. 520 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:08,560 - WOMAN IN CROWD: - Oh, my God! 521 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:10,080 CHEERING 522 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,520 Wherever the Queen goes, she brings with her a sense of occasion, and 523 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:17,080 there's been real excitement here in Germany in the run-up to this visit. 524 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,240 She's on every front page today and the papers are full 525 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:22,680 of what to do, what to wear if you meet her, 526 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:25,920 and German television has been running British-themed programmes, 527 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:29,040 and that's the thing about the Queen - wherever she goes, 528 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:33,640 she brings with her an indefinable something that no-one else can. 529 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,360 The Queen is our big differentiator in the eyes of many 530 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,520 of our foreign partners and friends. 531 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,840 They deal with other governments, they deal with other heads of state, 532 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,600 but the Queen is something completely unique 533 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,880 and you see that in the reaction of the crowds lining the streets. 534 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:55,760 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 535 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:02,360 Two of the most powerful women in the world - one a monarch, 536 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:06,560 the other the German Chancellor, who has been dubbed the Queen of Europe, 537 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:11,080 and given the question mark over the future of Britain in the EU, 538 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:13,280 the timing of this state visit 539 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:16,240 is being seen as something of a diplomatic coup. 540 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,880 CAMERAS CLICK 541 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:27,640 I think for many people, for many different reasons, 542 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:31,320 this is a very important visit, a very important moment, 543 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:35,560 and it brings Britain and Germany closer together 544 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:37,360 at a time which is, for us, 545 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:42,000 actually, very important for there to be good and close relationships. 546 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:46,440 As a constitutional monarch, 547 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,240 the Queen must remain politically neutral. 548 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:51,520 Hers is more of a personal power. 549 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:57,960 Arriving at the state banquet, she is wearing Queen Victoria's rubies 550 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:02,240 as she delivers words echoing a lifetime of experience. 551 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:08,320 We know that division in Europe is dangerous and that we must guard 552 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,720 against it in the west as well as in the east of our continent. 553 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,760 That remains a common endeavour. 554 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:22,160 Flying the flag for the United Kingdom at the British Ambassador's 555 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:23,920 residence in Berlin. 556 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:27,600 Every year a garden party is held to honour the Queen, 557 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:29,080 but this is the first time 558 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:32,800 she and the Duke of Edinburgh have actually been able to attend. 559 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:38,840 The interest in Germany in the Queen is already big. 560 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,440 People have been thinking about the institution of the monarchy 561 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:44,160 and about the overall relationship 562 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:46,160 between Germany and the United Kingdom. 563 00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:49,640 In diplomatic speak, we would call it "soft power". 564 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:54,520 It's what the Queen stands for, it's the values that she embodies, 565 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,960 and that has deep impact. 566 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,040 With all those disputes we do have at the moment in Europe 567 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:04,320 about Britain and Europe and the rest of the world, 568 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:08,920 it's important that we do have this unifying personality. 569 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:11,280 She's there and she stands for something 570 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:15,480 and a value that is not changing, so it's like an authority. 571 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,600 All the emotions here at this garden party that show that there is 572 00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:24,440 a very strong belief in Germany that, "Please stay in the EU, we need you." 573 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:26,800 - I never... - Very smiley and talkative, actually. 574 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,200 Yeah, and I never really got this whole Queen thing, 575 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:33,160 to be honest, I really didn't, but I've got it now and I just... 576 00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:34,880 OK, sorry, I posted on Facebook 577 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:37,160 that I've fallen in love with the Queen! 578 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:45,680 In Germany's modern democracy, 579 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:49,880 sections of the wall which once separated East from West 580 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:54,200 in the Cold War now stand only as symbolic fragments. 581 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,600 And this is a country which remembers its deeper past, 582 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:05,200 those who were killed in one of the most dreadful persecutions in history. 583 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,600 70 years ago, British forces liberated this camp 584 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,880 and they discovered, much to their horror, that on this very soil, 585 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:25,600 tens of thousands of people had died in a most horrific fashion. 586 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:32,760 It was liberated by World War II Allied troops in April 1945. 587 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:36,400 70 years later, it is the Queen's request that 588 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:40,880 she and the Duke of Edinburgh end their German state visit by paying 589 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:44,960 their respects at the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. 590 00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:49,160 And for some, the memories are very personal. 591 00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:56,200 To me, it was just one huge horror story... 592 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:04,000 ..how any human beings could treat other human beings in this way. 593 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:07,160 Just incredible. 594 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,400 I don't think there was a sort of screaming of joy, 595 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,560 because everybody thought, "We must be dreaming. 596 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:18,760 "We hear an English voice. What?" You know, that wasn't... 597 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:23,080 That wasn't what we were preparing us for, we were preparing us to die. 598 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:41,720 Her visit shows that she takes human suffering seriously, 599 00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:46,240 she identifies with the pain and deep suffering of the Jewish people, 600 00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:48,360 and together with so many other people, 601 00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:51,320 she's absolutely determined to guarantee that the horrors 602 00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:55,400 that took place here in Belsen will never happen anywhere else again. 603 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:14,560 In Britain, religion and the monarchy are forever intertwined. 604 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:18,840 Since King Henry VIII famously separated the English Church 605 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:22,560 from Rome, every monarch has become Defender of the Faith 606 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:24,800 and Head of the Church of England. 607 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:35,080 Victoria - she was devout, outspoken on church matters, 608 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:39,240 she even wrote about her views on sermons in her diaries. 609 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,000 I think that sincerity of faith 610 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,800 is something that Queen Victoria shares with Elizabeth II. 611 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:50,680 I feel absolutely sure that both women, in what is unquestionably 612 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:55,840 a very lonely position, have felt upheld at moments, 613 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,480 many moments, possibly, in their reign, 614 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:00,280 by a very strong Christian faith. 615 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:04,560 Many have found the practice of quiet personal reflection 616 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:06,560 surprisingly rewarding, 617 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:10,880 even discovering greater spiritual depth to their lives. 618 00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:16,160 In her Christmas broadcasts, she talks often about how 619 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:20,440 the teachings of Christ are what inform and inspire her. 620 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:25,680 The Christmas message shows us that this love is for everyone. 621 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:28,720 There is no-one beyond its reach. 622 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:32,880 Elizabeth II has always had her feet very firmly on the ground, 623 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:36,160 but spiritually she's got this dimension in which 624 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:39,720 her personal faith is linked to her duty as a monarch. 625 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:43,240 And each monarch also has 626 00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:47,160 formal duties in relation to the government of the day. 627 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:48,840 It was during Victoria's reign 628 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:51,600 that political power moved away from the sovereign, 629 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:55,200 but she still kept a keen interest in the details of political life, 630 00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:58,680 as does Queen Elizabeth, who at the start of her reign 631 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,680 decided to change the monarch's regular meetings 632 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:05,640 with the Prime Minister into a weekly affair, the Audience. 633 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,080 When Parliament sits, the Prime Minister arrives for 634 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:13,720 their regular meeting, where the Queen has what has been described 635 00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:18,200 as "the right to be consulted, to encourage and to warn" 636 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:20,080 with an accumulated wisdom 637 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:23,560 gained over the course of 12 British Prime Ministers. 638 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:27,040 The Prime Minister, Your Majesty. 639 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:28,280 Good evening, ma'am. 640 00:40:29,720 --> 00:40:32,080 Her first PM was Winston Churchill, 641 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:35,960 who'd known Elizabeth since she was a child, and was the only 642 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:41,200 elected Member of Parliament under both Victoria and Elizabeth. 643 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:44,400 Well, Churchill was in love with her. There's no other way of putting it. 644 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:47,360 A member of his private office said that he was dotty about her, 645 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,480 and felt very protective of her 646 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:53,400 and wanted to ease her into the duties of monarchy. 647 00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:57,040 And she receives the red boxes daily 648 00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:00,640 containing cabinet and foreign and Commonwealth papers. 649 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:03,960 She's been terribly well informed. When you think about it, 650 00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:06,360 the first weekly intelligence summary 651 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:10,160 she got from the Joint Intelligence Committee in February 1952 652 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:13,000 would have had at least a section on it, I'm sure, 653 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,920 of Stalin's capabilities and military intentions. Can you imagine it? 654 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:21,360 The long reigns of Elizabeth and Victoria mean they have 655 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:25,560 had to steer their way through periods of extraordinary change. 656 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:31,600 Queen Victoria's reign saw the Industrial Revolution, 657 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:35,240 economic progress and the growth of the British Empire. 658 00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:38,960 Scores of grand buildings went up during the Victorian age, 659 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:42,040 many of which are still with us today, like this one, 660 00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:44,280 the Victoria and Albert Museum. 661 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:47,560 It houses one of the largest collections of decorative 662 00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:49,480 art and design in the world. 663 00:41:56,560 --> 00:42:02,360 So, what is Victoria and Albert's legacy in terms of art and culture? 664 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:05,360 It's fundamental. I mean, this museum, as you know, 665 00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:09,400 is the Victoria and Albert Museum, and that name is not an accident. 666 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:14,480 It was renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1899 667 00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:18,200 and it was one of Queen Victoria's last public appearances 668 00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:22,800 when she came to lay the foundation stone of the front of our museum. 669 00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:25,880 How big a role did Victoria and Albert have in 670 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:28,320 bringing the arts to the people? 671 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:32,200 Throughout her life, and indeed throughout Albert's life, 672 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:36,440 they were actively promoting education and culture, 673 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:41,200 art and science. This whole complex at South Kensington 674 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:47,560 is thanks to the way they supported and promoted these activities. 675 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:53,680 So much so that this area became known as Albertopolis, 676 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:56,400 also taking in the Albert Memorial, 677 00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:59,960 Victoria's vast tribute to the man she adored, 678 00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:02,320 who died at the age of 42. 679 00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:08,160 The great expansion seen in the Victorian age 680 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:10,520 has not been repeated during Elizabeth's reign. 681 00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:14,080 Instead there have been huge leaps in science, technology, 682 00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:18,680 medicine, even space travel, and far greater freedom and tolerance. 683 00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:25,120 In an age of rapid innovation and cultural change, 684 00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:28,480 the Queen recognises pioneers from every field. 685 00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:31,200 At Windsor Castle, 686 00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:34,800 she has a gathering of the holders of the Order of Merit. 687 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:39,160 It's a celebration of the elite from music, art, medicine, 688 00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:41,480 astronomy, architecture, theatre. 689 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:48,960 Queen Victoria may have been the first monarch to try the telephone 690 00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:53,320 with none other than the inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, 691 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:56,560 but it was Elizabeth who in 1958 692 00:43:56,560 --> 00:44:01,040 made the first direct-dialled long-distance telephone call. 693 00:44:01,040 --> 00:44:03,600 PHONE RINGS DOWN THE LINE 694 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:06,280 This is the Queen speaking from Bristol. 695 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:08,360 Good afternoon, Lord Provost. 696 00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:10,280 Good afternoon, Your Majesty. 697 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:16,320 She was the first British monarch to send an e-mail, in 1976, 698 00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:21,040 and has a Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr account in her name. 699 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:26,000 CROWD CHANTS: We want the Queen! We want the Queen! 700 00:44:27,720 --> 00:44:32,720 In the monarchy's 1,000-year history, only two British sovereigns 701 00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:37,080 have marked their Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees... 702 00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,920 CHEERING 703 00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:43,720 ..Victoria and Elizabeth. 704 00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:51,160 To mark her 60 years on the throne, Elizabeth chose to be photographed 705 00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:54,040 in front of the Queen Victoria Memorial 706 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:58,280 with the diamonds worn by Victoria more than a century earlier. 707 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:04,120 And if a Jubilee celebration is a test of popularity, 708 00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:07,120 it's one the Queen easily passed. 709 00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:10,320 Hundreds of thousands turned out to celebrate. 710 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:13,640 BAND PLAYS: God Save The Queen 711 00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:15,000 Her speech that year 712 00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:17,920 seemed to recognise her unique place in the world. 713 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:22,560 I have been privileged to witness some of that history 714 00:45:22,560 --> 00:45:25,040 and, with the support of my family, 715 00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:30,440 rededicate myself to the service of our great country and its people 716 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,040 now and in the years to come. 717 00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:34,160 Hip-hip! 718 00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:35,640 Hurray! 719 00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:37,520 - Hip-hip! - Hurray! 720 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:38,840 Hip-hip! 721 00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:40,080 Hurray! 722 00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:41,720 APPLAUSE 723 00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:50,360 And then, that same year, for the London Olympics, 724 00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:53,680 the Queen was cast in a brand-new light. 725 00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:55,400 Mr Bond, Your Majesty. 726 00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:04,560 The first royal Bond girl. 727 00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:06,160 CLOCK CHIMES 728 00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:09,280 HE CLEARS HIS THROAT 729 00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:14,040 Good evening, Mr Bond. 730 00:46:14,040 --> 00:46:16,000 Good evening, Your Majesty. 731 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:20,280 A long reign can bring challenges. 732 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:24,520 Unlike Elizabeth, Victoria had to spend almost four decades 733 00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:27,640 without her beloved husband by her side. 734 00:46:27,640 --> 00:46:32,680 Queen Victoria did flag after the death of Prince Albert, 735 00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:35,920 not for the rest of her reign, as some people mistakenly think, 736 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:40,480 it was really for about ten years that she was much more in retirement, 737 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:42,920 and she worked all the way through it. I mean, 738 00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:46,320 there's a fantasy that she was just lying on her day bed in sobs. 739 00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:48,320 I mean, in fact, she did work, 740 00:46:48,320 --> 00:46:52,440 but she found the public, the performance role of the monarch 741 00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:55,280 too difficult in those years. 742 00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:59,480 The politicians constantly feared, because she was so reclusive and shy 743 00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:03,400 and didn't like waving from balconies and didn't wear crowns, 744 00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:06,520 that somehow or another she was out of touch, 745 00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:10,160 and in a very mysterious way, she wasn't. 746 00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:15,640 In June 1897, Queen Victoria was persuaded to make an effort 747 00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:17,640 for her Diamond Jubilee. 748 00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:20,080 She was captured in this rare footage 749 00:47:20,080 --> 00:47:23,640 and she had an empire to call upon. 750 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:26,680 London had never seen anything like it, 751 00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:32,280 the Bengal Lancers, people from all over the world, African warriors, 752 00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:34,080 parading through the streets 753 00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:36,680 with all their wonderful costumes and uniform. 754 00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:39,680 It was partly a demonstration of this extraordinary 755 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:42,840 political stability, that this... 756 00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:47,000 institution which had been so fragile in 1837 was now 757 00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:49,960 going stronger than ever in 1897, 758 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:54,640 thanks to this very eccentric, clever but strange woman sitting in 759 00:47:54,640 --> 00:47:58,720 an open carriage riding through the streets of London in a black bonnet. 760 00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:02,480 The whole place was alive with excitement. 761 00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:09,160 Both Victoria and then Elizabeth came here to St Paul's Cathedral 762 00:48:09,160 --> 00:48:12,280 to mark their Diamond Jubilees. 763 00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:17,120 For Victoria, who by then was 78, it was a rare public appearance. 764 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:21,000 She was still mourning Albert decades after his death, 765 00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:25,320 and she was frail, too - too frail to climb these stairs and go inside, 766 00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:29,960 so instead, when her carriage drew up here in front of jubilant crowds, 767 00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:33,840 she remained in it and the whole service came out to her. 768 00:48:40,160 --> 00:48:43,960 But we do know what Queen Victoria thought about her Diamond Jubilee. 769 00:48:43,960 --> 00:48:46,080 She wrote about it in her journals 770 00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:50,200 and just a few years ago, Queen Elizabeth had them all put online. 771 00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:53,920 Victoria wrote, "A never to be forgotten day. 772 00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:57,400 "No-one ever, I believe, has met with such an ovation 773 00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:01,160 "as was given to me passing through those six miles of streets, 774 00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:05,720 "including Constitution Hill. The crowds were quite indescribable 775 00:49:05,720 --> 00:49:09,640 "and their enthusiasm truly marvellous and deeply touching. 776 00:49:09,640 --> 00:49:11,880 "The cheering was quite deafening, 777 00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:15,360 "and every face seemed to be filled with real joy. 778 00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:17,720 "I was much moved and gratified." 779 00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:25,840 As well as being visible, 780 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:30,560 the monarch must connect with every part of the United Kingdom. 781 00:49:30,560 --> 00:49:32,280 OFFICER GIVES ORDER 782 00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:38,960 Today the Queen, a direct descendant of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, 783 00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:42,200 arrives in Edinburgh for Holyrood Week. 784 00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:45,320 It starts with the ancient Ceremony of the Keys, 785 00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:47,680 unchanged since Victoria's time. 786 00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,080 I think it's a very significant process 787 00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:55,680 because it's the presentation of the city's keys to the monarch 788 00:49:55,680 --> 00:49:59,160 but also, you know, for people of the city, it's a meaningful event 789 00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:02,240 because it's about the Queen's authority in the city. 790 00:50:05,120 --> 00:50:08,600 It's also about a welcome for garden party guests 791 00:50:08,600 --> 00:50:11,320 in the spectacular grounds of the palace. 792 00:50:11,320 --> 00:50:14,600 Royal garden parties were introduced by Victoria 793 00:50:14,600 --> 00:50:17,760 at Buckingham Palace in the 1860s 794 00:50:17,760 --> 00:50:22,440 and brought here to Scotland by Elizabeth's grandfather, George V. 795 00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:28,560 This is the Queen attending as a child. 796 00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:33,360 8,000 people have been invited to this garden party 797 00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:36,320 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It's an annual event 798 00:50:36,320 --> 00:50:39,520 that has been hosted here throughout the Queen's long reign 799 00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:43,560 and it's all about celebrating Scottish achievement and heritage. 800 00:50:46,520 --> 00:50:50,440 BAND PLAYS: God Save The Queen 801 00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:55,560 She's just brilliant. 802 00:50:55,560 --> 00:50:59,320 At her age to be still doing things like this, it is just fantastic. 803 00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:01,840 I think today has been a very good example of exactly what 804 00:51:01,840 --> 00:51:04,720 we as a country do well and I think she's at the very heart of that. 805 00:51:04,720 --> 00:51:09,240 And the fact she visits our islands, you know, she embraces it all, 806 00:51:09,240 --> 00:51:10,960 the parts of Scotland that we love. 807 00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:14,560 Her and the Duke have done a marvellous job over the years 808 00:51:14,560 --> 00:51:16,560 and I hope they'll have many more. 809 00:51:16,560 --> 00:51:18,480 APPLAUSE 810 00:51:18,480 --> 00:51:21,520 What, over the six decades of her reign, has been done 811 00:51:21,520 --> 00:51:24,240 is the knitting together, I think, 812 00:51:24,240 --> 00:51:28,800 of an extraordinarily, ever richer tapestry of Scottish life. 813 00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:31,520 My lot are part of the older threads 814 00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:34,240 but every year, through this great gathering, 815 00:51:34,240 --> 00:51:36,440 new, fresh threads are added. 816 00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:44,040 The Queen has deep personal connections to Scotland. 817 00:51:44,040 --> 00:51:47,800 Her mother grew up here. Her sister, Princess Margaret, was born here. 818 00:51:47,800 --> 00:51:51,240 In fact, she was the first royal baby to be born in Scotland 819 00:51:51,240 --> 00:51:54,440 for more than 300 years, and since she was a child, 820 00:51:54,440 --> 00:51:58,760 Scotland is where the Queen has always come on her family holidays. 821 00:51:58,760 --> 00:52:01,240 NO SOUND 822 00:52:01,240 --> 00:52:05,400 During late summer and autumn, the Queen still enjoys her longest 823 00:52:05,400 --> 00:52:09,240 spell of privacy in the place she has visited since childhood. 824 00:52:14,880 --> 00:52:19,720 It's a tradition started by Victoria, who in her 20s was only 825 00:52:19,720 --> 00:52:23,760 the second reigning British monarch to venture north of the border 826 00:52:23,760 --> 00:52:25,760 since the days of Charles I. 827 00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:31,920 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert fell in love with Scotland. 828 00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:36,720 Prince Albert saw Germany in it, he was reminded of Germany, 829 00:52:36,720 --> 00:52:40,440 the sort of forests of firs and all that kind. 830 00:52:40,440 --> 00:52:46,360 Queen Victoria was privy to a kind of ordinary life up there 831 00:52:46,360 --> 00:52:50,560 that was more difficult in Windsor or in London. 832 00:52:52,280 --> 00:52:55,640 Victoria did deerstalking and watercolours 833 00:52:55,640 --> 00:53:00,680 and long walks in the heather and getting rained upon and all that. 834 00:53:00,680 --> 00:53:03,600 I think there is something about its sort of vastness 835 00:53:03,600 --> 00:53:05,640 when you get up into the Highlands, 836 00:53:05,640 --> 00:53:12,280 that sense of being far away in this kind of mountain kingdom. 837 00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:16,200 Victoria and Albert bought land here 838 00:53:16,200 --> 00:53:20,760 which they developed, building the magnificent Balmoral Castle. 839 00:53:20,760 --> 00:53:23,800 Balmoral was very carefully chosen up on a bluff 840 00:53:23,800 --> 00:53:28,320 with the forest quite far back and the water very much below and so on, 841 00:53:28,320 --> 00:53:30,960 and it became their own place, 842 00:53:30,960 --> 00:53:34,480 you know, it wasn't a house of the British monarchy, 843 00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:38,240 it was the house of Victoria and Albert, 844 00:53:38,240 --> 00:53:41,880 and that meant a great deal to her. 845 00:53:43,960 --> 00:53:47,640 The home lovingly designed by Albert for Victoria 846 00:53:47,640 --> 00:53:50,000 now belongs to Elizabeth. 847 00:53:50,000 --> 00:53:53,680 A private residence but no longer just a royal idyll, 848 00:53:53,680 --> 00:53:57,400 for 18 weeks of the year, it's open to the paying public. 849 00:53:58,640 --> 00:54:03,440 As she grew older, Victoria spent much of her life at Balmoral. 850 00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:08,800 She was here on Wednesday the 23rd of September 1896, 851 00:54:08,800 --> 00:54:13,680 the day she overtook her grandfather King George III's record. 852 00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:16,120 She wrote, "Today is the day 853 00:54:16,120 --> 00:54:21,440 "on which I have reigned longer by a day than any English sovereign." 854 00:54:24,160 --> 00:54:27,800 Just days after Victoria had become the longest-reigning monarch, 855 00:54:27,800 --> 00:54:32,000 she was pictured right here beneath the terrace at Balmoral. 856 00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:34,840 It was a very special moment and that's because 857 00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:39,640 it was the first time that Victoria had ever been captured on film. 858 00:54:46,040 --> 00:54:50,440 Here she is, surrounded by dogs, children and grandchildren, 859 00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:53,960 Victoria, a focus of national unity, 860 00:54:53,960 --> 00:54:57,040 who chose to mark her momentous day quietly. 861 00:54:58,560 --> 00:55:01,200 Elizabeth will also be in Scotland 862 00:55:01,200 --> 00:55:03,920 but will carry out some official engagements. 863 00:55:10,360 --> 00:55:13,800 This is where Queen Victoria was on the day that she became 864 00:55:13,800 --> 00:55:16,880 the longest-reigning monarch in British history, 865 00:55:16,880 --> 00:55:20,320 and this is also where her great-great-granddaughter, 866 00:55:20,320 --> 00:55:23,680 Queen Elizabeth, will be when she passes that record 867 00:55:23,680 --> 00:55:26,880 on the evening of Wednesday September the 9th. 868 00:55:26,880 --> 00:55:32,840 She will have been on the throne for 23,226 days. 869 00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:35,600 There will be no fuss, no grand celebration, 870 00:55:35,600 --> 00:55:39,680 it's business as usual, we're told, but all the same, it is a remarkable 871 00:55:39,680 --> 00:55:44,440 achievement and something none of us will ever again see in our lifetime. 872 00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:52,720 Even for those that don't think about the monarchy 873 00:55:52,720 --> 00:55:55,320 or don't follow it particularly, the fact that she is there 874 00:55:55,320 --> 00:55:59,200 and it's there as an institution and she never puts a foot wrong... 875 00:55:59,200 --> 00:56:01,440 CHEERING 876 00:56:02,440 --> 00:56:07,160 I don't think we should withhold our gratitude to both women 877 00:56:07,160 --> 00:56:10,600 for keeping this institution, which I think many people cherish 878 00:56:10,600 --> 00:56:13,160 in spite of all the jokes they make about it. 879 00:56:14,680 --> 00:56:21,400 By being inscrutable, untouchable, unfashionable and unfaddish, 880 00:56:21,400 --> 00:56:26,240 the Queen remains a concept that all people potentially can connect with 881 00:56:26,240 --> 00:56:29,120 and I think that's a very important 882 00:56:29,120 --> 00:56:31,680 and valuable aspect of our national life. 883 00:56:33,000 --> 00:56:36,360 And she simply is always out there, meeting people, 884 00:56:36,360 --> 00:56:39,880 speaking to people and very much identifying herself with 885 00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:43,760 the whole population, not just one certain group of it. 886 00:56:43,760 --> 00:56:46,880 Politicians come and go when they talk about the big society. 887 00:56:46,880 --> 00:56:49,400 The Queen and the Royal Family have practised it 888 00:56:49,400 --> 00:56:54,080 and continue to practise it in all sorts of ways, and that stems 889 00:56:54,080 --> 00:56:56,280 totally from the sense of duty 890 00:56:56,280 --> 00:56:59,600 and religious convictions of Elizabeth II. 891 00:57:01,280 --> 00:57:05,080 This is a great country and one of the reasons it's great 892 00:57:05,080 --> 00:57:09,640 is because we have had this continuity of kings and queens 893 00:57:09,640 --> 00:57:13,800 for so many centuries, and this queen is probably going to be seen 894 00:57:13,800 --> 00:57:15,600 as one of the greatest of all. 895 00:57:17,080 --> 00:57:20,960 I think what she has done is 896 00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:25,840 she has made us all believe again in the viability of the institution 897 00:57:25,840 --> 00:57:30,080 she represents, and to me, that's a great achievement. 898 00:57:32,160 --> 00:57:36,080 I declare before you all that my whole life, 899 00:57:36,080 --> 00:57:41,320 whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service 900 00:57:41,320 --> 00:57:44,840 and to the service of our great imperial family 901 00:57:44,840 --> 00:57:47,320 to which we all belong. 902 00:57:47,320 --> 00:57:52,120 But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone 903 00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:54,640 unless you join in it with me 904 00:57:54,640 --> 00:57:56,480 as I now invite you to do. 905 00:57:57,880 --> 00:58:01,280 I know that your support will be unfailingly given. 906 00:58:02,600 --> 00:58:05,600 God help me to make good my vow 907 00:58:05,600 --> 00:58:09,400 and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.