Everyone’s talking about Queen Elizabeth II. As the centenary of
her birth approaches, there has been a sudden shift towards telling
her story. The King has announced who will write the authorised
biography of the late Queen. And just hours after Anna Keay was
confirmed as the person charged with telling one of the greatest
royal stories of all, another appraisal of an historic life and
reign was revealed with the BBC’s Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story,
Our Century.
It perhaps showed what a tough job it is to tell a tale that
spans the longest reign in British history and has another 25 years
on top of that to get through. This one hour special, broadcast by
the BBC with days to go until the centenary, was a fast forward
through the most famous moments of this most famous of royals. But
between the expected stops came a few moments of something new and
Queen Camilla delivered one of the most interesting.
The current Queen was the main royal representative in this
programme with best supporting Windsor in a TV documentary once
again going to Peter Phillips. And while Elizabeth II’s eldest
grandson, who has contributed more to the TV history of the Royal
Family than any other member, revealed he wanted to hug his granny
at the funeral of Prince Philip, it was Queen Camilla who gave us a
theme and a moment to ponder.
As footage of Elizabeth II stepping off the plane at Heathrow as
she returned from Kenya as Queen was played, it was her daughter in
law who hit the royal nail on the head. Summing up the life and
reign of the truly historic Elizabeth II is a near impossible job
but Queen Camilla got close, noting ”it must have been so
difficult, being surrounded by such older men. There weren’t women
Prime Ministers or women Presidents, she was the only one so I
think she carved her own role.”
And that was where this story came together. Amidst the fabulous
footage from all eras of Queen Elizabeth II’s life and reign and
the soundtrack of her times, this one thread bound together her
story. Born to duty, always willing to carry out those
responsibilities, she had to do it her way and she did. It was a
theme that many returned to over the course of the hour long
documentary.
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For royal fans, there was plenty to enjoy with images of
Elizabeth II across her 96 years. Bright, colour footage of the
Coronation played alongside clips from the documentary on the Royal
Family that changed everything in 1968. We saw glimpses of jubilees
and royal weddings as well as more serious historic moments like
the 1992 Annus Horribilis speech and the national broadcast during
the pandemic. Paddington, James Bond, balcony appearances – this
packed in all the royal favourites.
Getting all the history in is another matter. Historian David
Olusoga took us through the groundbreaking trip to Ghana while
Northern Ireland’s sweetheart, Linda Bryans, was a strong guide to
the historic State Visit to the Republic of Ireland. But this is
2026 and no TV documentary is complete without celebrity
involvement. We also found out that Tom Jones had TB during the
Coronation of 1953 and his mum bought him a TV as a result so he
could watch the show. Lulu had been entranced by the BBC
documentary on the Royal Family made in 1968. And then it was back
to Tom who thought Elizabeth II would live forever. In a way, he
spoke for many.
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But it was the women who told this royal story so well. Dame
Helen Mirren, who famously won an Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth
II, had a real understanding of the sense of duty that pervaded
everything while Sheila Hancock’s sweet reminiscences about her mum
trying to make her dresses that looked like those worn by a young
Elizabeth neatly summed up how the late Queen had entered public
perception at a young age and always understood her place there.
Former US President, Barack Obama, spoke of his relationship with
her and summed her up neatly again, saying ”She did understand the
sweep of history, that gave her respect on the world stage.”
However, it was a reminder that an hour isn’t nearly long enough
to tell such a story or even scratch its surface. We still don’t
really understand the sweep of Elizabeth II’s history or the place
she had on the world stage or, indeed, at home. This programme was
a seamless piece of storytelling that moved effortlessly through
the ten decades of the life of Queen Elizabeth II. There are no
great revelations but there is a calm understanding of what made
Elizabeth II such an exceptional Monarch. But there is also the
realisation that this is a story that will need to be told many
time before it is truly understood.
In the end, it returned to a summary that we all know and feel
deep down about Elizabeth II, a century after her birth. Her tale
was and is that of duty, and duty well done.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our
Century is available on BBC iPLayer.