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In 1969, the BBC aired a documentary showcasing the daily life of the British Royal Family. The film showed snippets of the daily lives of the Queen, Prince Phillip, and Prince Charles. The documentary was filmed over the course of a year, and the filmmakers had over 43 hours of footage to cut down to about an hour and a half. When the film aired on television, 30 million people watched it. However, it has never been reaired, and the reason why has led to speculation.
After watching the film, I was struck by how dreadfully dull it was. Understandably, I was not alive in 1969, so perhaps this was standard for documentaries of the era. Nevertheless, this seems to be a popular sentiment. No wonder the Queen disliked it!
In the documentary, we’re able to see the Queen preparing for and attending an overseas trip to South America. We see her signing papers, planning her outfits with a dresser (who stood the whole time while the Queen sat), and handing out awards. We see a meeting with President Richard Nixon. Leisure scenes show the family cooking out in a field where they make sausages and salad. I was slightly impressed that the Queen could put together a salad, I…
