Queen Elizabeth’s never-seen-before home movies are set to feature in a new BBC documentary.
The 96-year-old monarch’s life will be the focus of ‘Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen’, a 75-minute documentary that will include behind-the-scenes footage from landmark moments in her reign.
Simon Young, the BBC’s commissioning editor for history, said: “This documentary is an extraordinary glimpse into a deeply personal side of the royal family that is rarely seen, and it’s wonderful to be able to share it with the nation as we mark her Platinum Jubilee.”
The programme will feature footage of the Queen at Balmoral Castle in 1946, around the time she got engaged to Prince Philip, as well as other key moments in her life.
Claire Popplewell, the creative director for BBC Studio Events Productions, believes the upcoming documentary will be “special”, and she can’t wait for people to see the family footage.
She said: “As programme-makers who have previously worked closely with the Royal Household on ceremonial and celebratory broadcast events and programmes, the production team were under no illusion quite how special having access to this very personal archive was.
“Being able to draw upon the self-recorded history of a young Princess Elizabeth and her wider family – and allowing the Queen to tell us her own story – is the very heart of this film.”
The documentary – which airs on May 29 – will also feature behind-the-scenes footage of the Queen as a young mother, as well as King George VI’s last visit to Balmoral.
The home movies were mostly shot by members of the royal family and they date back to the 1920s. However, until recently, the film reels have been privately held by the Royal Collection in the vaults of the British Film Institute.