A brand new programme will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II and the tributes in it will be led by Queen Camilla.
The Queen will speak about the late Monarch in Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century which will be broadcast by the BBC in April, the month of the centenary.
Former US President Barack Obama will also share his memories in the programme along with contributions from Sir David Attenborough and Dame Helen Mirren.
At the heart of the programme will be extensive archive footage of Queen Elizabeth II, showing many different aspects of the record breaking Monarch, from her time in the ATS during World War Two to her Platinum Jubilee in 2022 when she became the only royal in British history to mark such an anniversary.
The new show also looks at the relationship between the late Queen and the country as well as the Commonwealth. And it will explore her legacy and look at the transformation that took place in Britain in the almost 100 years that she was alive and the 70 years that she reigned.
(Getty Images/ Official photographer/Imperial War Museums)
It will cover major royal events including her Coronation in 1953 and the four jubilees that she celebrated as well as look at her impact at other moments of great change in Britain.
Producers say they want the programme to ”tell the story of modern Britain” through the image of Queen Elizabeth II and her role in the country’s life.
Catherine Catton, Head of Factual Entertainment and Events at the BBC said ”Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century explores the life of her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II through the lens of a century of change and offers an important reflection on how modern Britain has been shaped.”
Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21 1926 in Mayfair, the first grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. Her father, then Duke of York, was second in line to the throne but never expected to succeed as the heir was his older brother, Edward, who was expected to marry and have a family of his own. However, soon after his accession as Edward VIII, he chose to wed Wallis Simpson, a divorcee, and so had to give up the throne. Elizabeth’s father became King George VI and she succeeded him on his untimely death in February 1952.
The exact broadcast date of Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century will be announced in the coming days.
