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.
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.
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.
