I never watch royal documentaries, ever! In fact, the last documentary I watched which focused on The Royal Family was on the occasion of The Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday back in 2011, so it seems fitting my next watch would celebrate Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.
The build up to the programme was immense. All major news publications, both national and international, talked about the upcoming documentary and showed sneak previews of what it would feature. Royal Central is included in this and have published many previews which have proved popular with you, our readers.
I have to say that I am very pleased I watched this programme as it was an extremely enjoyable watch. Unlike other royal documentaries which just features interviews with experts and maybe a very distant relative, this two-hour special was up close and personal – featuring contributions from senior royals.
In her 63 year reign, Her Majesty has never conducted a television interview (a wise decision). ‘Our Queen at 90’ is probably the closest we will ever get to an interview with the Queen, as she makes candid remarks to the camera crew who follow her about her everyday duties.
In the first five minutes of the programme, The Queen expressed concern over a member of staff, after their windows were damaged after treacherous weather; showing a side of her the public never usually see. This different side was also shown as a camera crew followed her as she fed the horses carrots in her stables.
The Duchess of Cambridge also contributed to the programme in what was her first solo TV interview. She pays tribute to the Queen talking about how Her Majesty helped her fit in to the royal family as well as sharing comforting advice. She also revealed that Prince George calls his great-grandmother ‘gan gan’.
Getting to see the Queen off duty is a rare treat, and this documentary captured the moment perfectly. Behind the scenes, the Queen has a great sense of humour and this was shown candidly throughout.
Her Majesty is famous for her love of horses, being a constant part in her life for the past 87 years. One of my favourite moments throughout the programme was when we discovered that the Queen’s horses enjoy a can of beer after a hard days work! I can imagine the British tabloid’s next big exclusive ‘Horse drunk at Trooping the Colour’!
We also heard from people such as Lenny Henry and David Beckham who have all received honours and awards from Her Majesty. Sir Lenny Henry described how proud he was to meet the Queen, especially being from a working class background and the son of immigrants.
I mentioned at the start of my review that the last royal documentary I watched was five years ago when Prince Philip turned 90. But I am so glad I tuned in to watch this piece of work which proved the highlight of Easter broadcasting season.
Unlike the Prince Philip documentary, ‘Our Queen at 90’ was much more intimate and offered much more to the audience. If you haven’t watched it yet then do!
What impressed me most was the Queen’s work ethic. Even though I have covered the royal family for some time now and see all of the engagements she conducts, it is often forgotten HM works five days a week, every week for the past 63 years. I don’t know any other 90 year old who works as hard as she does. If I ever make it to 90 I hope to never even mutter the word ‘work’ again, never mind actually doing it in such a seamless way!
I’m not sure whether or not the documentary will be aired outside of the UK yet, but it most certainly should be!
What did you think of the programme? Leave a comment below
I’m in the USA and I’d really like to see it.
You can watch it on youtube, I think! I’m in Portugal and I’ve watched it to
night! 🙂
From start to finish it’s an absorbing documentary & I have to agree fully with this article. Her Majesty is truly a tremendous person & her absolute devotion to the affairs of the UK as well as worldwide proves Her to be the best Sovereign we’ve ever had & I am proud to be & remain one of her loyal subjects. God save our. Queen
I’m in the USA, and I like V. Styles, would love to see it, I was born in 1950, so HM The Queen, has been a constant in my life as well, also the whole Royal Family. It’s great to see the lives they lead, thru service to not only to Great Britain and the Commonwealth, but to all Nations.
I would love too see it. Will it be shown at a later date in the US?
I really hope they show it in the USA, I would love to see it. I admire Her Majesty so much. If at any time you find out please let us know. Thank you for your review also.
You say you never watch royal documentaries but you did watch Prince Philip’s 90th birthday programme is like saying you never eat bananas except with the skin off. However that said would rather watch a programme about the Queen that one about Madonna.
Just watched it on YouTube. It’s a really good documentary
Yes, enjoyed it very much and hope to get the dvd. Its certainly a job for life!!
I thought the programme was truly amazing well worth watching
Just watched it on YouTube. It was very enjoyable.
It referred to HRH The Duchess of Cambridge as a princess, which she is not. Other than that, I found it quite enjoyable. Almost as good as William Shawcross’s Golden Jubilee documentary “Queen and Country”.
It referred to HRH The Duchess of Cambridge as a princess, which she is not. Other than that, I found it quite enjoyable. Almost as good as William Shawcross’s Golden Jubilee documentary “Queen and Country”.
HRH Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is in fact a princess. The wife of a Prince of the United Kingdom has the same rank as her husband regardless of her rank or title or lack of title prior to her marriage. However, there is in particular one difference between a princess born a Princess of the United Kingdom and a princess by marriage. A princess born may use the title Princess before her given name such as HRH The Princess Anne. The Duchess of Cambridge should not be referred to as Princess Catherine. She could be called HRH The Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, however. The late Diana, Princess of Wales technically should not have been referred to as Princess Diana as she was not born a Princess of the United Kingdom. Of course the media did so, perhaps because her title was Princess of Wales but she was HRH Diana, Princess of Wales not HRH The Princess Diana, Princess of Wales. None the less she was a princess while married to the Prince of Wales.