A new BBC documentary will share previously-unseen private home videos of Queen Elizabeth II as a young princess and tell the story of her life and reign through her own words.
‘Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen’ is a 75-minute programme that will debut on BBC One on 29 May 2022. Three never-before-seen images of Princess Elizabeth have been released to accompany the announcement of this special programme.
“We are honoured that The Queen has entrusted the BBC with such unprecedented access to her personal film collection,” said Simon Young, the BBC’s Commissioning Editor for History, in a statement. “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 Queen granted the BBC access to the Royal Family’s film vault of private recordings—held in a private collection at the British Film Institute—and the programme will feature videos shot by The Queen, Prince Philip, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and others to reveal special moments, like The Queen being pushed in a pram by her mother, the first extended visit Prince Philip made to Balmoral in 1946, and The Queen showing off her engagement ring to the camera at a time when her engagement was still secret.
The programme will also show The Queen as a young mother and her parents doting upon their grandchildren; footage of King George V sailing with his daughter-in-law in 1931; The Queen with her late uncle, Prince George, The Duke of Kent; and King George VI’s last visit to Balmoral with his family in 1951.
In total, the BBC viewed over 400 film reels, including previously lost reels that documented the behind-the-scenes aspects of state events. In lieu of traditional interviews and narration, ‘Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen’ will rely heavily on The Queen’s own words, taken from eight decades worth of speeches, with newsreel audio filling the gaps.
“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,” said Claire Popplewell, the Creative Director for BBC Studios Productions.
‘Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen’ will debut on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday, 29 May.
