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♪♪♪

Blenheim Palace.

It's so interesting
that apparently Her Majesty,

whenever she goes
there, always says,

"Why is your Palace
bigger than mine?'

♪♪♪

We're at a
quintessentially British event,

Sir James, what brings you here?

So this is an amazing place.

I've never been here before.

I've obviously been to Blenheim,

but not to Salon Privé before.

This is the Duke
of Marlborough Award.

So Your Grace,
would you like to present Ben

with his award, please?

Andrew,
we're at the Salon Privé.

What brings you here?

We've been before,
we've enjoyed it, I like cars

and it's a nice setting,
you know,

it's just a nice thing to do.

What's special
about British cars?

When they work?

They have a personality,
a character.

What would you
say is the defining qualities

of being
quintessentially British?

Well, I think that
we're very friendly people.

I think we're very relaxed
and creative and I suppose

a little bit quirky.

And you think
of all the incredible things

that have come
out of this country,

from the Rolling Stones and
the Beatles to Aston Martin.

I mean, it's an absolutely
fantastic mélange

of excitement
and creativity, I think.

♪♪♪

Our feature
documentary is called

Quintessentially British.

What does quintessentially
British mean to you?

Unique, I think, probably is
the best way to describe it.

It's very difficult to pin down

what it means to be British.

There is something
about self-deprecation,

something about attachment
to history and tradition.

Quiet pride.

Being in a garden,
a green space.

I think of our British
sense of humor is really

what the British people turn to,

in times of trouble,
and what helps us get out of it.

I think the way we speak,

because we're full of irony,

so ironic and always saying

things we don't quite mean.

There's always "Well, what did
he mean when he said that?"

There's always that element.
I love that.

Politeness, kindness.

Stuck-up-ness.

When American friends
of mine come over here,

they often say,
"Oh you know, the English

are so friendly." And I think

to myself and I sometimes say
to them, "They're civil."

They're not really
necessarily friendly.

But you know, they're polite
in a way that you know,

in America you go
into a shop or the supermarket

and you know,
they're all over you

with this kind of,
you know, bonhomie,

which then is just switched off.

You know,
we don't overstate things.

Americans are all about these
big gestures, aren't they?

You know,
when they meet each other

and they're sort of "Oh,
it's fantastic to see you."

We're a little bit quieter,
you know, sort of assume

that it's good to see you,

but we'd really
just rather sort of get

down to talking
about what's going on.

We do like to go our own way
and do our own thing,

and listening to other people
can be difficult at times.

Yes.

We kind of have a strict sense
of formal etiquette.

But in truth, anyone who's spent

any time with normal
British people would know

that we're basically a lot
of the time drunk.

So, we're a mass
of contradictions.

I think if you ask my wife

what the quintessential
characteristics

of an Englishmen are,
she would say good manners,

respectful behaviour,
decent standards of dress.

Perhaps she's a little old
fashioned in that.

Just being very English.

If the cliché of the Englishman
is his politeness,

his discretion,
his privacy, obeys the rules,

is it any wonder
that those same people

love going to the theatre
where everything is different

and the people let their hair
down and sometimes their pants.

We love the theatre,
because so many of us are

not theatrical in our lives.

And the most famous Englishman
who ever lived wrote plays,

but was an actor.

Not a king.

Not a politician.

Not an athlete.

Not a saint.

Our national hero is an actor.

Of course, other cultures
love their theater.

And everyone loves storytelling
it's a very, very basic need.

But the Brits have caught on
to it, perhaps more than most.

We've been at it a long time.

Just do a sound
check, Ian, just...

Yes, yes, go ahead. Yup.

Sir Ian McKellen.

You... please, I'm not Sir.

Okay, okay.

That's a title.

It's not a name.

Unless you're calling
everybody else Mister.

Sure.
Okay. Ian McKellen.

Yep, yep, thank you.

I began to like Shakespeare
by going to see his plays.

Not by reading them.

Or being taught them.

He knew, it seems better

than any other writer
who ever lived,

the variety of human needs
and passions,

and desires.

That's the basis of it all

is the jealousy, the love,
the hatred, the fear.

Shakespeare,
in one speech tells you

more about the life
of a man, from cradle to grave

than a thousand pages
of someone else's writing

could tell you.

We love tales of horror
and violence and murder

and people doing terrible
things to each other.

And Shakespeare does
them so brilliantly.

He only
invented one plot for himself

in the whole of the 37 plays.

That was the last play he wrote.

All the others he pinched.

What? From history books,

from poetry books,
from other people's plays.

There was a Hamlet play
before Shakespeare wrote his.

We filmed Hamlet before
we put it onto the stage

and when we were filming it,
the Duke of Edinburgh died.

The Duke of Edinburgh dying
as we were filming a play

about a royal family
who lived in a castle.

And here we were in
the shadow of Windsor Castle,

and we were filming the castle.

You know, the queen losing
her husband after so long.

Here we are doing a story
about a queen who

loses a husband and marries
her husband's brother.

It's hard not to see what
the connections are.

Ian McKellen was wary
of playing Hamlet

because he's 80 and Hamlet's 20.

But I thought he can respect
the language and the poetry,

but still make it his own
and make it modern.

Because whilst he's known
now as Gandalf, he's still

sort of known
for being this great,

great Shakespearean actor.

Oh, we're living in an age
when an 82 year old man

is pretending
to be a 22 year old boy

and that specific man
doing it, MacKellen.

Here we are, it's live.

And never forget,
you can never forget

when you're seeing
a Shakespeare play

that that's exactly
what you're doing.

You're seeing a play.

Dame Judi.

Dame Judi, to your left please.

Over here please, Judi.

We were filming
with Sir Ian McKellen

with Hamlet and you of course,
played Ophelia in Hamlet

- and Hamlet...
- And Gertrude.

And Gertrude and Ophelia...

Not in the same production.

Not in the same production.

What is it
about Shakespeare that is

so quintessentially English

and beloved around the world?

I have two passions.

One is Shakespeare.
The other is trees.

And I was brought up
on Shakespeare as a little girl,

and my family used to quote it.

Reams of it, I could do
a whole play for you now.

If you like the Dream or Twelfth
Night, I could do all that.

I could do a lot
of Measure for Measure.

I could do a bit
of The Merchant of Venice.

It's a good note
to give to tired old actors

of Shakespeare is, you know

Shakespeare was an Italian?

"To be or not to be,
that's the question," I mean...

Italians, the cliche for us
who are not Italians,

is that they never stop talking.

You can say
the same of the Irish.

And talking very well.

Good talk. Not idle chatter.

But done with great flair
and imagination and metaphor

and a variety of pace
in the speaking and the hands

and the gestures
coming to it in a way

that the British wouldn't
express themselves these days.

I mean, we've had
the Victorian era to live

through to change
our collective personality,

our national personality.
But I think Shakespeare's

characters are much more what
we think of as Italian or Irish.

My world
at the moment, we talk so much

about the provenance
of where your item is made.

And I think what's
so interesting about the Queen,

but also
the Royal Family at large,

is they've
always shopped that way.

They've always supported
the Savile Row's,

the Henry Poole's,
Prince Charles gets

his John Lobb shoes,
the Duke of Edinburgh,

a Lock, Co. cap.

And that's so important
to them to support these brands

and to give them their Royal
Warrants and I think

it's often underestimated
how important that is

and how that keeps
these businesses alive.

I have to confess that
I have never, ever been able

to afford to go to Savile Row
to buy my clothes.

But I think there is something
about precision tailoring,

genuine craftsmanship
that is an important

bit of British making tradition.

The sartorial
elegance, which is actually

partly seen in Downton Abbey,
is very British,

whether it's through James Bond

or the Savile Row tailors.

I think the British
are known for it

and it's trying
to set a high bar.

And some ways, of course,
that's what His Royal Highness

Prince Philip set out to do.

He always encouraged people
to be the best

and that's
where you should aim for.

Not half tying a tie,
but tying a tie really well.

Learning how to do something
really well, you know,

looking at someone's shoes,
are they polished or not?

And I still find I look
at someone's shoes,

just glancing down
just seeing whether

they're polished or not.

My husband gave our son
a 21st birthday present

of a suit from Savile Row.

So it's that wonderful process
of choosing the fabric,

of deciding, it's of getting
measured, of getting adjusted.

That whole process and journey
is a delight to watch.

There is no other
street like Savile Row.

Through the generations it's
survived and it's survived

because of obviously the great
houses, the names that have

existed here on the Row.

We don't claim to be
in fashion at any one time,

because fashion comes and goes.

Like the tide,
it comes in and out.

Bespoke is a tailoring term
and the young will

always have a need
to create things

that are unique for them.

Henry Poole
really is the founding fathers

of Savile Row and also the great
inventors of the dinner suit,

otherwise known as the Tuxedo.

It's a great honour to be
at Henry Poole and being known

for dressing some
of the great names of the past,

such as Vanderbilts,
such as J.P. Morgan,

such as Napoleon III,
such as the Tzars of Russia,

even the Emperor of Japan.

Still today, these names stand.

Winston Churchill was probably
one of our great men

that have walked in here.

And of course, he came to us
as a young, slim gentleman

and got to meet my great
grandfather and my grandfather.

And my grandfather remembered
talking about his suits

that came in for abundant
alteration cleaning

due to the cigar smoke.

And they would always find
little bits of ash

and stubs inside pockets,

which was very much
his character.

But he was apparently
a wonderful man,

even though he was quite moody

at some points,
you know, and we did

have a little
tit for tats over bills

that were eventually sorted.

This is what
we call measure books.

So we would have
measured Winston's father,

and this is 1886
by the looks of it.

Later on in life, Winston came
to us in 1906, which is there,

and that's some
of his clothes that was made.

You'll always meet customers
and get to know them,

which is the best part
of the business.

How would you
like your pockets here?

This is the big question here.

Well, generally
I don't use them.

You know, I won't be putting
any cigars in them.

- Like Churchill.
- You should, you should.

- I should.
- Four working buttons

on the cuff? So there's
four working buttons here?

Yes please, yes.

Pleats or no pleats?

That's a very good question.

You're not strong on the thigh,

so you don't
need to have pleats.

- Right.
- Zip fly or button fly?

- Zip fly.
- I have to ask.

- Yeah.
- But for most people it's zip.

So, single-breasted,
button two, notched lapel.

So, that's your plain
weave with no colorway.

That's your pinhead,
showing the actual distances

between the two colorways.

And I probably would
put it between those two.

So, Simon, I think executive
decision, I think let's go...

- Yes.
- Let's go for this.

Yes, I think
that's a lovely one.

It perfectly works well.

It's smart casual
and dress it up, dress it down.

And also it has
a bit more character,

it has a little bit
more of the depth

in the marbling effect
with the pinhead.

So it's a good, good choice.

So when you mention Savile Row,
I immediately think

of The Beatles
and their last live performance

on the roof at number 3,
Savile Row.

Sadly a bit
before my time on the row.

There's quite
often tours that come,

they will always stop
outside the Apple building,

before they come and stop here
at number 10, Savile Row.

We're very fortunate,
we have quite an eclectic

range of customers.

Officers in the army,
to captains of industry.

And we have been known
to make the odd outfit

for heads of state.

Thankfully,
I've still got my head.

Prince William
and Prince Harry did their year

at Sandhurst and whilst
they were training there,

we were asked
to make their initial uniforms.

We received a great
accolade and the fact

that their first official
portrait was of them

wearing their uniforms
made by Dege, Skinner.

When Prince Harry married,
we were approached

and asked if we would
make the frock-coat

uniform for the Blues
and Royals,

which was his mother regiment.

Other than the people
that were measuring

and doing the fitting,
no one actually knew

who we were making it for.

We're going to be making you
a sports coat,

but a sports coat
with a difference.

This jacket here is what
we call the Bentley coat.

We've utilised the Bentley
stitching that is seen

on every car steering wheel.

And I understand that it
takes 50 man hours to make

a Bentley steering wheel.

Which is, funnily enough,
the same period

of time it takes us
to make a two piece suit,

50 to 60 man hours.

The buttons are an engraved
Bentley wheel nut that would

have been on all
the original Bentley's.

Get the rubber hammer out,

bang it, untwist it,
wheel comes off.

Bit like Formula One,

but not as quick
as Formula One these days.

♪♪♪

My full name is
Adrian Bailie Nottage Palmer

and I am the 4th Baron
of Reading.

And I'm terribly fortunate

that I am able to wear quite
a lot of my father's clothes

and indeed
my grandfather's clothes.

When I got married,
I actually wore

my grandfather's tailcoat,
which was made

in Savile Row in 1921.

Huntley, Palmers
was founded by Thomas Huntley.

The Palmers and the Huntleys
were in fact related

and as things took off,
he wrote to his cousin

and said,
"Will you come and join me?"

Huntley, Palmers
had a Royal Warrant

from every royal family
in the world.

Beat that.

I was the last member
of the family to do

what they called
a really old fashioned

apprenticeship and I always
remember when I went

to the Huntley, Palmer
factory in Huyton,

they didn't like the idea of the
boss's son coming up here.

And my first job was to get
all the chewing gum off

the floor of the lady's loo.

I swear to this day
that that lavatory

had never been so clean.

They thought I would
last about 5 minutes,

whereas in fact it took
me about 5 hours to do.

I think I'm very fortunate
because I've had my biscuit

life and then
I've had my farming life.

I was 39 when I inherited
the title from my uncle.

I always slightly assumed
that I would have inherited

the title from my father, but
sadly he died before he was 71.

I nearly always actually have
a bite to eat at lunch time

in the staff restaurant where
the food is frightfully good

and quite a bit cheaper
than upstairs.

Do you think the House of Lords

- should be abolished?
- Definitely.

The House of Commons, I think,
is the most incredible

institution on the planet.

The Lords...

Anything hereditary without
actually doing it yourself

and achieving it yourself
shouldn't be around.

I don't see why, you know, you
should get there through birth.

I think that's just ridiculous.

It's a bit outdated,
if you will.

So I've heard the House
of Lords be called

the most expensive
daycare facility

for the elderly,
with their subsidised meals

paid by the taxpayer.

But that's all okay, I mean,

we have
the House of Commons, right?

I thought we were just going
to talk about some gardens here.

I haven't studied it
in great depth,

to be honest,
but it probably could

do with a bit of modernisation.

But I quite like the décor,
so don't modernize that.

I'm quite keen
on the House of Lords.

People want to abolish it, but
basically it could be renamed

a House of Experts.

Somebody once said
to my children's mother

that I speak on every subject.
That is not true.

If, for example, there was a
big division on a health bill

amendment, I probably
wouldn't vote unless I'd spoken

to somebody
who had health knowledge.

In the 30 years
that you've been here,

what are you most proud of?

Being able to participate,
particularly on amendments

to various bills, being able
to change the course of history.

I think you famously described
Manderston, your home,

as it has 109 rooms,
but how many rooms too many?

A hundred.

Yes, so funny.

First thing you get given when
you come here is a clothes peg

and then, if we're lucky,
a locker and then even luckier

still, a desk
and I've actually kept

my great-grandfather's
nameplate,

which I'm very proud of.

This is a World Heritage site,

this is an important building,
this is a working museum.

It is the people's parliament.

It is for the future
of this country.

And I believe in this building.

I believe in the fabric
of this building and I believe

in democracy and this is
the home of democracy.

Which is the Commons,
which is the Lords?

Well, the good thing
is we always know,

if you're at this end of the
building, everything's green.

If you go
to the other end, it's red.

So we have that bit
in the middle of no man's land.

Do I look in envy to the Lords?

I've got to say, it
might be a little bit grander.

It might have a little bit
more gold gilding than we have.

But the reality is,
we are the elected House,

we are the democratic House.

This is supremacy when it
comes between the two Houses.

Democracy's never perfect,
we will all find fault,

but if you're going to find one
democracy that people want

to copy, it's this one and can I
stand by what I represent here?

Absolutely.

Am I proud
of the Westminster democracy?

Yes, of course
and I'm so pleased there are

so many parliaments
around the world

that's based on this democracy.

And that matters to me
and it matters the role

that we played around the world

in ensuring democracy
comes first.

The Westminster model,
I think by far, yes,

I'm going to say, it's
the best model that we've got.

Part of my family,
is not only my wife, daughter

and the grandchildren, but
it's also the pets, isn't it?

You know, Boris the parrot
thinks he's a politician.

He loves coming to Parliament.

He shouts, "Order,
order, lock the doors."

Betty, a Patterdale Terrier,

who wants to keep charge
of everything and of course,

I've got Maggie the tortoise
and why's she called Maggie?

She's not for turning
and she's got a hard shell.

So of course as you realize,

all the pets are
named after politicians.

They all are part of the family,

they play the role
and quite rightly,

they don't miss out either.

I've always
thought that I had the great

advantage of growing up
as a teenager in the 1960s.

I came out of that period
wanting to change the world.

And I decided that democracy
was the way to achieve change.

I wanted to come to Cambridge,
so I applied.

I was absolutely terrified.
I did a terrible interview,

but remarkably, Pembroke
College gave me a place.

Spending a really wonderful
period of time here,

burying myself
in English literature

was not just a treat,
but it was a rather

wonderful preparation for life.

One of the things
that inspired me

in Cambridge was a supervision
with one of the Fellows.

We had written essays, they
weren't terribly good essays.

He said, "Let me tell you
what Wordsworth and Coleridge

were really all about."

And for the next 2 hours,
he paced up and down,

pulled books out of the bookcase

and read quotations at us.

He conjured up
a whole world for us.

And that is the power
of a good supervision.

It can inspire,
it can fire your imagination,

it can fire your passion.
That transference

of enthusiasm and inspiration
is what Cambridge teaching,

at its very best, is all about.

It's no accident
that Cambridge has produced

over 100 Nobel Prize winners
because of the quality

of intellectual attainment,

the depth of research,
the quality of teaching.

If we lost that,
we would be diminished terribly.

The ability to offer
to the very best and brightest

of our students,
here in Britain,

an opportunity
to flourish and to shine.

I was
at Cambridge on a scholarship,

so I didn't get
there through privilege.

But once you're there,
you realise that you're

part of a great deal
of historical privilege.

If I hadn't been to Cambridge,
perhaps I wouldn't have been

invited to go to the Royal
Shakespeare Company

by these Cambridge people
who were running it.

I went for the interview
and I didn't get in.

And I think they saw
that I wasn't properly posh.

That's why.
And I was just talking a lot.

And I think they were like,
"Oh, please."

I'm not bitter, though.
I'm definitely not bitter

about it,
I never think about it,

even though it's 20 years ago.

My experience of Cambridge
was that I flourished

because I went there to work.

I loved it.

It was very high pressure.

Now, a lot of students
couldn't take the pressure,

wouldn't enjoy the pressure,

would hate the pressure.

I'm Callum Sullivan
and I recently graduated

with a degree in music.

I captained my Cambridge crew
in the Boat Race

against Oxford to victory.

When I really decided
I wanted to apply to Cambridge

and put in the work
that meant I could

get there was actually
probably watching a Boat Race.

I realised at that point
that this was an event

that was really special

and that I actually
had the capacity

to possibly
be in this environment.

Best decision I ever made.

Once you're part of
this Boat Club, you have to be,

particularly for the six seven
months leading up to the race,

totally locked in and making
sure that you're getting

as much out
of yourself as you can.

And we're all expected to do
really well in our studies

as well, so it
is a bit of a challenge

and one that's really,
really great learning.

We usually end the week
on a pretty tough session

on Sundays, earn the day
off we tend to say.

Get up a little bit later
than usual on Monday mornings,

head to Nanna Mex for a Monday
burrito on the student deal.

You know, when you're sitting
on the start line on race day

and you know that there's
something like 6 million

people watching on BBC One

and you know
that there's 200,000 people

on the banks of the Thames.

And you're sitting there
and you're absolutely trying

to do anything but make
a mess of the first stroke

and end up losing
your crew the race.

And that's basically all you
can think about, otherwise,

you do exactly that.

To hear the roars
of the crowds coming through

Hammersmith Bridge,
it's a really special

thing to be a part of.

So my first plaque
is yet to go up,

it's somewhere in one
of the corners of the room.

Oh, there it is.

Yes, that's my plaque there

and I'm right in the middle
of the 5-seater.

And I think it's destined
for one of these spaces

on the walls up here.

This race has been part
of national culture

a little bit for so long.

I thoroughly
enjoy the Oxbridge Boat Race.

My number two sister went
to Cambridge and Geordie went

to Oxford and my number five
sister went to Oxford as well.

So there is
this extraordinary rivalry,

light blue and dark blue
and obviously as children

we were always
very excited if somebody sank,

we were usually
waiting for that.

It was the first
thing I ever saw on television.

I was walking past a shop front
and there was a crowd

looking into the window
and I went to join them

and on a little screen
about that size,

there was some brown,
shady image.

And I realised it was moving
image, which was happening

at that moment and so that was
the first time I saw television.

Oh, well,
I've always wanted Cambridge

to win the Boat Race,
because my uncle

went to Cambridge.

It's not really a race, is it?

Because it's the same two
competing for something

that's largely
irrelevant to everybody else.

Cricket originated in England,

originated in the countryside.
I can't possibly imagine

what it was like back then,
but look at where

we've come to now, so.

Cricket I think is part
of tradition and of course

Lord's Cricket Ground
is as much about the ceremony

as I guess the game itself.

You've got Lord's Cricket
Ground, regarded as the home

of cricket and it's still
only colonial countries

who predominantly play cricket,

which says
everything about the game.

Cricket is essentially,

a quintessentially
English pastime.

There are very few games where
you can play for five days,

go home, do anything
you like in between,

and at the end of five days,
have a draw

and everyone be relatively
happy with that result.

I was brought up
on cricket because at the end

of our garden
in Wigan was the local

cricket club and I watched

their ground
through the seasons.

In the winter when
it was fallow and snowing,

and then in the spring
when the grass

could be cut and the players
arrived to practice.

And then at the weekends
when they actually played games,

I could watch them.

And I became
not a player of cricket,

but I was
in the score box marking

the rather
complicated way in which

points are scored in cricket.

You go to a cricket match
and you don't have

to watch it all the time.

There's plenty of time
to have a chat with the person

next door to you,
often about cricket.

"Oh, they're starting again."

To think of it as a game
in which people win or lose,

no, it's a different
sort of game altogether,

it's the game of life.

Okay, in my house,
there was no cricket,

there was no rugby,
there was no Aussie Rules,

none of that stuff.
We all sailed.

I don't know anything
about team sports.

Nothing. You're truly
asking the wrong Australian.

I can't believe they didn't
take away my passport.

But yes, I don't know
anything about cricket.

Sorry.

Her Majesty the Queen
and the Duke of Edinburgh

many times
attended test matches,

often meeting the players
on the field of play

during the tea interval.

Only on one occasion
has the Queen actually stayed

for lunch, however.
That was during a test

match against Australia.
Her favourite tipple,

Dubonnet, was not present.

So a member of the kitchen
staff had to be dispatched

to find an off licence somewhere

in St John's Wood or Maida Vale,

which had a bottle
of Dubonnet in stock.

And then had to dash back
to the ground in time

to serve the Queen her favourite
aperitif before lunch.

Just one of the little,
extra measures that we take

to ensure our special guests

are well looked after
at this ground.

I lived
in Bloomsbury for several years

in London and it's an area
that's very special to me.

And I think what
I love about it,

other than
the Dickensian heritage,

is all
the little twists and turns

and you stumble
upon these small museums

that you may
not have known existed.

I particularly love
the Sir John Soane's Museum.

And is quite famously
said that the British

are such avid collectors.

And there's no better example
of a random, delightful,

at times horrifying, collection
of antiquities hidden away

on a quiet street in Bloomsbury.

People look at these buildings,

they look at a place
like this and they see

something that's
really like a fly in amber.

We're in the library dining room

of Sir John Soane's townhouse.

Which became,
after his death, his museum.

He was appointed
to be the architect of the Bank

of England and that was probably
his greatest achievement,

and he was awarded a knighthood.
He was also fortunate

in marrying an heiress,
Eliza Smith.

One of the great tragedies
was that only two years

after they moved into the house,
Eliza Soane died.

Soane was disconsolate.
The tomb he designed

a few months after her death

and it was
a remarkable departure

from contemporary tombs.

Giles Gilbert Scott
must have looked at it

and being intimate
with the house

and the collections,
it would have

come to him as an Edicule,
which offers shelter

for communication.

Gilbert Scott,
who designed the phone box,

he saw this
and thought that shape,

and I hope he thought
and that love story,

will be just perfect
for this new invention

called the phone.

His inspiration
was a brilliant bit

of lateral thinking,
if you like.

Gilbert Scott
wanted it to be silver,

but the Post Office said,
"Oh no, budget, budget"

and they said it's going
to have to be red.

And now that's an iconic sense
of Englishness in this country

and right around the world.

So we're here today
at Henry Poole.

At this stage,
we've done now the pattern.

We've gone through
the detailing with yourself.

Back width is good,
shoulder width is good.

At this point, I'd be asking
you if there's anything you

don't like, anything you want

to change,
you know, button heights.

Sleeve length,
they're just a little bit short.

So I'm just going to put
in a quarter of an inch

on those and
then you should show about

a centimetre 3/8 of shirt cuff.

Sure.

I mean, I really
like how comfortable it feels

and how light
and also I like the color.

Obviously, it's a little bit
livelier than a plain navy,

but without
being overly flashy, you know,

if you had a real
electric blue suit,

then, you know,
how many times are

you going to wear it
before you get bored

or people say, "Here he comes in
his electric blue suit again?"

We have to admire
the entrepreneurial spirit

of the original John Lobb,
who in 1863 saw the Prince

of Wales in the park and saw
that he left a muddy footprint

and then he used that
as an imprint to make his first

riding boots, which he'd
gifted to the Prince of Wales

before he was King.

That's how the long
standing relationship

with this heritage brand,

the Royal Family and of course,
the Royal Warrant

that John Lobb has carried
for so long, came about.

My great-great-grandfather

founded the firm.

The fact that
it's a family run business.

Behind that family run
element of it

is the fact that
it's an independent business

and I think it is
that element of independence,

which is maybe a
quintessentially English trait.

In World War II,
when my great-uncle had started

running the firm, there
was a moment when the bombs

were falling on London.

One evening he decided
that it would be best to have

the lasts move out into
the country to keep them safe.

Early the next day,
the building was bombed

and it was condemned.

The lasts are very much
the lifeblood of the firm.

Keeping those from
being burned was a good move.

So those are all old names.

Thing is, we've actually
got to the point where lots

of people don't know
who these people are anymore.

- Yes.
- David Niven, Lord Olivier.

This is Peter O'Toole,
Aristotle Onassis.

Sinatra.

- Wow.
- Small feet.

Those are well used.
We had a lot of work

for him over the years.

Jackie Onassis,
she had large feet,

I have to say.

Yes, she was quite tall
I think, she was a tall lady.

Yes.

Some people,
I have heard, will be asked

to be buried in their shoes.

Obviously, their favourite
items that they may have had

during their lives.

Well, they do say
you should judge a man by shoes.

Regardless of what
he might be wearing.

This is what we're faced with,

which is this blue suit
which you're having made.

- Yes.
- By Simon.

You might prefer something
which is a little bit more,

sort of
in keeping with the suit.

The one I think that really
sort of complemented

what you were wearing
was the double-monk shoe,

it's designed as quite a sort
of comfortable shoe as well.

Which is good for everyday wear.

British
weather is, for me, perfect.

It changes every day.

You never get bored.

It's reliable
in its unreliability.

The best cab
service in the world

is the London taxi driver,
right or wrong?

Definitely, Fred.

Just our origin, it's being
going so long, it's an icon.

It's like a red bus
or a telephone box.

Come to London,
you ride in a black cab.

If I got into
the back of your cab and said,

"Take me to the umbrella shop."

We'd take you
to James Smith, Sons,

New Oxford St, Bloomsbury.
Of course we know it.

Yes.

I suppose rain
is quintessentially English,

hence the umbrella has to also
be quintessentially English

to protect you
from this ghastly weather.

Having said that,
today we are blessed

with some beautiful blue skies.

I love it
when I see those sort of shops

which do something
very particular.

Which are charming,
which say something about us

and which I would
hate to die out.

That emporium of umbrellas.

It's a mad idea
and I'm absolutely delighted

it's still there.

James Smith
and Sons have been in business

since 1830 and we're
on to the sixth generation.

It's quintessential English,

but it's actually
a little bit more than that.

The umbrella was said
to have started either in Egypt

or China, and the real
pick up with it came

with the invention
of steel as part

of the Industrial Revolution.

People had more money,
more time to spend on things.

Slowly then, umbrellas
became popular in London

as a fashion accessory.

A good umbrella
becomes part of you.

It can make you stand up tall,

but it can also make
you feel good inside as well.

We've always been
taught you must never open

your umbrella indoors,
you always have

to store it wrapped up.

Part of the folklore, we say,
is where that came from

is that the salesmen would tell
people that it was bad luck

to leave an umbrella
open indoors.

So then they'd be
folded up, they'd be wet

and because
they were made of silk

in those days,
then they would rot

and then they'd come
back to buy another umbrella.

You go to James Smith now,
they've got an enormous

horseshoe saying,
"Don't worry, it's not bad luck.

You can do what you
like with your umbrella.

This horseshoe will
protect you." Honestly.

There's a secret part
in every Englishman which wants

to be The Gentleman Spy.

The immaculately
tailored Savile Row suit,

the rolled up umbrella.
It's as deeply rooted

in English culture
these days, as cricket is.

If you've got the money and
if you've got the inclination

to have someone look after you,
to treat you, to pamper you,

go to somewhere like Trumper's.

They may even give you the
cologne that James Bond wore.

We're at Geo. F. Trumper.

It's a flagship store,
this has been here 100 years.

Open the door
in the morning and your body

gets the goose bumps going.

We always give accessories

to the James Bond films.

You could miss it if
you didn't know what you were

looking at in the bathroom,

but we usually spot them.

People trust us.

All the famous
people that come to us

trust that we'll
never mention who they are.

We never phone magazines
or newspapers when they arrive.

They come in, feel very relaxed,

as if nobody's recognized them.

Ian McKellen?

Yes.

Oh, I have been there once.

Yes, to get a shave.

Yes, it was very good.

So even
the current Prime Minister

was a customer of
our other branch in St James'.

We actually
don't do his hair anymore,

which is probably
noticeable by the haircuts.

What, he pays
to get that haircut?

I just assumed his mum did it.

That's ridiculous.

I love looking at gardens,
sitting in gardens,

walking through gardens.

I am hopeless
at being a gardener.

Sir Edmund Loder
that classic example

of an English eccentric,

having that sort
of passion that drive

to build a garden
on such a grand scale,

a great deal of it
by his own hand.

Leonardslee's
often referred to as one

of the most important
woodland gardens in England.

A lot of the English
garden design was taking

influence from Europe.

After the English landscape
movement and the woodland

garden explosion,
suddenly English gardens

were influencing Europe.

And apparently Hitler
had his eye on Leonardslee

as his new home.

The great English film
Black Narcissus was shot here.

Sir Edmund created
a landscape which could pass

for the Himalayas, certainly

with the rhododendrons and
azaleas.

It's a place to get lost in,
a place to wander

and every day
it's a privilege and an honor

to come in and work
in this classic example

of an English woodland garden.

One of the definitions

of Britishness
is a love of gardens.

So even if you're living on
the fifth floor of a high rise

and if you have
a little balcony outside,

it's full of pots
with things growing in it.

It's extraordinary.

The British love gardening.

The English are obsessed
with gardens and that probably

culminates with the Chelsea
Flower Show every year.

It brings
a real mix of different types

of design
in one location for people

to just get inspiration
from for their own gardens

and for
their own houses even as well.

This is essentially like,
I suppose, the Champions League

of gardening that
I'm visiting today, I think,

and having
had a little walk around,

I'm definitely
getting that sense.

This is fantastic, I mean it's
if you like, in our back garden.

Chelsea is the
quintessential British occasion.

It is. One of them.

What is
so quintessentially British

about the Chelsea Flower Show?

That we're here
in this weather with no coats

and with nothing else on.

And it's fun, and it's fun.

You get the chance
to put a pretty frock on

and you see beautiful things
and chat to lovely people.

And we are a Royal Borough,
because Queen Victoria,

on her deathbed,
decreed that the borough

she was born in should
become a Royal Borough.

So that's why we're the Royal
Borough of Kensington, Chelsea.

And later on this afternoon,
we'll be welcoming

some of the Royal Family,

some of the people
that live in our boroughs.

So it all comes together
on our RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

♪♪♪

It's truly brilliant
just to meet a fellow queen.

Especially today, where
it is the art form of gardening

at the Chelsea Flower Show.

And the art form of drag.

And just a gorgeous
British icon, as well.

Absolutely.
Here here.

What a pleasure
it is to meet Judi Dench.

Thank you.

Is it really bad as well
that I really just wanted

to joke and be like,
"It's such a pleasure

to meet Maggie Smith."

But no, it truly is a pleasure
to meet you, honestly.

And you, you look beautiful.

Thank you.

I was making handbags
in the early seventies

and the opportunity
came to buy Launer.

When I bought the company,
it had the Royal Warrant,

but it'd not been really used.

I obviously wanted
to go direct to the palace

and slowly managed to do that.

Oh, the Queen
is a delightful person.

Just like the lady next door.

Very interested in what we do,
because when she was

in the factory, she spent
a good afternoon with us.

It's reported
that the Queen has 200 handbags,

predominantly
Launer London handbags.

If I was lucky enough
to be invited for an audience

with the Queen, I think
the most mortifying thing for me

would be if she moved
her Launer handbag

from her left to her right arm.

It is suggested that's her
indication to the courtiers

to come and rescue her.

The Launer handbag, as well
as being a stylish accessory,

has become her escape route
in difficult social situations.

It's an understated
British way of getting out

of an awkward situation.

We're very lucky
to be in The Crown.

The costume designers
were interested in coming

to the showroom, because
they knew that Mrs. Thatcher

and Her Majesty
carried my handbags.

That's very intriguing
that two silhouetted,

famous, pair of ladies
chose the same handbag brand.

This was the Traviata,
which is the Queen's.

I know this
is a beautiful white one.

Mrs. Thatcher had the Olympia,
which was the nearest

to the bag that she carried
when she bought from me.

Both great ladies.

James Purdey
& Sons have been making guns

for quite a long time now.

They are probably the finest
gunmaker in the world,

as British gunmakers are.

These take around about
two and a half, three years

to build, so
this is a real work of art.

New this would be 100,000 plus.

You will see
someone using one of these,

particularly
on a day like today,

which is the Glorious Twelfth.

It's probably the most
exhilarating sport of all,

bird shooting, I think.

They can beat on the wing
at up to 70 miles an hour,

which is a real sport.

Hitting them is quite a feat.

The Royals are traditionally
very involved in country sports,

particularly shooting.

They're quite well known
to be part of that scene.

That quintessential
British scene, yes.

I think
I was brought up to think

it was cruel to kill animals.

And the idea
of the posh folks going off

and the centre
of their activity,

being killing something.

I think you've got
to be of a certain frame

of mind of which I am not.

I'd much rather
they were gathered together,

the central point of the weekend

was when they all dressed up and
did charades, played charades,

put on a little pantomime.

Shooting a bird...

Aww.

If that's essentially English,

it's not an Englishness
that I can respond to at all.

I look at the Glorious Twelfth
and think it is a load

of baloney
as far as I'm concerned.

I'm quite grateful
that they're not

blapping away
at the grouse all year long,

but it's a quite absurd
piece of gastronomic elitism.

I don't know anybody who eats
grouse on August the 12th,

but I'm sure if we went to some
of the smart hotels in London,

they would serve it to me for
an astronomical amount of money,

which I do not wish to pay.

We're at the Stafford Hotel,
and today we're

in the Game Bird, which is our
wonderful signature restaurant.

This hotel
has been here since 1912,

but Glorious Twelfth
goes back to 1853.

So ever since that day,
we've been serving grouse

on the 12th of August
and get excited by it.

It was shot this morning
and is on its way

from the North Yorkshire Moors.

It's the Glorious Twelfth,
first grouse of the season.

We have it here at The Stafford.

It's a very discreet place.

So we're not about celebrity,

we're not about royalty,
but they all come here.

Her Majesty,
the Queen visits the Stafford.

The Queen Mother used to visit
for afternoon tea weekly

walking up from Clarence House.

The cellars served the King
of England when he lived

in St. James's Palace.

We served the port to the king.

It is a very special place.

We're going
to be getting through

what's called the blessing.

The blessing involves
the final fitting.

We're looking at the small
details now and the general

comfort that we hear from you
and how you enjoy the suit.

Also, we have the extra cloth
there, which I must say Frank,

if any prosperity takes place,

we can have four inches
of extra cloth inside to allow

that difference in inches.

So do not haste,
we are there for you.

This is good to go now.

Of course, in reality,

I couldn't show you around
because it's members only.

Absolutely.

We're rule breakers.

So let me just
show you some things here

in the South Library
that are quite interesting.

This is Faraday's wheelchair.

Faraday, our great scientist,
was also the honorary secretary

just at the very beginning
of the club's history.

And there
we have Dickens' chair.

And this incredibly
tall arrangement,

with the three tiers,
was the cheapest way

of accommodating this huge
number of books in one room.

The only problem is that a lot
of older members who have

vertigo are terrified
of going up there,

so we send the library staff up
to find the books.

I can well imagine that.

The Athenaeum does have

an amazing role of honor.

Charles Dickens,
Charles Darwin, Churchill,

J.M.W. Turner, who does
those wonderful interiors,

member of the club.

Wherever you look in a way.

The clubs
went through a very hard time

in Pall Mall and in St James'.

And they were out of favor,

they were old fashioned,
they were seen to be a relic

of the 19th century.

If you read the novels
of Dickens and Thackeray,

there always seemed to be
somebody going off to the club

and somebody coming
back from Parliament to report

over a nice glass of Port.

I've been a
member of a private members club

purely and simply because

I've got it as
part of a promotion

and part of my work
and what I was doing.

But average person, private
member's club, is irrelevant.

That's out of our league.

- Yeah.
- That's out of our league.

We are just London boys.

That's another...

It's another world for us.

Another world, exactly, yeah.

But they're lovely places.

- Apparently.
- Yeah.

We only go to the main door,

we don't get invited in,
we just drop off.

It's a very
useful way of making sure

that you can meet someone
and entertain them

in the middle of London,

but I would say it's more
a functional thing for me

than part
of my being and identity.

The only
real advantage of a club

would be that it'd be a place

where you could
go and sit quietly.

But who might come up to you

and want to
have a good long chat?

Actors have a number of clubs

that they could
be expected to join.

The Garrick, but women
aren't allowed to be members

of the Garrick Club.

Why would I want to go to a club

that wouldn't have women in it?
I don't know.

The men's clubs,
they can go there,

they can sit,
they can talk about racing

and Backgammon and things

and I don't
necessarily want to do that.

You also know where they are.

That's probably quite positive.

You shouldn't
regard them as exclusive,

just an opportunity
to meet other people

and to widen your
own circle of friends

and the bonhomie and the banter
that can arise from it.

It's fun.

It's quite British.

John Wilson Croker,

he saw that in London, there
were lots of political clubs,

there were lots of what
were known as fashionable clubs,

really, for the aristocracy,
if you like.

But what was needed
perhaps was a club for writers

and artists and scientists,

which would not
be about politics

and would not be about class.

The club built
this Grecian temple

and under the auspices of Athena

and that sense
of classical wisdom,

the scientists, artists,

writers, judges,
cabinet ministers,

bishops, whatever their views,
they could get along together.

A place at
the Athenaeum was like gold.

This is a very
British institution,

which suits me very well.

It reflects aspects of Britain

and its history that I warm to.

You know, inclusiveness,
liberalism and conservatism.

And one of the things you have
to be very careful about here,

at club table when you
don't know whose opposite you,

is you might be
sounding off about some subject

and you find
the person opposite you,

is the world's
leading expert in it.

So you tend to find people
around here are quite cautious

to check on who's present.

That's happened to me.

Terrifying.

In terms
of the membership of this club,

what I've tracked
is the story of Britain,

because Britain has
become much more dominated

by the middle class
than by the upper class.

You're aware of classes.

You know Shaw said, "When an
Englishman opens his mouth..."

"people judge him."

The Americans are
quite good at class, actually.

Particularly among
the upper echelons.

But the British have
been very class-conscious

and some still are.

But I think there's
been a big change there.

I think there's
been a big change there.

Has the class system
changed so sufficiently

that we're able to move forward?

It probably has, because
probably there's more people

from various backgrounds
making vast amounts of money.

I suppose that's
the new class system

now in our country, isn't it?

People who have money.
People don't have money.

Neil.

How are you?

Frank, nice to see you again.

Nice to see you too, absolutely.

Okay Frank, so here we are,

all ready for
your second fitting.

You'll see a slight difference

to when you were
last here in so much

as we've now made
the bespoke shoe trees.

Which my younger brother
made in our tree making section.

He's a fairly new...
New character.

He's only been here
30 years or so, so yes,

we're still trying to train him.

He's a lifer, he's a lifer.

For sure, but most of us are,
most of us are so, yes.

So the trees are also bespoke

and we're left with this
beautifully varnished shoe tree,

which is an exact
replica of your foot also.

So, it's got the correct width
and contours that your foot has,

so the shoe will
never shrink back,

you'd always
maintain that size and shape,

which is very important
for the longevity of the shoe.

The double monk is a shoe

that's been part
of the firm's history

since it was
created by my grandfather.

It has a sort
of timeless quality to it.

So you've got
the oak bark sole hammered

and shaped to your last
and hand-stitched onto the weld.

The heel was built up with...

There's no block heel, this
is individual layers of leather.

Every pair of shoes goes through

four different
craftsman's hands.

We've got the closer who
makes the beautiful uppers,

the shoemaker who's
stitched all the sole

and the heel together.

And then the tree makers
who make the wooden inserts

to go in afterwards.

So all these guys are
highly trained, highly skilled.

It's very much
a team collective effort.

I get to see you
and get all praise

what a beautiful shoe it is,

so I get
the glory when they fit well,

but by the same token,

I also get
the grief if they don't.

So I guess it's
a double-edged sword.

I kind of feel like

I'd want to sleep
in them if I could.

If you're invited to one of our
many amazing country houses

for the weekend,
you wouldn't go wrong

by wearing a Henry Poole suit

and a John Lobb
shoe for your arrival.

I'm sure you
recognize this room.

Oh wow. I do, the library.

Well, there are
many portraits in it.

There's one there
of the 1st Earl of Carnarvon.

Obviously, Geordie
and I have got to number eight.

What's quite special
about Highclere,

is there has been
an estate here, a home here,

if you like,
for at least 1200 years.

So one of the most special
things about this building,

heritage, gardens,
home is the longevity.

I think the idea that
you have this great perspective

looking backwards,
a sense of an anchor,

perhaps a sense of reassurance
in quite a changeable world.

We've been here a while.

In 1922, Lord Carnarvon
and Highclere Castle

were front page news
around the world.

Against all the odds, Lord
Carnarvon and Howard Carter,

two maverick Englishmen,
discovered the steps,

the 22 steps which led
down to the Tomb of Tutankhamun.

That glint of gold.

That glimpse back into a
Pharaonic world 3500 years old,

captured the whole
world's imagination.

What a story to have
at Highclere Castle.

My father-in-law had
always told me the story,

the end of World War II,
he and some of his Army friends

with Princess Elizabeth
and Princess Margaret ran around

the streets
of London and did the conga

and just celebrated
the end of World War II.

And they were all
standing outside the black gates

of Buckingham Palace.

My father-in-law
with Princess Elizabeth

and Margaret shouting
up to the King and Queen,

"Long live the King and Queen."

They'd always remained friends

and she had a love of racing,

so he was her racing manager,

but her racing friend above all.

Geordie, my husband,
and I took over the Castle

after his father had sadly died.

His parents had
never lived in it.

It reminds you that a home

is about welcoming
friends to the door.

Julian and Emma Fellowes
were good friends

and I thought it'd be fun

and I love putting
together weekend house parties,

it was where this house started
in Victorian times.

So Julian Fellowes
said that he wrote Downton

with Highclere in mind.

None of us dreamt or
guessed how successful

Downton Abbey would be,

how we'd all fall in love
with the different characters,

whether it's Bates
or Anne or Lady Mary.

It's really Julian Fellowes'
excellent writing

and I guess the way Maggie Smith
delivers all her lines

so perfectly.

It's just making people happy.

That's all Highclere
wants to do.

Hats have almost disappeared.

Ties have almost disappeared.

Well, we'll be
naked next I should think.

Lock's dates back to 1676.

We're the oldest hat shop
in the world

and one of the oldest
still family-owned businesses

in the world as well.

We originally opened on
the other side of the street.

This is the sunny
side of the street.

You always do more business
on the sunny side of the street,

because that's
where people want to walk.

My great, great, great,

however many
great-grandfathers it is,

was a gentleman
called James Benning

and he is famous as he is
the original Mad Hatter

that Lewis Carroll
based the character on

in Alice in Wonderland.

So I am a direct descendant
of the original Mad Hatter.

I'm very proud of that.

We've got a great connection
with James Bond.

We hatted
Sean Connery in the '60s.

In Dr. No,
he famously wore a Trilby.

In Goldfinger, Oddjob wore a,

what we call a square crown Coke

and that was the one
with the reinforced brim,

which he used to throw
at his victims

and sliced their heads off
and all sorts.

Famously, the square
crown Coke was also worn

by Winston Churchill.

We were very proud
that Winston Churchill

was a big customer of ours,

before and during
and after the war.

When the war was
taking a turn for the worse,

you'd find that
when you look in the ledgers,

there'd be an insertion for
Winston Churchill for a new hat,

because it was a way
of him lifting his spirits

when the chips were down.

One of the moments in history

that my family
are very proud of,

is that my grandfather
fitted the crown

for the Queen's coronation.

We were commissioned by
Garrards, the Queen's jewellers.

To make a velvet pad
that went inside the crown,

so it would size it down,

so it would fit
the Queen on her coronation day.

So we use a machine
called a conformateur,

a French invention,
dates back to 1849

and we still use
the same machine today.

We haven't found
a better way of doing it.

Looks like an instrument
of torture.

I think someone described it
as quite steampunk

and I quite like that.

Right, okay, so if you
look straight ahead for me.

Plonk the old girl on,
get it centred for you

and then just pushes down.

Looks like it should hurt,
but it doesn't hurt at all.

And then we just
give that a squeeze.

There we go, lift that off.

It's little bit of an old girl,

so we have to give it a little
bit of gentle persuasion.

And then hopefully, there's
an imprint of your head shape.

There you go, sir.

That is amazing
and it's an exotic looking egg.

Yes, yes.

What I love is when
I get a customer coming in here,

a young guy comes in and says,

"I've always wanted a Lock hat

"because my grandfather
wore one."

♪♪♪

♪♪♪

♪♪♪

Frank, you've been very patient

for the various visits to here

and today's visit is to
see the outfit completed now.

I am very, very pleased
as how it's turned out.

My son
being a racehorse trainer...

I mean, he's had as many
as over 100 horses in training

at any one time
and quite how he manages

to know which horse
to run, in which race,

in which country, I don't know.

And of course,
a lot of staff here follow Hugo.

Quite often. I'm stopped
in the passage and they go,

"Hello, my Lord,
I'm 100 pounds better off

than when I last saw you."

won by
the favourite, Chauncery House!

Trained by Nicky Henderson.

Ridden by Nico De Boinville.

We're here at Sandown Park,

a quintessential
British racecourse.

We try
and come as much as we can,

we absolutely love horses.

We have a share in
a couple of horses as well,

so it's our favourite place
to be.

Yeah.

Sandown Park has always
been a favourite racecourse

of the Royal Family.

Indeed, the Queen Mother
used to say

it was her favourite racecourse.

And Nicky Henderson,
who trains for the Queen,

is here today.

I know people don't
like two-horse races.

I love them,
in fact, one-horse races.

Concorde used to come over

5 to 11 every morning.

You could set your clock by it.

Right, we're going again.

I'm Nicky Henderson,
a racehorse trainer.

I was always equestrian-minded,
if you like.

Even from school days
and at Eton in those days,

racing was about
the biggest crime.

To be caught on a racecourse
was a heinous crime.

Well, I was very lucky actually,

because the Queen Mother's
horses came here

and we had some wonderful times.

I mean, she was
a spectacular lady.

I think she
really enjoyed the people

that were involved in racing.

Racing's full of characters.

Some good, some bad,
mostly good.

The Queen took over
the Queen Mother's horses

and all the mares
that were breeding.

She toured the horses
and she loved to come down

and see them.

And it's lovely that she
takes such an interest in it all

and as you know,

racing is probably her number
one relaxation, hobby, passion.

Both the Queen Mother
and the Queen, they're A,

very knowledgeable, but B,

terribly easy to work with
and talk to about something

that we both love.

The Gold Cup, the Champion
Hurdle, the Champion Chase,

they are the pinnacle,
the Oscar, if you like,

of the racing world.

Over the years,
there've been some good days

and I suppose these
are the special ones,

because these are Bobs Worth
and Long Run's Gold Cups.

2012 was a particularly
good Cheltenham festival.

Horse's feet vary in size
quite considerably

and as you can see,
there are big ones

and there are little ones.

This is actually a youngster
of Her Majesty's,

called Rapid Flight.

He's... They're all homebred.

And he's a rather sweet horse.

He won the other day and he's
due to run again this weekend,

if he doesn't eat the door.

But he's just a nice youngster,

his life's in front of him,
so who knows?

And what is
the breakfast of champions?

Well, this morning he... What?

- What he's actually had to eat?
- Yes.

He's had a bowl of nuts,
he's had some hay,

he's been out,

he's been actually
jumping this morning.

Wow, so beautiful.

So, Rapid Flight.

He's called Rapid Flight.

I don't know how rapid he is,
but he won the other day

and I hope you
win again this weekend.

Have you ever been to the Proms?

I haven't, no.

I'm not very British, am I?

♪♪♪

Could I tempt you
with a programme, sir?

Oh my goodness me,
yes of course.

Yes, it's £5 and it goes
to support our charities

and we've just surpassed
a million pounds

raised for charity.

I'm Susie Gregson,
founder and Chief Executive

of Proms at St Jude's.

I think you're missing

three very important letters
there, Susie.

MBE. I was awarded an MBE
by Her Majesty, the Queen.

I was awarded it
for services to the community.

Pretty much for founding
Proms at St Jude's

and for keeping it
going for so many years.

♪♪♪

Proms was set up
almost 30 years ago.

I don't think
any of us anticipated

that it would last
as long as it did

and be as much loved as it is.

By pulling together,
we've become a community

and over the years,

we've consistently
raised money for good causes.

It's almost entirely
run by volunteers of all ages.

Proms isn't a new concept.

It started, I think,
in the mid-18th century

and it started
with pleasure gardens,

where people could stroll around
while musicians played.

Well, tonight we've got
a wonderful concert

with Braimah
and Konya Kanneh-Mason.

The Kanneh-Masons will
be playing Elgar's Sospiri

and Elgar, of course,

was actually living in
Hampstead when he wrote it.

So really, we're playing it
on his doorstep.

♪♪♪

It was special to play a piece

in Hampstead knowing
that it was written so close

to where we were performing.

We both live in West Hampstead.

It was a really lovely
atmosphere for us to play in.

If Elgar was sat
in the audience,

I would love
to speak to him afterwards

and ask how he thinks we did

and what he thinks
we should do or change.

I grew up with music
around the house.

It was always there,

so I think that's how I
naturally gravitated towards it,

because then I was
just immersed in music

from a very early age.

We were extremely lucky

to have parents
who grew up loving music.

They really believed
that it was an essential part

of the education, and we've
just been really, really lucky

to have had
incredible opportunities

and an amazing support network.

♪♪♪

My name is Dylan Kawende.

I'm the British-born son
of Congolese Rwandan refugees.

I set up
the #GetDyl2Cambridge campaign

to pursue my dream
of becoming a lawyer.

So my dad received an offer to
study at Cambridge University,

but he couldn't
take up the place

because he didn't
have the funding.

Back in the '90s,
my parents migrated to the UK

during a time
of chaos and disorder.

They always dreamed
of a better future for myself

and my four siblings.
So when they came over here,

the aspiration was that
we would all benefit society.

And that has helped me
to forge my own path

and despite
the financial hurdles

of studying law at
Cambridge University,

I've been able
to pursue my dream.

Lots of people will
recognise my campaign,

my #GetDyl2Cambridge campaign.

An arduous effort,
but definitely worth it

and I wouldn't have
had all these resources

if not for
the people who believed in me.

It's been an amazing journey,
an amazing experience.

There is still that
feeling in rural England.

There's something
rather lovely about it.

I love going into old churches
in little villages

and sensing the history and
the sense of peace and quiet.

I love going to Grantchester

and having cream tea
in the orchard tea rooms.

Is that the whole
of modern Britain?

No, of course not.
But it's part of the whole.

Chocolate box,
Christmas card, the village.

I'm not a villager,

I'm a provincial urban lad,

so I get much more sentimental

about the paintings
of L.S. Lowry.

Lowry painted the now demolished
cityscapes of the North.

The mean little houses
and streets

and the big overpowering
factories and churches.

Smoke in the air.

Damp. Dirty.

Well, the North
was a bit like that

when I was growing up and I can
get sentimental about that,

rather than...

anything down at Grantchester
with all those posh people.

You know, the mountains
of the Lake District,

the mountains
of the Highlands of Scotland,

they are some of the oldest
landmasses in the world.

The Himalayas, the tall
mountains these days are new,

they've just arrived.

The Pennines have been
here since time immemorial

and I get sentimental
about that.

If I am trying to think
what it is to be British

is to have lived in
the variable landscapes.

Which people down South
here on this little island,

people who live in London,
they don't know about mountains.

There aren't any mountains here,
there're a few hills.

No mountains.

I don't think there's
a direct link between us

today living in London and the
London where Shakespeare lived.

I mean that's long, long ago
and it was very, very different.

Very violent,
horrible place, actually.

Cruelty on the streets.

Deaths in the air.

Short lives.

Dirty. Disease-ridden.

Mmm-mmm.

You're
at Bekonscot Model Village,

the oldest model village
in the world.

This is where we got
the quirky names.

The fruiter is,
You Are A Peach, Heavenly Soles

and this is the smallest
Marks, Spencers in the world.

What did they sell in the '30s?

And they sent us
all the information.

And basically they just
sold hats, stockings, shoes,

gloves and scarves.

Things like that.
Not like they do today.

This is a little memorial to
our founder, Roland Callingham.

People think he's buried there,
but he's not.

Why do you think
the 1930s was chosen

as the period?

I think it was
the time was just about right,

because then after that,
everything sort of changed.

I think we got it just right.

So it was
almost like an idyllic,

quintessentially British time?

Oh, I think so.
No doubt about that. Yes.

Yes, it was. It was.

That is English.

Even now you go out and about
on a Saturday and Sunday,

they're playing cricket.

One thing we can't
get to scale are the fish.

These are enormous,
mutant whales in scale, so yes.

Do you think
the trains run on time here?

Oh, definitely.

No leaves on the line
or anything like that, no.

Hiya.

Why are
Pixar movies so successful?

Because Pixar works for kids
and it works for adults.

Maybe that's the secret
success formula for Bekonscot.

Yes, I think it is, yes.

You come as a child,
you bring your children,

you then bring the grandchildren
and it starts all over again.

And you've got Ascot Racecourse,
as it was in the 1930s.

One of our model makers
who got the MBE,

he went up to meet the Queen.

He actually spoke to the Queen

for it seems a lot longer
than everyone else,

because she said, "Oh,
I came such and such a year."

And he said, "Excuse me, Mom,
you came in," whatever.

And they chatted, you know.

If it'd been anyone else,

it'd been off
with his head, you know.

Her Majesty came with
Queen Mary in '34 and '39.

The Royal Family has decided
that it will define itself

through its theatrical
presentation of itself.

And a parade, a royal parade,

is something quite remarkable
and it's very British.

This is the first time
we've had an opportunity

to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.

The first time
in all our history

that somebody should be
on the throne for 70 years.

How fantastic is that?

Without a doubt,
over the last few years,

the most extraordinary person,
not just who is British,

is of course,
Her Majesty the Queen.

What an amazing woman.

Well, she means the glue
that holds the nation together.

Because if you look back,

she's been one
of the most effective

and best monarchs
we've ever had.

The Queen means everything.
She's iconic.

She is an incredible role model.

She's been
a fantastic public servant.

The sport of kings, it has to
be renamed the sport of queens.

She's a star.
Like you know,

Queen is someone
everyone has to look up to.

Oh, I love the Queen.

We'll raise
a glass to the Queen.

Yeah, without
the Queen being here,

this country
wouldn't be what it is.

Exactly.

But the Royal Family,

aren't they German in origin?

We don't... Well...

We don't look at them like that.

No. No.

They've become British,

I'm not sure whether
one would call them English.

Oh, they're English,
they're not German,

they are Anglo-Saxon.

Well, where did
the Anglo-Saxons come from?

The reason they
are very British,

is that they are very British.

They're hugely valued
for what they offer

and for what they represent.

The monarch has
to be apolitical.

But it doesn't
stop us, the world,

the papers analysing, perhaps,

some moments that seem
slightly more provocative.

Her most marked
sartorial choices,

was at the State Opening
of Parliament in 2017.

She came in steadfast
in a beautiful mid-blue suit,

matching hat with a perhaps

not too subtle
circular formation

of star-like yellow flowers,
resembling the European flag.

Part of me thinks if
she was allowed to talk,

she would be disappointed

that we were
breaking our ties with Europe,

but only she knows
and maybe her dresser.

♪♪♪

I was 20-years-old.

I remember all the people
in the street, myself included,

to see the car and the Queen.

Everybody was amazed by that.

That was an amazing day.

So you saw the Queen go by?

Absolutely.

Were there are George's crosses

on the streets then?

Oh, that's a good question.

I don't remember that.

As a country, we're pretty
good at friendly appropriation

of other people's property.

I mean, St. George,

I don't think St. George
was actually an Englishman.

I don't know too much about him.

I'm pretty sure he is the saint,

the personification of Britain.

So, yeah.

The Genoese in
the north of Italy,

their state flag
was the white and red flag

that we know is
the English flag.

From a footballer perspective,

you know, we look at that
flag with real pride

and as something to fight for

and as something that we
want to kind of take across

and do the best we could.

So I always had
a lot of love and pride

towards St George's Cross.

I'm very pleased to have
a conversation with you guys,

because you asked
me a good question.

Why there are very
little Italian flag here

and there is
also St George flag?

St George's flag was
adopted in Genoa immediately

after the first crusade.

The King of England
decided to ask the permission

to the Genoa Republic
to use the Genoa flag

in order to be safe
cruising in Mediterranean area.

Our so-called English flag,

we were actually
shelling out the reddies

year by year saying,

"Hello Genoa, sorry,
we owe you a bit of money

"for our national flag,
here you are, darling."

I was not able to understand
why they stopped in 1599.

Our King or Queen said,
"I think we've had enough

"of paying out for this Genoese
flag and I like the flag,

"let's keep it."

So this is really our flag.

We wrote down a letter to the
Queen, to Buckingham Palace.

We received a very good letter
back from Buckingham Palace,

I'm very proud
of that, saying, "Big thanks."

Maybe one day with all
the money coming from the flag,

we may reconstruct
the Republic of Genoa.

That could be a good idea.

Don't say here,
because this is illegal,

so I'm not going to say that.
Okay.

We need to have a conversation
about the St George flag.

We love it
and I'm sure you guys love too.

We can decide that April 23rd

we should have
a celebration all together.

People from England
and people from Genoa.

I, before
starting this documentary,

thought that
the St George's flag

is a quintessentially
English flag,

but filming this documentary,

we discovered that
the English stole it

from the Italians,
from the Genoese.

Well, to be honest,
it doesn't really surprise me.

We're quite
a thievery nation, I suppose.

Is that so?

I'm not surprised
to learn that as a story.

What you've just told me
is all brand new information,

but very interesting
that maybe comes up

in a quiz one day I might use.

What is actually British?

Think about it,
fish and chips isn't, tea isn't.

A cup of tea,
"Cuppa cha, sir, cuppa cha."

Lovely Cockney, "Cuppa cha."

It's not
a Cockney word at all, "cha."

"Cha" is
a Mandarin Chinese word.

Tea is from China.

Yes so, I think that's something

to link the two cultures
together.

Three times
the number of British people

have an Indian dish every week.

Wow, that's great, okay.

Which dish in Indian,
like, what do they like?

They say chicken tikka masala.

Wow, chicken tikka masala, nice.

That's my favourite too.

Juana, what's the national dish?

Well, we definitely at
home still have fish and chips

every Friday evening from
the local fish and chip shop.

Fish and chips.

That is the quintessential
English dish.

Thank you very much to those
Jewish immigrants from Europe,

who brought the idea
of fried fish with them.

Beef, of course,
is a French word, boeuf.

Mutton and lamb
comes from the Normans.

Oh and thank you
very much to the Vikings,

because they brought this idea

of smoking fish
and preserving fish,

so smoked salmon
and smoked haddock and kippers.

Thank you very
much to the Vikings.

Pork, not pig, pork.

Foreign word. Because the French
were better cooks.

That's the reason.

Imagine the UK without
any Caribbean influence.

Rum punch,
jerk chicken, Red Stripe,

like, a British person,
one of their favourite beers

is generally a Red Stripe,
everyone knows it.

Beer. English bitter beer,

one of the most famous
in the world.

That's not English.

500 years ago,
we didn't have any hops.

They came from the Netherlands,

from what is now
Belgium and Holland.

They had hops.

They showed us how to make beer.

Cider, cider,
English cider's lovely.

Thank you, the Normans.

Thank you,
William the Conqueror,

for bringing
all your apples over

and showing us
how to make cider.

Whiskey. Now,
that'll be British. Would it?

Why don't you ask the Irish?

Because it's probably
the Irish who invented whiskey.

Gin. Now gin, the quintessential
English drink.

No, it isn't.

We got the idea from Holland

and they got the idea
from North Africa via Italy.

Not English at all.

Where did the sausage come from?
The British sausage.

You can't get those abroad.

And there's nothing like one.

A British sausage.

Superior to any sausage
I've ever had

anywhere else in the world.

Now, is that not
quintessentially British?

♪♪♪

Who are really
English is very hard to say,

really, if you
look at the history.

The more you look back,
the more interesting it gets

and the more different peoples
come into the equation.

It's so fascinating to
see one wave of immigrants

after another so...

And it's still
continuing of course.

We've had to face our, you know,
all our phobias, haven't we?

Our racisms and our fears and
our anxieties about the other,

but we're all the other.

We are the other.
Of course, we're mongrels.

That's what's so
absolutely wonderful.

This has, in some ways,

always been
a multicultural society.

It's more evident now,

because of obviously
the end of empire

and the whole impact
of a Commonwealth

and all of those things.

It's been very
interesting to see

how many people have been
very keen to live in Britain.

Is it just about there
being a national health system

and there being
a social security system,

of a kind that
you certainly don't get

in the United States?

No, it's about more than that.

It's about
people being attracted

to certain assumptions
about the way we live.

I come...
My family come from Ireland.

We know all about wanting
to be accepted as foreigners

in this country.

It takes a while,
but we do integrate,

we do welcome people
from abroad.

We always have.

Churchill?

- He was half American.
- Hm?

He was half...
His mother was American.

Well, maybe that's
quintessentially British

that in fact
you're not local at all,

you're an invader
or an immigrant

or started from
somewhere else, why not?

I love the idea of this country
being multiracial,

which it gloriously is.

In an ideal world,
I like the sense

that anybody could
consider themselves to...

call Britain home,
because I think that its...

At its best when it celebrates
how cosmopolitan it is.

I get frustrated
when British people think

we're not inclusive and that
we're not all embracing,

because from what I've seen
from my travels, is that we are.

We really are.

Your surname is Petrucci.

Mm-hm.

Is that an English surname?

It's Italian. Sicilian.
My Grandad.

Launer is
a truly British company

and I'm very proud of the fact,

because of course my background
was originally from Germany.

Jacob Dege came
over from Germany in 1855.

My great-great-grandfather
was also a tailor in London.

His son and Mr. Dege's,
or now it's pronounced Dege,

their two sons got on very well,

so they actually
started up on their own.

Culturally, I think
because of the richness

of people's experiences
from the Caribbean, from India,

from Africa, from Europe
obviously makes it far richer

and there is really
something for everyone.

Oh, we are in
Chinatown, phenomenonal.

Amazing place, yes.

It's a good place to mix
with British culture

and international
culture and Oriental,

Chinese culture as well.

There's so many
Indians over here

and I don't feel
like I'm an outsider.

I feel like
I belong to this place.

British Asians are definitely
a huge part of Britain

with our cuisines, with
our commerce, with our cricket.

There are a lot
of dishes in our culture

to have worth celebrating that.

When I was retraining my career

in horticulture, Leonardslee
was kind of spoken of

in hushed terms then,
it was the lost hidden gem,

it was shut for, you know,
eight to ten years.

Ironically,
for a quintessentially English

woodland garden,

it was saved by
a South African-born family.

So Penny Streeter
and her family bought it,

reopened it
and are driving it forward,

making it what it is today.

Elgar was...

He was often considered
quintessentially English,

but a lot of his influences
were European.

It's not unusual
for foreign influences

to find their way into British
culture or British society.

Same is true of cricket.

It probably originated
in South East England,

but there is a competing theory

which suggests the game
was imported by Flemish weavers,

who arrived in this country
in the 16th and 17th century.

So, foreign influences
have made their way

into English cricket,
just as they have

into every other aspect
of British life.

Britishness, for me,
is not about being insular.

It's about being
open to the world,

absorbing influences and being
able, in turn, to influence.

And that, I think,
is one of the things

that makes us special.

Britain, 300 years old,

England, 1,100 years old.

They're very
different things historically.

They often say about England

that it's really the history
of the shires.

Back in the mists of time is
where we come from, as it were.

It's very interesting
that the British

are often called the English,

which extremely annoys members
of the other nations.

Now where I come
from is extremely English.

On all sides
of my family, English.

You have Irish ancestry as well.

I do.

Do you consider yourself

quintessentially
English or British?

It's very interesting
you should ask that,

because I've just
done that programme

Who Do You Think You Are?

There is a huge slice of me
that is Irish.

And I was born in England.

And then there's a lot
of something elsewhere, as well.

I can't say anymore.

I'm like a kind of fruitcake.

Yes, and I discovered

when I did the same program

that I had
quite a recent relative

who was a professional actor.

I could feel myself
to be a Kiwi,

having worked there
for quite a lot.

Sean, born and bred
in Swansea in South Wales

and lived in
London most of his life,

still feels he's abroad
when he's in London.

I think I've brought
my Welshness with me

throughout my whole life,
everywhere I've been.

But I've lived in South Africa,
I've lived in America,

I've lived in England, so
I've lived all over the world.

And if you ask me in ten years,

I'll probably be clearer,
but at the moment,

I'm certainly
feeling very Welsh, yes.

Blood wise, I'm half Irish,

so I feel like
I'm a bit of everything.

But I guess
I quite enjoy playing up

to being a little bit
of a stereotype of somebody

who's English, but you know,
and sort of sounding posh,

but I'm not really posh either.

I just happen to have
a posh voice.

But my parents are
from South East London,

so they talk like that.

So I don't know what I am,

but I quite enjoy
playing a bit of a character.

And if I'm really feeling it,

I like to pretend
I'm in Downton Abbey.

That's usually when I'm at home.

Ooh, quintessentially British,
I think. Yes.

Yes, I'd like to think.

I think British is probably how
I would identify myself with,

purely and simply because

of the diverse nature
of where I'm from.

You know, my dad's from Jamaica,
my mum's from England and Wales

and you know
I think to encapsulate

as many of the islands

as I possibly can
and areas within myself,

that's why I would
probably call myself British

over just English.

English. Yes.

Why?

Um... I don't really know,
to be honest.

British is a bit, maybe,
sensitive at the moment.

- English.
- English.

And why so decisively?

Why? Because that's our origin.
We are English.

Yep, definitely.

I feel I completely identify
as a very British person.

Yes, I'm very much a proud Brit.
Absolutely.

I'm from Monmouthshire,
the border of Wales,

so I think
I always sounded very English

to the Welsh people
and Welsh to the English people.

So I think I've always had

a slightly mongrelised
accent, so...

You're not born British,
you have it thrust upon you.

I would consider myself English,

though my parents
were both from Glasgow.

Yes, I think I do consider
myself quintessentially English.

I would consider myself British.

The connotations
of being considered English

are fairly negative,
I still feel.

I am English, I am British,
I am Congolese, I am Rwandan,

I'm a Christian,
I'm black, you know,

I'm happy to wear
that complexity with pride.

When people ask me
where I'm from,

I say I'm from the Caribbean.

Because like
I am and I'm very proud

to be from the Caribbean.

I am English and proudly English

and I am Irish
and proudly Irish.

Quintessentially British,

I've never thought
of myself as English.

I think we're a generation

that have grown up
being Brits rather than...

English in a way.

If not more European.

I am English,
I was born in England.

But I also consider
myself British and to be honest,

in the current
political climate,

I consider myself European
as well.

I'm not allowed to say
I consider myself European.

Delete that bit from the...

I consider myself British.

I'm Lancashire
all the way through.

I'm Chorley all the way through.

We've got great sport,
we've got great food.

Morecambe Bay Shrimps,
Bury Black Pudding,

Uncle Joe's Mint Balls
from Wigan.

With all this coming out
of Lancashire,

we have so much to offer.

So what do I call myself?

A Lancastrian.

Proud to be a Lancastrian,

proud of my accent,
proud of the North of England.

And of course, yes I'm English.

But I'm British as well.

And I represent a parliament

that covers the United Kingdom
and that matters to me.

So of course, yes,
I am British, I am English,

but I'm a true Lancastrian.

I was born in England.

I have a deep attachment
to England.

But I want to be part
of an internationalist future,

not an English past.

I spent a lot of my school days
and university time being taught

that nationalism had
been a very bad, narrow thing

which was now extinct.

And yet we now see a new
brand of narrow Englishness

that I think is terribly sad.

And I think it should be
possible both to celebrate a,

yes, quintessentially British

or quintessentially English
occasion like this

without wanting to take
the whole country

into standing on
the white cliffs of Dover,

giving two fingers
to Johnny Foreigner.

Okay?

If I go home and tell my wife

that I've ended up
talking about spies,

she'll just roll
her eyes completely,

because that's one of my...

I actually write spy fiction
in my spare time.

And it bores her to tears.

My immediate predecessor
as Master of Pembroke,

was Sir Richard Dearlove,
who had been head of MI6,

known as C rather than M
in the James Bond films.

So, yes, there have been people

from the world of espionage
or counter-espionage here,

but only in an official capacity
these days.

We did have a previous Master
who was burned at the stake.

I hope this isn't a pattern

that will be repeated
for present and future Masters.

I think Frank, it's gin o'clock,

so it's been so nice
meeting you.

And then this is what we have
very much enjoyed...

creating, making,
and then drinking.

Mind you,
it was four years of making

and it was nine months
of tasting gin.

Can you think

of any Shakespearean expressions
off the top of your head?

"Alas, poor Yorick!
I knew him well."

Not me.

- That's good, Fred, eh?
- Not bad.

I'm educated, bruv.
London taxi driver, see?

We know a bit about everything,
a bit about everything.

I like to use,
"Therein lies the rub,"

when I'm often making
a joke about something where,

you know, it just
maybe doesn't work properly

or whatever is not a big deal.
"Therein lies the rub."

But of course,
you know, when it was used

in a play originally,

it was for a very,
very tragic situation, you know,

probably something
life and death,

it usually is in Shakespeare.

"To be, or not to be,
that is the question."

"Wherefore art thou Romeo?"

"She who doth protest," you know
that sometimes gets said

in a bit of a joking way
when you're like,

"Well, I'm really not bothered
about this, but..."

Personally,
I didn't like Shakespeare.

You know,
the British have Shakespeare

and us Chinese have Confucius.

"Though this is madness,
there is method in it."

"Such sweet sorrow."

It's like, she sells
seashells on the seashore.

The shells she sells
are seashells, I'm sure,

but if she sells seashells
on the seashore,

then I'm sure she
sells seashore shells

and I bet
Ian McKellen can't do that.

Shakespeare knew and said often
through his characters that,

"All the world's a stage,

"and all the men
and women merely players."

We're all acting.