All language subtitles for The.Queen.Mother.and.Monarch.2022 Eng

Meera syal: Elizabeth ii was
britain's longest-serving

Monarch.

She lived nearly a century,
broke every royal record,

And redefined the role of queen.

If the queen had been a man,
I think her position as monarch

Would have been infinitely
easier.

♪ ♪

It was a society that was
strictly ordered and was

Dominated by men.

Meera: At the beginning of her
reign, the world was a very

Different place for women.

Being a high-powered working
mother in the public eye was

Not a social norm in the 1950s.

Meera: And her position as
queen put pressure on her

Relationship.

I think it must have been
incredibly difficult, because,

You know, philip was always two
steps behind.

He was always going to be
number two.

Meera: She was forced to put
duty before family.

Elizabeth was faced with this
terrible personal conflict.

Meera: Her position involved
great sacrifices.

I think the role of mother and
monarch was difficult

For the queen.

♪ ♪

Meera: This is the story of how
the queen navigated the often

Conflicting roles of monarch,
mother, and matriarch.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Meera: Britain's
longest-serving monarch was

Never meant to be queen.

When she was born in 1926, her
father, the duke of york,

Was second in line to the throne
behind his elder brother.

Her grandfather, the king
emperor george v, presided over

The british empire and power
lay firmly with men.

Helen mccarthy: In the year of
the queen's birth,

Women held very few
positions of authority.

Only ten women in total had
been elected to parliament.

They were still excluded from
the house of lords, they were

Still excluded from the london
stock exchange, they were still

Excluded from the diplomatic
service, so women may have

Exerted indirect influence
through their relationships

With well-connected highly
placed men, but their formal

Grip on political power and
authority was still

Very tenuous.

Meera: One woman who wielded
considerable power behind the

Scenes was the duchess of york,
later known as the queen mother.

I think really the queen mother
was underestimated.

So many of us viewed her as
fluffy, frilly, frivolous,

But actually, she was quite a
steely character.

And I think the queen herself
would have seen that

In her mother.

♪ ♪

Meera: Elizabeth inherited her
mother's determined spirit,

But she also learned the power
of likability.

The other strong female
influence in the young

Princess' life was her
governess: Marion crawford.

She would be by elizabeth and
her younger sister margaret's

Side for the next 16 years.

Jane ridley: She was scottish,
as was the queen's mother.

You know, she was very young
when she arrived.

She was just out of training
school in edinburgh.

It was not unusual for girls of
the upper classes to be

Educated at home by governesses
and for their education

To focus on feminine
accomplishments rather than

Academic study.

Meera: However, crawfie had
very different ideas about what

A young lady's education should
consist of.

♪ ♪

Crawfie felt that it was her
duty, really, to make sure that

These princesses got outside.

She tries to push for the girls
to go to the museums, to learn

About history, to learn about
genealogy, to understand the

Real world, like going on the
tube, for example.

Meera: This rather
forward-thinking attitude

Brought crawfie into conflict
with the queen mother over the

Girls' education, as crawfie
thought it should be

More academic.

Jane: Crawfie was frustrated
because she would constantly be

Interrupted by the--by the
mother, who would come into the

School room, and, you know,
there'd be something

Much more exciting than the
education that they were

Supposed to be having.

Lady anne glenconner: Queen
elizabeth, the queen mother,

Didn't think girls needed to be
educated.

Very, very few girls went to
university.

I mean, you know, when I was
young, I mean,

There was no question of even
talking about university.

One was expected to get married.

♪ ♪

Meera: Elizabeth's parents'
aspirations for their daughter

Were conventional and limited.

Jane: The expectation was that
these girls would marry well,

And they were being educated
sufficiently to, you know,

Entertain their husbands,
to sit next to people,

Be entertaining at dinner, to
run a big house and estate,

And to run a family.

One historian described queen
elizabeth's lack of education

As rather like the chinese
system of binding women's feet.

I mean, it was a handicap.

Meera: Elizabeth hadn't
received the level of education

Fit for a monarch because it
was never anticipated that she

Would be queen.

However, in 1936, all that
changed.

♪ ♪

Meera: In January, her
grandfather george v died.

Her uncle, edward viii,
became king.

But 11 months later, he
abdicated to marry a divorcée,

Wallis simpson.

Elizabeth's father was now king.

The abdication changed
everything.

Elizabeth held her uncle in
great affection, so the sense

That her uncle had just chosen
to abdicate, and, of course,

Abdicate duty, abdicate
responsibility, abdicate his

Role, was sort of mind-blowing.

♪ ♪

Jennie bond: George vi, her
father, broke down and sobbed

When he realized he was going
to have to take on the role

Of king.

So, for the young elizabeth,
and margaret, to see their

Parents in such turmoil must
have been troubling.

[crowd shouting]

♪ ♪

Meera: Even though her father
was king, as a girl,

It was not definite that
elizabeth would succeed him.

She was called the "heir
presumptive" in case

King george vi and queen
elizabeth had another child,

And had it been a boy, it would
have gone into top place.

Meera: Her title bore witness
to the patriarchal world in

Which she lived.

The act of succession meant she
could be displaced from her

Position as first in line to
the throne.

Anne: It was a society that was
strictly ordered and was

Dominated by men, so the
prospect of this young princess

Being her father's heir was a
sort of mysterious concept to

Many people.

And I suppose ultimately not
the preferred successor

To her father.

♪ ♪

Meera: As heir to the largest
realm in the world, every

Aspect of elizabeth's life was
now scrutinized.

Her marriage became not just a
family matter but a major

Dynastic decision.

If you are no longer just a
royal princess but a future

Queen, the whole issue of who
you're going to marry became

Much more acute.

♪ ♪

Jane: Elizabeth's parents do a
bit of sort of, checking out to

See the available talent,
the available, eligible,

Aristocratic bachelors.

Meera: But elizabeth had her
own ideas.

In 1939, when she was 13, she
went with her parents to watch

Cadets passing out of the royal
naval college in dartmouth.

There, she was shown round by
her third cousin, 18-year-old

Prince philip of greece and
denmark.

Well, we were all madly in love
with him.

He was so good-looking.

I mean, he was amazing.

When the 13-year-old elizabeth
sort of first sees this sort

Of vision of beauty, the
18-year-old prince philip,

She is smitten, and that's it
for the rest of her life.

Meera: But there was a problem:
Philip's german mother.

The queen mother's beloved
brother was killed in the first

World war, and privately,
she referred to philip

As "the hun."

There was a fair bit of
resistance at the beginning

To the idea that philip should
marry elizabeth.

He wasn't ideal material.

He didn't have any money.

He was a foreign prince.

And, of course, two of his
sisters married nazis.

Meera: Just months after their
first meeting,

The second world war broke out.

It brought huge changes in the
lives of women.

Girls, this is urgent.

Here's a real chance to help
the fighting men finish off

The enemy.

If you're over 17.5 and under
19, you can volunteer

For the ats.

Meera: Many women began working
outside the home for the first

Time in factories, farms,
and the military.

Determined to contribute,
elizabeth registered for war

Service in 1942.

Roya nikkhah: As a, you know,
girl during the second world

War, she was in the auxiliary
territorial service changing

Tires, getting into her
overalls, showing that women,

You know, could be doing men's
jobs and could do the work

Of men.

And this was someone who was
going to become queen.

♪ ♪

Meera: The fact that elizabeth
was willing to get her hands

Dirty to serve her country was
seen as an indication

Of the type of queen
she would become.

♪ ♪

Meera: As britain celebrated
the end of the war in 1945,

The king and queen's decision to
stay in london during

The height of the bombing had
gone down well with the public.

The royal romance between
princess elizabeth

And prince philip had been
conducted mainly by letter

During the war, but in the
summer of 1946,

He proposed while
staying at balmoral.

She accepted immediately.

Neither of them consulted her
mother or her father.

King george vi didn't talk her
out of it, but what he did do,

With the queen mother, was
suggest that they have

A year-long engagement.

♪ ♪

Meera: During this time, the
family went on a four-month

Tour of south africa.

♪ ♪

Roya: Who knows whether he
thought at the end she'd change

Her mind.

By that stage, I think the
queen had--she was focused

Solely on marrying prince
philip, and no amount of naval

Officers running around
would've changed that.

♪ ♪

Meera: When the family
returned,

Her engagement was announced.

Jane: It really does show,
I think, how incredibly

Determined and strong-willed
she is.

You know, she's determined to
marry philip, and she does,

And I think one really has to
admire that.

♪ ♪

Meera: Elizabeth and philip
were married on the 20th

Of November, 1947,
at westminster abbey.

Within a year, she gave birth
to their first child,

Prince charles, followed two
years later by princess anne.

♪ ♪

Meera: When philip was given
command of his first ship,

Elizabeth accompanied him to
his base in malta, leaving her

Children with their nanny and
grandmother.

Jane: This was perhaps sort of
happiest years of her life.

She was able to have what
seemed then the normal life

Of the wife of a naval officer.

♪ ♪

Jennie: She enjoyed the freedom.

She would drive around like
every other naval wife and go

To parties and socialize.

Meera: However, in February
1952, this idyll of domestic

Bliss came crashing down.

Broadcaster: This is london.

It is with a greatest sorrow
that we make the following

Announcement.

At 10:45 today, the king passed
peacefully away in his sleep.

Meera: Elizabeth was now queen
at the age of only 25.

As she stepped off the plane
from kenya,

She was greeted by the prime
minister winston churchill

And his all-male cabinet.

Jane: When you see that
photograph of the young queen

Being greeted by this sort of
row of old men in dark suits,

Really do feel, "my goodness,
how is she going to be able

To cope?"

To really understand the
queen's reign,

You need to understand her
relationship with her father

And her love for her father.

Because that sense of duty was
something that he passed

Onto her.

♪ ♪

Meera: Not only did elizabeth
have the pressure of her new

Job, she also had to handle the
changing dynamics with those

Closest to her--including her
mother.

Dr. Anna whitelock: The death
of george vi had been a kind

Of, you know, thunderbolt for
both of them.

The queen mother lost her kind
of status as being the queen,

And her daughter suddenly
became officially her superior.

♪ ♪

Meera: The queen's coronation
made explicit the new balance

Of power between the two women.

♪ ♪

Dr. Whitelock: For the queen,
it was a very difficult sort of

World to negotiate, this idea
of being totally in many ways

Dependant on the sort of
emotional support of her

Mother, but at the same time
being queen.

Meera: Perhaps more difficult
was managing her husband,

Who'd had to leave the job he
loved in order to support

His wife.

Their roles had been reversed.

This just was not an age where
men gave up their careers

For their wives.

This was a man who was
predicted to go right to the

Top of the navy without his
royal connections,

Just on his own merit.

♪ ♪

Jane: The idea that the queen's
husband should be emasculated

In the way that prince philip
is was something that very,

Very sort of alien to most
people at that time.

Meera: But it was a situation
that arose with her sister

Margaret which would really
test the young queen.

Lady anne glenconner was one of
the queen's maids of honour.

She'd also been a playmate of
the royal sisters when she was

A child.

I knew the queen and princess
margaret when they were

Quite small.

The queen was about nine, eight
or nine, and the queen was

Very--used to look after
princess--princess margaret was

Quite naughty, I think, and she
was always saying,

"oh, margaret mustn't do that."

But she was always looking out
for her, and I think they had

A very nice relationship.

Meera: Not long before the
coronation, princess margaret

Had told her sister that she
wanted to get married.

Lady glenconner: Peter townsend
was the late king's equerry

And was a war hero and very
good-looking, and I think

Princess margaret, you know,
just fell in love with him.

Meera: But townsend had been
married before,

And this was a problem.

The royal marriages act of 1772
dictated that as margaret was

Under 25, she needed the
queen's permission to marry.

It must have been very hard for
elizabeth when she discovered

That margaret, her sister,
a sister she adored,

Was in love with a divorced man.

Meera: For elizabeth, the
situation was even more fraught.

She was the head of the church
which deeply disapproved

Of divorce.

Elizabeth was faced with this
terrible personal conflict:

Deny her sister her future,
her happiness,

Or go against the teachings of
the church of England.

She was a supreme governor of
the church of England.

Meera: The last time a member
of her family had wanted to

Marry a divorcée, it had led to
the abdication.

This scandal was still fresh in
the mind of her prime minister

Winston churchill who was
completely opposed to the union.

Jane: The queen is under very
strong pressure from the

Politicians, particularly,
to prevent this marriage.

Meera: Elizabeth wanted to
avoid any confrontation with

Her government, particularly so
early on in her reign,

So she played for time.

She asked her sister to wait
until she was 25,

Then she could marry without
elizabeth's consent.

Penny: Elizabeth was very young
and new in the job and cowed by

The establishment.

Meera: Three years later,
margaret turned 25.

Elizabeth waited while her
sister made her final decision.

♪ ♪

The queen was mightily relieved
when margaret herself,

Under considerable pressure,
came to the conclusion that she

Would not go ahead
with the marriage.

Meera: The margaret affair was
a pivotal moment.

Elizabeth had been forced to
choose between her sister

And what was best
for the monarchy.

She obviously put duty first,
at the detriment of her

Sister's happiness, and I think
that was always a source of

Huge sadness for the queen.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Meera: In 1953, the queen went
on a six-month tour of

The commonwealth.

She left her two young children
at home.

The queen had a full-time job
in an era where mothers were

Largely expected to stay at
home.

Her maternal role was
particularly scrutinized.

If the queen had been a man,
I think her position as monarch

Would have been infinitely
easier.

The problem is you have this
kind of mismatch between

The queen's role and accepted
gender roles in 1950's britain.

♪ ♪

Helen: Being a high-powered
working mother in the public

Eye was not a social norm.

Negotiating between their
maternal status, their identity

As mothers, and their power
status and public image was not

At all straightforward.

Meera: In the privacy of the
palace, the queen and prince

Philip navigated his shift from
rising star to supporting act.

Jennie: I think that the queen
early on did something very

Clever, which was she knew that
she was now the boss,

But at home, she decided philip
should rule the roost.

Meera: While the queen worked,
philip took on the main

Parenting responsibilities.

Jane: The queen experienced the
kind of conflicts that any

Working mother experiences.

Balancing her--you know, her
role as mother with her role as

Queen really wasn't at all easy.

You can't--you know, you can't
do things like be a part-time

Queen, like you can be
part-time to work.

Being queen is full on,
and there it is.

Meera: Despite the demands of
being monarch,

Eight years into her reign, the
queen gave birth to her

Third child, prince andrew.

Daisy goodwin: I can only
assume that elizabeth enjoyed

Being a mother; otherwise, you
know, she had the choice,

Unlike victoria--victoria had
to have nine children because

She loved sex and had no
contraception.

Whereas, elizabeth, when she
came to the throne, she could

Have decided not to have had
more children.

Meera: By 1964, edward joined
charles, anne, and andrew,

And as the royal family
expanded,

The queen became a touchstone
for working women.

Daisy: I think it must have had
a huge effect on the society,

Because suddenly, it was
realized that a woman could be

A wife and a mother and
perfectly competent

To do her job.

You know, that having children
did not stop her being

An effective queen.

Meera: The queen hadn't let her
gender define what she was

Capable of as a monarch,
and she was soon to be joined by

Two other women, also in the
public eye,

Who didn't bow to convention.

♪ ♪

Meera: The 1960s and '70s
saw massive social, political,

And cultural change in britain.

Women were fighting for
equality, and after wide-scale

Protests throughout the
country, 1970 saw the

Introduction of the equal pay
act.

Protestors: Equal pay!

Meera: From being a female
trailblazer, the queen began to

Look old-fashioned and out of
step.

Jennie: I would never put the
queen down as a feminist or in

The forefront of the revolution.

She wasn't part of the swinging
'60s in any way.

♪ ♪

Meera: Women's lives were
changing, and in 1979,

A glass ceiling was smashed
which would shake the nation.

Margaret thatcher was elected
as britain's first female

Prime minster.

Now, there were two women
occupying the most powerful

Positions in the country.

Her majesty the queen has asked
me to form a new administration.

For a woman of the queen's
generation, it must have been

Quite a milestone for britain
finally to have a female

Prime minister.

I think even margaret thatcher
was herself quite surprised

To have this role.

She had said back in the '50s
that britain will never have

A female prime minister,
not in her lifetime.

Meera: Margaret thatcher had
lived through the war and was

Almost the same age as the
queen.

There, the similarities ended.

♪ ♪

Mrs. Thatcher and the queen
were very different women.

They both were occupying the
most powerful positions

In the state, but the queen owed
her position obviously to birth,

And margaret thatcher owed her
position to education

And hard work.

They were oil and water.

They were chalk and cheese.

Roya: A lot was made of the
fact that the queen apparently

And margaret thatcher didn't
really get on personally.

I don't think that's right.

I think they actually did get
on quite well.

I think it was more her
politics that possibly the

Queen had more of an issue with.

♪ ♪

Jane: There's a real difference
between the politics of the

Queen and the politics of mrs.
Thatcher.

Meera: The 1980's were marked
by massive economic upheaval

And social unrest.

♪ ♪

Jane: Mrs. Thatcher's approach
was abrasive, confrontational.

It involved, you know, the poll
tax and the miners' strike

And all of these very divisive
issues.

The queen, by contrast,
hated confrontation.

So, although she probably
agreed with some of the things

That thatcher was trying to
achieve, the methods of mrs.

Thatcher's government where I
think pretty distasteful to her.

And so, there was a certain
amount of real

Political tension.

♪ ♪

Meera: During the thatcher
years, another woman burst into

The queen's life.

The monarchy was to be shaken
to its core by the arrival

Of diana, princess of wales.

[crowd cheering]

Eve pollard: You have a
middle-aged queen and prince

Philip, you have a middle-aged
princess margaret,

And suddenly, you have this
stunning woman.

We've suddenly got a film star.

We've suddenly got glamour.

We've suddenly got someone new.

♪ ♪

Meera: And diana embodied
completely different values.

Katie: Traditionalism was very,
very important to the queen.

She followed--she followed a
template, and that was her

Father's template.

When diana married into the
royal family, it was clear that

She wanted to shake things up.

She went against the royal
grain.

There's that famous photograph,
isn't there, of diana kind of

Leaning down and stretching her
arms out towards her little

Boys, and they run into her
arms.

[camera shutters clicking]

That would be unthinkable for
the queen to have done that.

Unthinkable.

♪ ♪

Meera: The queen had a very
different relationship with her

Son when he was growing up.

Roya: Prince of wales spoke
occasionally about his somewhat

Distant relationship with his
mother.

He spoke about her not always
being there for him.

Penny: He adores the queen,
but it was a--she was almost

On a pedestal to him.

She wasn't a real
flesh-and-blood mother.

♪ ♪

Meera: Certainly, she was
unable to help his relationship

And could only look on as his
marriage to diana collapsed.

Jennie: The diana years were
incredibly difficult

For the queen.

She was not by nature someone
who was going to involve

Herself in her children's
marriage.

The queen was the kind of
mother who put her head

In the sand about it.

♪ ♪

Meera: The queen hoped that the
problems in the wales' marriage

Would resolve themselves.

Possibly she could've put her
foot down with the prince of

Wales and said, you know, "you
either make this work or you

Don't and you cut your losses"
sooner.

It was dragged out for so much
longer than I think anyone

Would have wanted.

But perhaps that is a testament
to the fact that she didn't

Have the closest relationship
with the prince of wales.

And had she tried to put her
foot down, would he have

Listened to her?

Probably not.

♪ ♪

Meera: In 1997, the queen was
confronted by a tragedy,

Which presented her with the
greatest challenge of her life

As a monarch, a matriarch,
and a grandmother.

There was a massive outpouring
of grief at diana's death and a

Growing demand that the queen
should leave her scottish home,

Balmoral, and return to the
capital to console the crowds.

Everybody thought, "when are
they going to come down

To london?"

But she was thinking of the
boys and charles.

And I think only now people are
starting to look at it and

Saying, "yeah, she wasn't
thinking of us, she was

Thinking about those two boys."

Meera: At the time, her
decision to stay secluded in

Scotland looked like a
near-fatal mistake.

Lady glenconner: I think the
queen was absolutely right.

I think prince william and
prince harry needed her there.

It wasn't necessary for her to
go down right at the beginning.

I mean, she wanted time with
them, tried to make it better

Before they all went down to
london.

Meera: Under pressure, the
queen finally buckled and came

Back to london ahead of
schedule to address

The grieving nation.

So, what I say to you now,
as your queen and as a

Grandmother, I say from my
heart.

Meera: She defused a potential
crisis.

This had been almost the only
time in her reign when she had

Put family before the people.

And ironically, she'd been
pilloried for it.

I think in the days after
diana's death, that was when I

Think we saw the queen as a
vulnerable, elderly woman.

Somehow, it seemed to be
important to remember her

Feminine side then.

She was a mother, she was a
grandmother, and she was queen.

Meera: The queen acknowledged
that there were lessons to be

Learned from diana.

Diana's death shifted the
landscape.

It was the one moment in the
queen's reign where she almost

Lost control.

She almost lost the faith of
her nation.

And I think it did force the
royal family, you know,

The queen and the wider royal
family, to stand back and take

A good long think about itself.

♪ ♪

Daisy: That was a turning point
for her, and to her credit, she

Realized that, you know, she
had to change the way that she

Did things, and she had to kind
of, you know,

Appease her subjects.

♪ ♪

Meera: As the new millennium
dawned, the queen had been

Forced to listen to public
opinion, and she tried to adapt

And modernize the monarchy to
make it fit

For the 21st century.

Roya: I think whenever
throughout her reign she'd seen

Public mood changing, she has
almost always moved with it.

Meera: She knew that the
monarchy had to be seen as

Value for money, so under
pressure, she volunteered to

Pay tax, open up the royal
residences, and began to slim

Down the number of full-time
royals.

Daisy: I think probably the
most important thing that she

Did was the concentration of
the monarchy on her, charles,

And charles' children and tried
to sort of slim it down so that

You don't have too many royals
cluttering up the landscape.

Because if you have too many of
them, you know, they become

Expensive, they become, you
know, people who can get into

Trouble, who can be--bring
disgrace upon the monarchy.

So, you've gotta keep your cast
list fairly small.

♪ ♪

Meera: In 2002, the queen
suffered two significant losses.

Her sister, princess margaret,
and her mother both passed away

Within seven weeks of each
other.

Dr. Whitelock: The queen mother
was an indomitable figure.

She had a real zest for life
right to her end but was a huge

Influence, both sort of good
and bad, I think,

Over her daughter.

Some people would sort of
describe how the queen mother's

Presence for the queen was kind
of suffocating or sort of

Domineering.

♪ ♪

Daisy: I think probably the
death of the queen mother must

Have been a watershed for
elizabeth.

I guess no one really, really
grows up until both their

Parents are dead.

And I think maybe that was the
point at which she could allow

Herself to relax slightly into
her role.

[crowd applauding]

♪ ♪

Meera: After 70 years of living
in the shadow of a former

Queen, elizabeth reinvented
herself, and a softer,

Less formal monarch emerged.

[camera shutters click]

♪ ♪

Meera: By the time of her 90th
birthday celebrations,

The queen had been on the throne
for 64 years.

She had already broken every
record for royal longevity,

For kings or queens.

She had devised a simple job
description for her unique

Role: To see and be seen.

Daisy: She has very little real
constitutional power.

Her most important sort of role
was to be seen.

That's why she's laid so many
foundation stones,

Cut so many ribbons.

Meera: I reinvigorated queen
was now set to beat all records

Held by her famous royal
predecessors.

♪ ♪

♪

May god bless her and all who
sail in her.

[crowd cheering]

♪ ♪

Meera: By the end of her reign,
the queen had ruled for longer

Than any proceeding british
monarch.

Queen elizabeth: I declare
before you all that my whole

Life, whether it be long or
short, shall be devoted

To your service.

Meera: And she was true to her
word, guiding the nation

Through seven decades, whilst
raising a family that spanned

Four generations in a world
that was changing

Beyond recognition.

But her long reign was a
balancing act.

Jane: One has to realize that
throughout her life as queen,

She has constantly been torn by
the conflict between her

Position as a woman, as a
mother, as a grandmother, and

On the other hand her duty as
queen to keep the show

On the road.

And what I think has been
completely exceptional about

The queen is her ability to
negotiate that really difficult

Path between these two
conflicting forces.

♪ ♪

Meera: As the years passed,
the balance shifted.

She began to invest in the
future, devoting time she

Didn't have for your children
to her grandchildren.

It is quite common, I think,
for parents to have a better

Relationship with their
grandchildren than they have

With their own children,
and I think this is certainly

True of the queen.

Jane: She obviously clearly
took great pleasure in spending

Time with them.

And in a sense, she also
became, if you like,

The grandmother of the nation,
the grandmother of her people.

♪ ♪

[crowd cheering]

Meera: In 2011, the world
looked on as her grandson,

Prince william, wed kate
middleton.

They represented the future of
the monarchy.

And to ensure the institution
remained relevant, the queen

Introduced a major reform to
the succession to the crown act.

She instigated the change
across the commonwealth that

The duke and duchess of
cambridge's firstborn,

Whether it was a boy or a girl,
should be an heir.

[crowd cheering]

Roya: And I think that tells
you everything you need to know

About how important the queen
thought it was that an example

Was set and women were equal
with men when it came to rights

And inheritance and positions
of power.

♪ ♪

Meera: Having seen her own
children's marriages suffer,

The queen was determined to
smooth the transition to royal

Life for the younger generation.

And in 2018, when prince harry
married meghan markle,

She again lent her support.

Katie: She recognized the
importance of the monarchy

Needing to be seen to be
progressive, modern,

Forward-thinking.

And harry and meghan
represented that.

So, it wasn't just in the
queen's interest as a

Grandmother to see harry
happily married, it was in her

Interest as queen to see this
marriage be a success.

♪ ♪

[camera shutters click]

Meera: A month after the
wedding, the queen broke with

Tradition by inviting meghan to
accompany her to chester,

Travelling overnight on the
royal train.

Man: Welcome to chester.

Good to see ya.

Meghan markle: Thank you so
much.

The queen taking meghan to
chester was a really important

Engagement.

I mean, I can't think of
another occasion where she's

Invited a member of her family
to join her onboard the royal

Train to stay the night.

And this was a very generous
and intimate gesture

On the queen's part, but also
quite a deliberate one.

Meghan wanted to hit the ground
running, and we saw the queen

Essentially give her one of her
most trusted members of staff

From an early stage.

This was samantha cohen.

Meera: The queen had perhaps
come to understand that her

Family needed her support,
but she needed theirs.

♪ ♪

Meera: Indeed, her growing
family brought enormous joy

To the queen in her old age.

Katie: When you look at that
picture of the queen

And the duke of edinburgh
surrounded by this flock of

Beautiful great-grandchildren,
it's not surprising that the

Queen once said that she didn't
feel terribly old.

I mean, they kept her on her
toes.

And one of the things that she
looked forward to most during

The year was that final bank
holiday in the August, when all

The grandchildren were invited
up and all the great-children,

And, you know, they'd by flying
down the corridors on scooters

And bashing up the paintwork,
and the queen loved it.

The duke used to get exhausted,
but the queen absolutely

Loved it.

♪ ♪

Meera: However, in her final
years, family relationships

Came under strain.

Jane: This was something that
we could perhaps most of us

Identify with, these kind of
problems.

Every family has problems, but
if you have a family on the

Throne, those problems are
going to be magnified and known

About and publicly discussed in
a way which must be incredibly

Difficult to deal with.

♪ ♪

Meera: In her response to her
grandson harry's decision to

Step back from royal life,
we glimpsed the steely

Determination that underscored
the queen's commitment

To the crown.

Despite desperately wanting to
smooth the situation over,

She eventually drew a line.

Katie: There was a ruthless
streak that ran through the

Queen, quite simply because
there had to be.

This was harry, this was her
beloved grandson.

The queen wanted more than
anything for harry and meghan

To give it another shot and
make a success of it.

But when they decided that they
wanted out or rather a half-in,

Half-out agreement with the
monarchy, the queen put her

Foot down, very firmly indeed.

As a grandmother, that must
have been incredibly difficult.

But as monarch, if that meant
safeguarding and protecting the

Future of the house of windsor
then that had to take

Precedence over everything else.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Queen elizabeth: He has quite
simply been my strength and

Stay all these years, and I and
his whole family, and this and

Many other countries, owe him a
debt greater than he would ever

Claim or we shall ever know.

Meera: Her constant and
unwavering support came from

Her husband, prince philip.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's been
a challenge for us; however,

I think that the main lesson
that we've learned is that

Tolerance is the one essential
ingredient of any

Happy marriage.

It may not be quite so
important when things are going

Well, but it is absolutely
vital when things get difficult.

And you can take it from me
that the queen has the quality

Of tolerance in abundance.

[laughter]

[applause]

Roya: It was a love match.

The fact that they had an
extraordinary marriage for more

Than 70 years I think just goes
to show the strength,

The feeling between
both of them.

Meera: Not only did they have a
happy marriage,

They managed to carve out a
successful working partnership.

And the queen suffered a great
loss with his death

In April 2021.

She talked about him as
her--you know,

Her great stay and her
great strength.

And clearly, you know, he spent
years, decades walking

Officially one step behind her.

[guns fired]

♪ ♪

Katie: It was an incredibly
powerful and moving moment as

She sat there, sort of stooped
in grief, almost barely visible

Because of the black hat and
the mask burying her husband.

Looking onto that coffin from
her solo seat in the abbey is

Probably the moment that she
actually connected

With her people.

You would had to have had a
heart of steel not to have felt

Sorrow for her.

♪ ♪

Meera: A mere four days after
losing her husband,

Queen elizabeth
returned to work.

Jane: Everybody expected her to
take some time off,

But it was almost as if the
queen felt that she

Sort of needed her work, and
that this sort of allowed her

To forget about her misery.

My lords, pray be seated.

Katie: The state opening of
parliament was the first big

Thing that she did which was
very poignant because we were

So used to seeing two thrones,
and this time,

There was only one.

And yet, the queen seemed to be
carrying out these engagements

With a renewed sense of life
and energy and a joie de vivre

About her.

And I think that was probably
her realizing that she will

Also die at some point and that
she still had work to do.

And she wanted to do that.

And philip would have wanted
her to do that.

[crowd cheering]

Her role as queen was crucial
to her, and she was going to

Continue that role under any
circumstances.

It was very impressive actually.

Particularly if you think back
to queen victoria who

After the death of prince albert
had refused to appear

In public for years.

- There is a knife.
- I know there is.

[laughter]

This is something that is more
unusual.

Her daughter-in-law camilla
became an important support

In the queen's last years.

Katie: The rise of camilla has
been an incredible

Metamorphosis.

And I think when you look back
to the diamond jubilee in 2012,

One of the most important
moments during that jubilee was

Seeing the queen and camilla
seated next to each other in

The carriage as it made its way
from the service of

Thanksgiving to the palace.

And this was 15 years after the
death of the princess of wales,

A time when the queen wouldn't
even have camilla's name

Uttered in the palace.

And here she was sitting
alongside camilla.

And it was--it was a very, very
important moment.

It was a moment that signalled
to the world here she was as

Queen of the united kingdom and
the commonwealth next to

Camilla, a future queen.

When you think about it, it is
actually remarkable that the

Queen only owed her throne to
the fact that her uncle wanted

To marry a divorced woman, and
yet, at the end of the reign,

Here we have a position where
the queen is comfortable with

The fact that the succession is
to be in the hands of two

Divorced people: Prince charles
and his consort camilla.

♪ ♪

♪ [organ] ♪

♪ [crowd singing] ♪

Meera: Throughout her reign,
the queen was an inspiration

To women from her generation and
beyond.

I don't think she perhaps
realized, but, I mean,

She was a most
wonderful role model.

I think that a lot of people,
my age anyway,

Admired her tremendously.

I wouldn't say she was a
strident active feminist,

And I didn't think she'd ever
perceived herself as such,

But I think she's probably very
aware of the impact that,

You know, being a strong woman
from the 1950s for all those

Decades, the impact that had on
woman across the world.

[crowd cheering]

My government will continue to
give resolute support to the

Work of the united nations.

Meera: In the end, it was her
commitment to service that

Defined the queen's long reign
as head of state.

Kate: The queen was a monarch
who lived through a world war,

Who lived through man's first
landing on the moon,

The digital revolution, a queen
who in her 90s sent

Her first tweet.

Whether you're young or old,
the queen represents continuity

And stability and certainty.

♪ ♪

[crowd cheering]

Eve: She brought something to
this country that has made us

Punch above our weight, be a
source of fascination all

Around the world, and she did
that by never letting us down,

By honouring us with her
service.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪