After Elizabeth II: Monarchy In Peril? (British Royal Family Documentary) | Timeline

[Music] in the depths of a British winter the House of Windsor is under siege amid calls for an end to monarchy even its staunchest supporters are making surprising concessions at a debate in Oxford [Applause] [Music] [Applause] spokesperson for a nation why is an elderly neatly privileged white a better choice that someone connected kill a majority but fundamental issue before us in this debate is whether we believe in democracy or in what is fundamentally a relic of Judaism [Applause] say what they will about the twelve hundred year old monarchy the world's most coveted photo-op is still with the Queen Elizabeth rains like few others now 83 she still basks in the afterglow of a spectacular beginning when three million people lined the streets of London for her coronation [Music] just 27 years old the striking young monarch seemed to be ushering in a new Elizabethan era which she'd vowed would last a lifetime the stylish beginning has been followed by nearly six decades of pomp pageantry melodrama and tragedy the Queen now the oldest monarch in British history has aged gracefully and endured stoic ly just about everything but fate and her family have thrown at her the Queen is an exemplary figure unfortunately it's all the straphangers those lower down the line that let her down but here's the rough those down the lines are in the line of succession fearing what may happen when one of the world's hardest acts to follow exits the stage millions of Elizabeth's fans wish she could live forever people want the Queen to go on and on but mrs. Thatcher famously said she was gonna go on and on and on and within a year it was all over for her [Music] the best guarded Ravens in the world are found at the Tower of London legend has it that if they leave the kingdom will fall their wings are clipped and there's plenty of backup but chances are the tower will be keeping a close eye on its birds when Elizabeth passes that's because the next succession will mark a turning point for the House of Windsor presenting more peril than promised to its dynasty they have to have the right person leading if they make a bad choice then that will be the end of the monarchy Moe marks once ruled through fear today they must court popularity a tough job for the controversial and opinionated heir apparent Prince Charles when Elizabeth Windsor dies and she's replaced by a highly political deeply weird man the debate will be transformed particularly since he has announced he intends to interfere with politics using his unelected position to lobby for eccentric political causes an overtly political king will be death for the monarchy people who are uncomfortable with Charles sometimes see a savior in his elder son but 27 year old William is a reluctant royal haunted by the deadly price his mother Princess Diana paid for fame he and especially his brother Harry have also been living dangerously serving up some spicy photo ops for the paparazzi excessive alcohol Claudia now punching out a Nazi in a Nazi uniform I mean you would never have seen the old Royals even dream of doing this it's live as its photographed on the street it's around the world in literally minutes Prince Charles was born into a world of great deference to royalty where nobody had even heard of the word paparazzi let us give thanks to Almighty God for the birth of a son Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth these are the first newsreel pictures taken since his christening of Prince Charles now eight months old the world's most famous baby the boy born to be King Charles had a long apprenticeship ahead of him his mother became queen when he was just three and sometimes abandoned him two nannies for months at a time loneliness and his father's Stern criticism made him feel insecure and unlistenable says his biographer he is made of much more steel than some people think after attending strict boarding schools Charles got an elite education at Cambridge he was invested Prince of Wales and polished his CV for King in the Armed Forces the prince boogied through his twenties in a carefree quest for a wife and future queen Charles scored what seemed to everyone a dream bride in Lady Diana Spencer and forsaking all other keep so long as you both shall live I will but the couple's 15-year marriage which produced Princes William and Harry unraveled in separation divorce and disaster this is what's left of the Mercedes in which the Princess of Wales and her companion Dodi al-fayed were being driven back to his house witnesses say the car was being pursued by photographers on motorbikes eight years after Diana's death Charles daringly married his longtime lover Camilla parker-bowles and continued waiting to be king another military salute for the Prince of Wales as he turns 60 only one other heir apparent in British history has ever waited so long to take the crown he is still as determined as ever to be king he already talks about what his monarchy will be like it's full steam ahead for Prince Charles to become King Charles although my view he'll become King George because there are too many connotations with King Charles the first one had his head chopped off after all the second one was a terrible philanderer and the third one was Bonnie Prince Charlie who never got to be king so he may think Charles let's go for a safer option the inauspicious name may be the least of Charles's worries the man who would be king carries some daunting liabilities high on the list is the Lady Diana factor so many people who adored the late Princess of Wales believe that Charles treated her in a shabby manner and only pretended to love her I suppose we've all been brought up to believe the kings and queens is supposed to be better their children and princes and princesses are supposed to lead by example unfortunately that's not the way of the world today Charles's missteps began with his engagement he was secretly in love with another woman and couldn't quite hide it [Music] flaky to some cynical to others Charles's attitude toward the young Diana was anything but forthright as their relationship disintegrated the Prince of Wales admitted to two-timing his wife with the still married Camilla parker-bowles his integrity was undermined his character called into question retaliating in a television interview watched by 23 million Britons Lady Diana did her husband no favors by suggesting that a man confused in his heart is unsuited to be king I would think that the top job as I call it would bring enormous limitations to him I don't know whether he could adapt to that would it be your wish that when Prince William comes of age that he were to succeed the Queen rather than the print of the current Prince of Wales my wish is that my husband finds peace of mind and from that follows other things yes for questioning Charles's place in the line of succession the Princess of Wales was ejected from the royal family and stripped of her title but Diana's daring insinuation that the crown should skip a generation has survived her death today some people are convinced that the monarchy needs a renewal that Charles cannot bring William they say would be a cool King most of the contemporaries that I speak to would insist that actually William is the better person for the job that in a modern world with a modern monarchy you need a young fresh King many people look at William and see a lot of Diana aesthetically they're so very very similar the same sort of doleful eyes similar expressions I think also William has inherited a lot of Diana's kindness his friends always Tommy is incredibly generous he's very warm-hearted but wills has got a lot of his father in him too and not just a passion for polo for seven years he's been keeping the media guessing about his on-again off-again girlfriend Kate Middleton she's deemed eminently suitable by Palace and public but has had to endure several breakups and has been dubbed way tkt by the press the young Prince may have inherited the romantic confuse that undermined his father Williams indecision is beginning to look like a character flaw if the relationship with Kate is not what he wants he needs to end it because what will be terrible and really devastating for the royal family is if he dumps Kate two or three years down the line and then decides that actually he wants to have a bit of fun because Kate will be seen as the tragic figure who waited and waited and he would have seen as a CAD [Music] Charles has traveled halfway around the world and not just to watch the mating dance of the blue footed boobies in this place where exotic wildlife inspired Darwin to investigate the Origin of Species the future king warns about their coming extinction he is very much not one of life softness and unhappily I respect on most of the big issues it's a view that is widely shared because the future doesn't look great during a stopover in Brazil a traditional royal might have danced the Samba and left but Charles is in the heart of the Amazon to voice his horror at the destruction of the rainforest and what he sees as the imminent disaster of climate change I'm afraid it's got to the point where the urgency and the emergency is such that as I said the other day in Rio we do only have a hundred months left to act back in England the activist Prince serves up organic carrots to schoolchildren and blasts genetically modified crops known organic farmer expressed his views on GM crops in such negative terms generally painting a picture of imminent environmental apocalypse on other days the prince will opine on anything from inner city problems to educational reform he was trapped aboard an extremely traditional extremely conservative model of Education that was based on rote learning poetry well I don't think that's that that's wise and brilliant I think that's really quite backward and then there are the grace girls Prince Charles wants many of them killed off so the indigenous red squirrel can make a comeback he's known behind the scenes as the meddling Prince of Wales he writes letters to government ministers all the time he bombard them he drives them insane by the time he gets to this room we're pretty much know his view on just about everything except who he wants to win the football whatever people think of Prince Charles's causes the question remains how such passionate advocacy can square with a future king who's meant to stay out of politics different sovereigns for different times what I think is the foot in the air if you like because these are very delicate constitutional areas is that he will be a more obviously engaged King he might well use his position on environmental questions warning advising more publicly than the Queen could conceivably do so speaking on behalf of the issues and he would like to think that's where the delicacy comes in on behalf of the country as well auntie monarchists are up in arms at the very thought of an opinionated King Charles Windsor keeps saying you know I will use the authority of my position to argue for what I believe in but well he doesn't seem to understand is there is no authority to his position it's caused by the accident of birth he has no more right to speak for the British people than the next random person I see at the bus stop but he seems to have got it into his head that because he happened to a path through Elizabeth Windsor's womb he has some mystical right to speak for the nation he doesn't in a democracy authority comes from voting lines not bloodlines [Music] an awards ceremony at London's Westminster Abbey ends and host Prince Harry leaves with the clergy this is the way a royal earns his keep without controversy but the day job can get pretty dull for the young prince's so Harry and William like to mix it up when they have time off splash some money around and get into a little trouble Harry is a master at that as a teenager he got busted for underage drinking and smoking dope later he wore a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party and fought with photographers that's the kind of action that turns the paparazzi on it's better than sitting there photographing a waxwork and let's face it most rules look like the back end of a bus the modern generation it has become absolutely you know sexy paparazzi and the world want to see it at the height of William and Harry's partying days a London newspaper reporter set out to investigate some of the exclusive nightclubs famously frequented by the princess she was well equipped to identify what she was looking for illegal drugs I wrote to the US and I bought some of these hurricane swaps they used by the csi's in America and he swapped them over the surface if it's covered in cocaine it comes up for you really what's the most obvious the drug piece I mean effectively it was like a private house part that he would see a lot of people walking when I went to the toilets to swab the Lee's I mean it was just everywhere and everything in the toilet sort of allowed the druggies everything is flat surfaces they were careers on the toilet roll holders add another of the princess favorite clubs it was more of the same when I went into the toilet there was a tiny very low ledge on the ground really covered in grime and I thought well that see any flat surface I'll swipe it I'm a whole thing again turn please and there were flecks of cocaine they're so mean literally girls that have to be on their knees on a really grubby toilet floor it's nothing cocaine there is no doubt that all the clubs they were frequenting had cocaine use inside Pearlman's report made no suggestion that the princes themselves were taking cocaine but the idea of royalty with police protection mingling with illicit drug users raised more than a few eyebrows when Williams $20,000 bar bill one night was leaked to the press it hardly made things better didn't go down well our readers didn't like it they wanted to know what these good-for-nothing princes and I quote we're up to sometimes Prince William was in a serious trouble as his younger brother but Palace PR strong-armed the press to cover it up if somebody rang up and said look I saw William punch of guys lights out at a party because it was drunk that didn't get in the press because the newspaper proprietors and their editors we do deal saying well you give me another story and I won't run that bad one about William because William has to be shielded he has to be protected he has to be whiter than white all sorts of Machiavellian things going on in the palace this these people are fighting for survival so Harry the spare not the air is typecast as the black sheep and only occasionally complains about the coverage he gets his truth and his lies and unfortunately I can't get the truth across because I don't have my own column in the paper which I'm thinking about getting on second thought Harry decided to forego journalism and focus on his military career he transformed his image from party boy - fighting royal his foray into Afghanistan made for some exceptional TV footage it at least temporarily drove the earlier transgressions of swastikas and drunkenness from a public's mind should Harry suddenly go off the rails again I think it could be very damaging for the monarchy there's no point in having a monarchy unless your public can relate to you and actually can love you when you have vastly more wealth than most of your subjects their love is never guaranteed especially when taxpayers spend 80 million dollars a year to keep you in style what about a hundred million dollars more to protect you there are a lot of hidden costs to the monarchy for example whenever they go on a foreign trip they charge all that clothes expenses to the local embassy that's a staggering amount of money and maybe next time I go to Spain oh-ho I'll charge my clothes bill to the embassy and see what they say but monarchists and palace PR insist Royals are good value for money just think of all the tourists they bring in or do they the idea that the monarchy is good for tourism doesn't really stand up to scrutiny the Royal Palaces ranked very lowly in terms of tourist attractions Windsor Castle for example on the top is even below Legoland which is just a few miles away and if you compare say the Royal Palaces in Britain and France the Palace of Versailles just outside of Paris whether I know Royals and residents and the Royals are long departed centuries ago it has far far more tourists than any of the world palaces in Britain so we don't need the Royals to bring in a torus [Music] the gritty port town of Liverpool is untouched by royal splendor but it's working-class neighbourhoods produced the most famous rock group of the 20th century Buckingham Palace made the upstart Beatles into members of the British Empire in no time and it's Sir Paul McCartney now [Music] but the monarchy would be hard-pressed to co-opt a lot of struggling young people here today these street musicians playing for change outside the club where the Beatles got their start say it's time for the royal family took bow out I think the monarchy is I'd like to see no one ask for Elizabeth because I basically I don't really see a point in the monarchy there we spend taxes on them so they're in a big nice house and that well there's people like going hungry on the streets you know that then taxes could go towards being you know I think so every waste [Music] this town just north of London is more prosperous than Liverpool and seemingly more friendly to the monarchy that may have something to do with Huntington's history in the 17th century native son Oliver Cromwell had King Charles the First's head chopped off and created Britain's short-lived Republic it all ended in political chaos and Cromwell skull was later impaled on a pike in London Huntington residents have drawn a sobering conclusion I don't think Cromwell as years were particularly happy years for the country I think we need the stabilizing influence of the monarchy everything is working well so leave well alone my heart tells me that what we have is good the monarchy has lasted for an awful long time and will probably continue to do so long live the Queen [Music] the debate on the street continues in the August chambers of the Oxford Union with starved guests and students ready to duke it out for the crowd Republicans are pushing a motion of no confidence in the monarchy the Queen's supporters led by the best in the world when we get to choose to live under this monarchy when did we choose the not have a choice when where our voices when our votes because we have not talked about the vast quantities of money which we heap upon this dysfunctional family it is incredibly easy to calm at the institution it's incredibly easy to see its frailties it does represent the nation quite effectively I challenge anyone to find a better way of doing it one of the most offensive aspects of monarchy is that it is based on the principle that even the most immoral incompetent royal should be our head of state in preference to the most wise and moral common what is great about the monarchy is that they are not hostage to the need to be reelected the next time at the Manik cannot be a party is not other party and is therefore there for everyone she's neither she is just prince william the reluctant royal has followed his brother into the military and is burnishing his image as an officer and a gentleman but unlike Harry he's not going to get any warzone experience he's too close to the throne for the country to risk it the prince has managed to draw fire from his superiors however by joyriding with an army helicopter on the first occasion he landed a Chinook in a field near the house of girlfriend Kate Middleton it was the same aircraft he used on a separate occasion to pick up brother Harry enroute to a stag party peccadilloes aside some see the son of the people's princess becoming the perfect people's King softening the hard edges and formality associated with the Windsors but William seemed to lack enthusiasm for the job only a few years ago he was telling friends he would never mount the throne he had a real problem with his future a real problem with his destiny he couldn't get his head around it he didn't want to be king he'd seen his mother hounded by the paparazzi day-in day-out it was something he didn't want to have to take on the media's 24/7 hounding of royalty inspired author Johann Hari to write a book arguing that the monarchy should be abolished on purely humanitarian grounds in a age of massive media intrusion to effectively bear children into the Truman Show where they're constantly going to be watched they're never gonna be privacy it's extraordinarily cruel to the Windsor family the cruelty to both young princes was compounded by the obsessive coverage the media gave to their parents troubled marriage and the circus chances of their mother's death in Paris they believe not wrongly that their mother was chased to death by photographers now to then tell them that they have to spend the rest of their lives working with these people feeding these people giving succor to these people is a pretty cool thing today Williams resentment of the media became evident in his teens when a crowd of photographers ambushed him on a day off he just went crazy and started screaming at them saying why are you following me everywhere why won't you let me be a normal person and it's a very good question why won't we let him be a normal person you know with most celebrities and the intrusion on their privacy can be ugly but at the end of the day you can say to them look you could have chosen another life you could have chosen to do something else you can't say that - William Windsor in recent years Williams seems to have grown more accepting of his fate as a royal in the limelight one day he may even relish the thought of becoming King but that won't bring him any closer to Coronation because barring extraordinary circumstances his father gets the ground first these intelligent engaging journalists who have to fill space will speculate endlessly about whether or not William might succeed I can tell you I'd bet my life on it bet my house on it it will not happen the hereditary principle which is the only one we've got if you have a monarchy has to apply and that is down to the firstborn male but the firstborn male didn't last very long in Edward the eighth's case in 1936 in a traumatic moment for the royal family and the nation the Prime Minister forced Edward to abdicate when the King announced he wanted to marry a divorcee American Wallis Simpson a future government sensing Charles was undermining the monarchy could depose a king again says Tony Benn if the establishment of the powers would be thought that Prince Charles would embarrass them or weaken them they'd jump over and go straight to Prince William they're only interested in the system there's no loyalty to the person of the crown wedding the mistress who many believed destroyed the Princess of Wales's happiness was a dangerous choice for the future head of the Church of England with Camilla at Charles's side the public is constantly reminded of the adulteress ending of his first marriage to understand why Charles spewed a gorgeous fabulous physically attractive woman like that for what they thought was an old bag like Camilla nobody can understand they still can't no matter how nice Camilla is and how winsome shoes and she makes him happy so that's great for him but for the public we feel we've been robbed of that shining star that was Diana there is enormous residual affection certainly admiration for the Princess of Wales and for what she represented perhaps even as an alternative style of monarchy so the idea that this can all be airbrushed out of history which is certainly the hope of many of Prince Charles's supporters I think is is cynical mrs. Parker Bowles actively contributed to the circumstances in which it became impossible for Charles and Einar to remain married that history can't be unwritten while many now accept Camilla as Charles's wife they draw the line at putting a crown on her head my own newspaper on his 60th birthday we did a poll to say would you support Camilla parker-bowles being Queen seventy-eight percent said no now that's a pretty staggering figure and in fact that figure has got worse not better in the few years since she's been a member of the royal family before Camila in the glory days of Charles and Diana Canadians welcomed the young Royals with open arms it was the continuation of a tradition which in 1939 saw George the sixth and the Queen Mother take the country by storm later their daughter Elizabeth the second could do no wrong here on the Queen's 2002 tour when then Deputy Prime Minister John manly said he'd like her to be Canada's last monarch he was severely criticized and issued an apology I'm sorry that it's become a distraction but it is possible to concurrently have a great deal of respect for Queen Elizabeth and also to wonder about the future of the institution after her reign ends a startling new poll done for The Globe and Mail suggests that the royal love affair may be ending when Elizabeth dies two out of three Canadians want ties with the crown severed and that's got supporters of the monarchy worried and Schreyer the former premier Manitoba and Governor General said that on a list of a hundred things that need fixing in Canada the monarchy comes 100 and first and I agree oh yeah that's need fixing we got a great system a stable head of state to face a stable Constitution it works even alone you're throwing out five centuries of tradition but Canadians may be losing their attachment to that tradition anyway according to the new poll seven out of ten people identify with neither the Queen nor the Governor General Rideau Hall the Queen's official residence in Canada has become a lightning rod for ranting about the but the queen doesn't really come over here that much which makes me wonder why are we paying for all this I mean the lights are on she's not home that's the problem she's at home in England in another country Canadians may grumble but Australians went a step further in a referendum in 1999 more than 40% of the electorate voted to dump the monarchy I think it's very likely that certainly on the death of Queen Elizabeth if not before that Australia will become a republic and that will be bound to have an effect on public opinion in this country I think people here will be emboldened to feel that a republic is possible the idea of former colonies becoming Republic's delights those Britons who have long called for an end to the power and privilege symbolized by Buckingham Palace the existence of the crowd legitimizes privilege right the way through society the hereditary system is ridiculous if you went to the dentist and just as he started drilling your teeth he said you are not a dentist myself but my father was very good dentist you jump out of his chair it's ludicrous the people should inherit power ludicrous Charles employs an army of spin doctors to counter this kind of criticism and bolster his image as a benign prince everything is subordinated to keeping the spotlight on the future monarch and his consort which means weighty Katie's may have to wait some more I think the Charles advisors a bit cautious about approving a match too soon for William because if he married Kate Middleton who would be interested in Charles and Camilla they would disappear off the map so William's indecision fits well with his father's agenda primed with a 30 million dollar income from the Duchy of Cornwall the Prince of Wales projects power and influence all over the United Kingdom in many respects the Prince of Wales is already king he operates a Court which is in many respects as grand as anything you'll find in vacuum palace it grows all the time it's extremely well funded and Prince Charles enjoys many of the trappings of being a monarch right now like monarchs of your Prince Charles intends to put his stamp on the architecture of his kingdom the curious can get a sneak preview by visiting Poundbury in southwest England it looks like a quaint old village but it's all brand new the Prince of Wales who dislikes most modern architecture has championed this development as the embodiment of the British tradition I just think he has good values it standards Charles is here today to encourage planners and developers to replicate his back to the future vision all across the country but some people say that vision is as anachronistic as the monarchy itself critics have to ride in Poundbury as a jumbled pastiche of antiquated styles a London tabloid ridiculed the local pub as dating back to last Monday but none of that bothers a couple who have lived here for six years the birches say their home is solidly built from local materials and is modern inside they've become big fans of the prince who dreamt it all up he's grown in stature as far as I'm concerned I feel he's got his feet on the ground I do feel that he ought to be given a greater voice because he does say a lot of very sensible things that a lot of us would like to say but don't have the power to do so trouble is many people feel that Charles's values are not what a modern Britain needs it's great that we have a future king who is aesthetically aware any problem is that means you have to share his sense of aesthetics case in point the former Chelsea barracks in the heart of London a huge complex of luxury apartment buildings was slated for construction here at six billion dollars Britain's most expensive residential development ever in a letter to the investor the Prince of Qatar the Prince of Wales took umbrage at the steel and glass plans killing the project with the stroke of a royal pen the impact of this intervention from the prince is that people will lose their jobs scheme is dead a huge amount of hard work has effectively gone down the drain we believe that our Constitution doesn't really make space for royal personages to be involved in specific planning applications it's time for spectators at the debate in Oxford to decide if they think there's any space for royalty in Britain's future those with no confidence in the monarchy exit to the right to cast their vote those who support it leave to the left it looks a little too close to call this evening and that's with Elizabeth still Queen 114 in opposition of the motion 155 the monarchy survived the vote of no-confidence by a surprisingly narrow margin in this bastion of the British establishment the Queen's cavalry strut their stuff for her official birthday the RAF salutes her overhead it's a display of might that makes the monarchy look indestructible but appearances Balai a royal family at odds with itself Prince Charles went to a woman few want to see Queen but determined to fulfill the ambition of a lifetime is being kept from the throne by his aging mother who has vowed never to abdicate she is there until she draws her last breath there was no question that she would step aside it's not in her psyche she's deeply religious she has made that vow to God and that's the way it's going to be the Queen's Court at the palace is already clashing with Charles's court at Clarence House the Clarence House people don't seem to take any notice of what Buckingham Palace does so that I like two warring camps history has always shown it to the heirs court is always in competition with the Monarchs Court Charles Seife underlying tensions which are the result of what is it an ambitious growing Court surrounding the man who one day will be the head of state the young prince who some would love to see ride to the rescue of a troubled monarchy can't barring an extraordinary intervention from the government in the distant future the only way Prince William would replace his father is if the Prime Minister of the Dead and the cabinet's gang up on Prince Charles may Piet age 77 or 78 who say we think it's time sir to skip to another generation then they would probably compel them to stand down as things are the current royal stalemate could drag on for years with potentially fatal consequences for the Windsors what they said by comparison so we play the long game we know that might be a bit slow at the moment or a bit of a dip but come back you wait see I Satan if you can't afford to wait ensue meanwhile the public are drifting away in droves if the public are interested in you you die [Music] so time could yet be the undoing of a dynasty that dates back more than a thousand years to the Saxon kings but looks oddly anachronistic today as the reign of an unimpeachable Queen draws slowly to a close the clock may be running out on her controversial son and the monarchy itself I suspect that Prince Charles will eventually struggle to the throne but with greatly diminished public support and then when he goes I think it will be lien he will be child falar [Music]

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

Views: 324,456

Rating: 4.4378572 out of 5

Keywords: History, Full Documentary, Documentaries, Full length Documentaries, Documentary, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary Movies - Topic, 2017 documentary, BBC documentary, Channel 4 documentary, history documentary, documentary history, royal family, queen elizabeth, kate middleton, united kingdom, meghan markle, prince william, prince charles, british royal family, princess diana, prince harry, the queen, royal family secrets

Id: v1oq8r8i_Ls

Length: 41min 46sec (2506 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 02 2020