How Will We Remember Queen Elizabeth II? | Absolute HIstory

queen elizabeth ii is one of the longest reigning monarchs in history since she came to the throne in 1952 she's met more presidents and potentates than any other head of state her reign has witnessed some astonishing changes in Britain and the world for 60 years she has tried to make the monarchy more relevant in a changing society her personal life has seen much turbulence the failed marriages of her sister Margaret and three of her own four children have deeply saddened her the idyllic royal family image was shattered by divorce and scandal culminating in the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997 public reaction to Diana's death pose the biggest royal crisis since the abdication of Edward the eighth in 1936 after Diana the Queen successfully rebranded and modernised the monarchy while keeping its colorful pageantry intact the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrates how years on the throne and the resurgence of popularity that the monarchy enjoys today with Prince Charles settled into his second marriage and Prince William also married the Queen has every reason to believe that the foundations she has laid will endure [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the queen has traveled over a million miles and made over 250 foreign visits in October 2011 she flew to Australia one of the Commonwealth nations in which she is sovereign it was her 16th visit to Australia she was 85 her husband Prince Philip 90 preserving Britain's links with the Commonwealth remains one of the Queen's most important challenges personal visits strengthen bonds and revive old memories the Queen was 27 when she made a two-month journey across Australia with Prince Phillip in 1954 the year after her coronation it was a landmark in Australian history the first visit of a reigning monarch [Music] it was estimated that one-third of Australia's entire population turned out in person to greet their young queen many still remember that historic visit among those greeting the Queen in 2011 was Margaret Cunningham who as a young child presented the Queen with a bouquet of flowers on her first visit to Australia 57 years before there was differently a warmth in her eyes that has been maintained yet yes definitely son wonder if the Queen now 86 will be able to make this long journey again and whether she'll have to rely on other members of her family to maintain precious links with Australia and other Commonwealth countries [Music] some Paul's Cathedral was the setting for a service of Thanksgiving to mark the Queen's 80th birthday in 2006 the nation's gratitude is expressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams birthdays are among the most vivid reminders we can have of our common humanity and our common call to journey through time with each other so today on address T we give thanks with you simply for the gifts of life and experience afterwards the crowds showed their affection just a few years before Diana's death had caused unprecedented public reaction but the Queen's efforts to connect more closely with her subjects have made the monarchy popular again Prince Charles paid this tribute to his mother it gives me enormous pride to be able to congratulate her publicly in this way and to thank her on behalf of us all for the many wonderful qualities which she's brought to almost an entire lifetime of service and dedication the divorces of three of her four children challenged the family image of the Royal House of Windsor starting in 1973 with Princess Anne's marriage to mark Philips spectacular royal weddings which promised so much had ended in failure and scandal no one foresaw the problems at the marriage of Charles the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 would bring to the royal family the marriage of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986 also failed on her divorce from Charles in 1996 Diana Princess of Wales lost the title her royal highness after her death following a car accident a year later she was given a royal funeral befitting the mother of a future king then in 2005 Charles married his longtime mistress Camilla parker-bowles in private civil ceremony he had married Donna in the splendor of simples Cathedral to the Queen his first wedding meant the continuation of the Royal line I think the day that the Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer was a great day for the Queen what it was sharing that day was that the continuity of her family was can was being continued in a correct and proper manner I think there was always a certain amount of concern about Donna who was really quite young for her yes I think she was happy and satisfied that her son was marrying somebody and they would produce children and and the continuity of the House of Windsor would almost certainly keep going Diana became pregnant soon after the wedding her problems and illnesses were concealed from the public at first shortly after these pictures Diana threw herself down some stairs at Sandringham the Queen's Norfolk estate the Queen must have known that there were all sorts of problems almost from the word go so without us knowing and she hid this very well she was aware that Diana was having an incredibly difficult time settling down to married life since childhood the Queen has kept her private feelings hidden from the public although she's paid tribute to Diana she's given little sign of the turbulent emotions that the princess's life and death created behind palace walls and while the outward display of monarchy has gone on the Queen has had to accommodate Prince Charles's determination to marry the woman diana called the third person in her marriage [Applause] Camilla Parker Bowles was Charles's mistress for several years before the public became aware of her after Diana's death Charles no longer hitters affair with the now divorced Camilla a campaign to gain public acceptance began with an appearance outside the London Ritz Hotel in 1999 the press eagerly followed each stage of the public relations exercise a series of high-profile events for Charles's main charity the Prince's Trust propelled Camilla ever more into the public arena according to the law Charles still had to ask the Queen's consent to marry Charles of course had to go and Oscar surely the only 56 year old man in this day and age who has to undergo such a humiliating an embarrassing experience to ask his mother for permission to marry Charles was technically a widower but Camilla's divorce made a Church of England wedding impossible the couple had a civil service at Prince's town hall on April the 9th 2005 William and Harry were among the few witnesses the Queen did not attend she was advised both by the Archbishop of Canterbury dr. Ann Williams and also by and her own private secretary Sir Robin Jan Breen that it would be unwise and inappropriate to attend the civil wedding because she is of course the Supreme Governor of the Church of England however the Queen did attend the church blessing held at some Jews Chapel in Windsor Castle against expectations Camila had become a member of the royal family but the Queen was still concerned about her impact on the monarchy I think what the Queen felt at the beginning was that the people wouldn't accept Camila because of Camila being the other woman in in the marriage when Charles was in love supposed to be in love with Diana and the Queen was worried that her people her subjects wouldn't accept Camila what she does feel is that Camila has been a wonderful influence on Prince Charles and she truly loves Prince Charles and said the Queen warms to Camilla by the day recently Camilla has worked hard at gaining public acceptance which has improved thanks largely to the Queen's support [Music] now known as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall she's tactfully avoided using the title Princess of Wales which is irrevocably associated with Diana we are told she will be the princess consort when Charles is King Queen has now come to the conclusion Camilla is winning over the people in a way that a year ago looked impossible frankly and that the monarchy therefore is in in much safer hands than perhaps it was she knows that there is strong opposition still to Camilla that's why we go through the idea that Camilla will never be queen but in 20 years time if that's when Prince Charles comes to the throne who is then to say that Camilla shouldn't be his Queen at his side Prince Andrew a naval officer married Sarah Ferguson in 1986 and became Duke of York there were high hopes for this marriage but like Diana the new Duchess of York disappointed the Queen our backgrounds are so very different from hers after what she'd grown up with it she'd been used to Buckingham Palace Windsor Castle as a child she'd been trained for her job for forever and so I don't think she fully understood the difficulties that these girls experienced and I think when it came to the Duchess of York particularly so because for the Queen her own naval days as a naval wife had been absolute joy to her and the fact that Sara folks and didn't the Duchess of York didn't seem to enjoy that aspect for her husband's life she found very difficult to understand with hindsight it was clear that Diana and Sara found adapting to royal life more difficult than anyone expected but the Queen did try to help them [Music] if we look back remember it was the queen who called the editors to the palace in the early days when the Princess of Wales thought she was being pressurized by the press in the media and the Queen said you know my daughter-in-laws piece must must be protected and she at that time moved to protect the princess Prince's wealth to her was like an adorable skittish niece I mean she just knew Diana from childhood and so she was indulgent caring a little bit bewildered sometimes I mean in the early days when the princess was married and there at Balmoral and it was stuffy occasion princess would jump up from the table and run around the table and sit on Prince Charles's lap and give him a kiss I mean something like that had never been seen before amongst the royal family the Queen would just shake I had me a little smile the Queen attended the wedding of Princess Margaret's son of I count Lindley to heiress Serena Stanhope in 1993 both David Lindley and his sister Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones were close to the Queen Princess Margaret had married Lord Snowdon in 1960 but the marriage fell apart the snowden's divorced in 1978 after several hostile years the Queen took the children under her wing she dotes on Princess Margaret's children especially Lady Sarah who is just a favorite niece and she was a very sort of loving aunt figure and very proud of Lord Lindley I think one of the Queen's coaches said to me that sometimes as young children thought the Queen was their mother because she always take them out to Balmoral with her when Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon would go on their summer holidays to Sardinia or to Tuscany and she was very much a stable figure in their lives and she loved them very much that stability of the Queen was needed when three of her four children divorced and her grandchildren had to cope with split homes the Queen took a special interest in Charles's sons William and Harry William the second in line to the throne developed a close relationship with his grandmother but as their parents marriage disintegrated there were gaps in the young prince's contact with the rest of the family I think with William and Harry she's got to know them far far better in the last few years I think when the marriage was still going on and Charles denied Diana with each other throat she hardly saw them at all but obviously in the last ten years she's seen them grow up and although she might not see them that much I think she's very proud especially her Prince William in 1992 both the you and the Wells is separated after a series of scandals which shocked the Queen Princess Anne also divorced in the same year and remarried [Music] and know that when these divorces came one after another she did say to close friend well what have we done wrong but it's very difficult to be a queen and a mother I think every important executive woman finds this I think that the winds of temperament which has been handed down from him George v and Queen Mary has also been a factor the stiff upper lip the sweeping problems under the carpet and the lack of communication and this also comes from living in enormous houses like Buckingham Palace where they live quite separate lives each with their own suite and their own servants and so it isn't the to have a jolly get-together in front of the television it's a different life and then on November the 20th 1992 Windsor Castle caught fire it happened on the Queen's 45th wedding anniversary the Queen was upset at the damage to her favorite home where she had spent the war years with Princess Margaret she supervised the removal of family treasures and days later she spoke of her sadness 1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure in the words of one of my most sympathetic correspondents it has turned out to be an annus horribilis I suspect that I'm not alone in thinking it so couldn't have been worse could it all the children's marriages gain wrong one after another the tremendous scandals in the papers the constant attention to our family's private lives and then the outspoken criticism of her which she wasn't used to she'd been used to nothing but kindness all her life and when the public turned on her at the time of the Windsor fire and said no we won't pay I think she was deeply hurt and surprised by this the world mourned the loss of Diana but the Queen's slow public reaction provoked criticism of course the Queen was shocked when Diana died as was everybody else but her concern wasn't actually for Diana or her family or Prince Charles it was for her grandchildren and William and Harry were up at Balmoral staying with the Queen in Scotland and her whole concentration was on protecting and safeguarding those poor young children as best she could at Balmoral the Queen learned of the growing tension in the capital attention focused on the empty flagpole on top of Buckingham Palace she then gave orders for a flag to be put up never happened before and that it should fly at half-mast I think she was out of touch I think it was mainly because she was trying to protect the grandchildren and I think she very nearly got it seriously wrong William and Harry walked behind their mother's coffin was their grandfather to support them on their heartbreaking journey Prince William asked his grandfather to walk in the funeral procession it was Prince William's request and I think the Prince William is probably the sort of son Prince Philip would like to have had I think he's not very proud of him and he likes Prince Harry's robustness and I I think he's very devoted to them in his in his way the death of Diana will have a lasting impact I think it probably will be looked at in the history books as the time when the monarchy radically changed its attitude to its past and its future however the business of monarchy always goes on entertaining heads of state is one of the Queen's most important duties this ceremonial hospitality builds bridges between countries and cements international friendships a state banquet at Windsor Castle was the highlight of this visit of polish president lakpha Anza in 1991 guests dined from the finest China silverware and crystal 300 staff served them quails eggs turbot veal and peaches for many in white tie and Tiaras this was a unique experience but it was the Queen's 65th state banquet I raise my glass to you and mrs. Bowen sir and the well-being and happiness of the Polish people international diplomacy requires visits abroad like this one to France in 1992 the Queen is one of the most widely traveled monarchs in history her reliability and grasper foreign affairs are never in doubt her professionalism was evidence on this tour of Germany in 1992 it was her first visit there since the fall of communism and the unification of West and East Germany [Applause] she came to support the newly United Republic and to strengthen ties between Germany and Britain which had been disrupted by two world wars her speech put aside old enmity and like more close friends we do not always see eye to eye but as friends should we try not to let the Sun go down on our laurels visiting the United States reinforces the special relationship enjoyed with Britain since before World War Two in 1991 the Queen was welcomed by President George Bush Senior such a visit that defies analysis but which has a way of reaching the hearts of people far and wide she is head of state in Australia as in a further 15 out of 54 countries comprising the Commonwealth she went to Australia in 1992 after a gap of 12 years Republican desert was a growing movement but her personal popularity ensured that she is still Queen there today during the trip she unveiled one of the many portraits of her reign this one captures the reserved character of the woman behind the crown the Queen isn't by nature an emotional person she doesn't have great highs and great lows she accepts life and if there's something she doesn't want to understand or doesn't want to see she compartmentalizes it so she avoids emotional confrontation she avoids moral confrontation altogether Elizabeth had a golden childhood with her younger sister Margaret her life was carefree until her parents became king and queen in 1936 when she was 10 they became the family firm or we fought as her father George the six called them as heiress presumptive Elizabeth was influenced by her formidable grandmother Queen Mary she didn't inherit her own mother's warmth and spontaneity and the person she admires almost most I'm a poplin Queen Victoria is her grandmother Queen Mary and you can see a great resemblance between the two you know that shyness that formality that slight distance from the public at 21 she became engaged to Prince Philip of Greece despite the reservations of her father there were some family tensions mainly because the king in King George the sixth Queen's father of course princess Elizabeth's father and didn't feel that Philip Mountbatten at that time was a suitable prospective husband he just didn't feel so a he didn't come out of the top drawer of European royalty the Greek royal family was fairly low down in the league table of European royalty he didn't have a great title he didn't have a vast fortune or estates to bring into into the marriage and also he felt at 21 was a bit young he thought she should have waited four or five years but she showed that she had some steel in her and indeed she persuaded her mother and her mother supported her and of course the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and a huge influence over her husband and that's what happened in 1947 during a family tour of South Africa Elizabeth made her 21st birthday speech I declare before you all with my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong but I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me as I now invite you to do I know that your support will be unfailingly given God helped me to make good my vows and God this all of you who are willing to share in it nearly fifty years later she returned to a country where great changes had taken place South Africa had withdrawn from the Commonwealth in 1961 over its policy of apartheid this ended in 1994 and South Africa was readmitted to the Commonwealth on this visit in 1995 the Queen Metta statesman who became a personal friend president Nelson Mandela the following year Mandela came to London to visit the woman he calls my friend Elizabeth Queen isn't racially prejudiced at all she's colorblind if you like and one of her greatest friends and the person who impressed her and the other members royal and members of the royal household if you like was Nelson Mandela when she met Mandela she was tremendously impressed with his sincerity and with his integrity and with his compassion and I think the fact that he felt all this endeared him to the Queen and indeed they are still very much in touch they correspond with each other if not regularly but certainly quite frequently when Princess Elizabeth married her sailor Prince in 1947 it was an occasion for national rejoicing still burdened with ration books and clothing coupons the British public welcomed this glittering relief from post-war austerity [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] heiress to the kingdom since the age of ten Elizabeth was the nation's sweetheart her wedding brought romance and promise to a country still adjusting to life after a World War Elizabeth lavishly embroidered silk wedding gown was designed by the royal couturier Norman Hartnell it was beyond the dreams of any other bride at a time although the King found the parting from his daughter painful it was a day of family joy shared by his subjects it was very a very depressing time and Churchill described the wedding as a bright ray of color on the hard gray road we have to travel despite the November weather the happy couple travels in an open carriage to Waterloo station for the journey to their honeymoon they were accompanied by seasoned the bride's favorite Corgi unknown to the public Elizabeth had married the man she had loved since her early teens the Queen was 13 when she first saw Prince Philip who was then young naval cadet at Dartmouth and very good-looking you know every sort of schoolgirls idea of a dashing hero blond life varies of athletic they then met some years later and of course was so different then a courtship was conducted perhaps at a distance but the Queen had met the man she loved and I think has never stopped loving the couple spent the early part of their marriage on the island of Malta where Philip was stationed at the naval base for Princess Elizabeth it was like I'm flying out of a cage after all she'd been brought up during war at Windsor Castle very much isolated and the in Walter she just lived the life of an enable wife going to dances going to parties going to beach parties just living a totally normal life and it was perhaps the happiest period of her life the birth of a son Charles a year after the wedding brought further happiness and secured the Windsor dynasty for another generation letters sent by the doting mother showed maternal warmth and paternal pride baby Charles brought great joy to both his young parents in 1950 Charles was joined by a sister Ann but Princess Elizabeth soon had to deputize for her ailing father she was on a state visit going to visit Australia and New Zealand when she stopped off in Kenya and it was there that she heard that her father had died her coronation on June the 2nd 1953 was an occasion of great pageantry and splendour Charles for an aunt who watched as their parents left the palace in the girls coronation coach afterwards they joined their newly crowned mother and watched the cheering crowds from the palace balcony on that historic day the world heralded a new Elizabethan age people were optimistic in the way that they thought wow this is going to be a new Britain with a young queen and then on the day of the coronation came the news that Hillary and Tenzing had conquered Everest and this was another terrific morale boost the Queen's duties took her away from her young children as a result Charles grew close to his grandmother he seemed rather bemused by the protocol surrounding the Queen sometimes he and Anne joined their parents at the end of foreign tours such as here in Gibraltar in 1954 they hadn't seen their mother for six months we have to remember that Prince Charles and Princess Anne were born before she came to the throne and she was still just the heir to the throne and so she had more time she had a more private life as soon as she acceded the Australian she had so much to do so much to learn huge Commonwealth tours to do which in those days before all the jet planes really caught on took months the person who have given the Queen the greatest public support is Prince Philip but in their family life she has chosen to defer to him arguably this has had unfortunate consequences for Charles who was sent to Philips old boarding school Gordon Stern he is very much a boss in the home he was a man who he was the one who decided that the boy should go to Gordon stone you know whereas the Queen herself might have preferred Eton she took her eye off her son I think that she listened to her husband and said look I think it's a good idea if he goes away to a boarding school I'm not sure in retrospect that that was such a good idea but then we'll never really know how Prince Charles would have turned out if he'd been to a sort of day school Lord had governors it's very very hard to tell but I think Philip was very harsh on Prince Charles we know that this has not been an immense success and the poor Prince Charles was deeply unhappy there but I think Queen felt particularly that in her marriage it should be a traditional marriage of her time which what in which the husband called the shots and the woman ran the house and also I feel that she had to compensate felt she had to compensate for the fact that she was in essence the boss and this dominant male matter that Duke Henry had to take 2nd place in public anyway Prince Andrew was born in 1960 and Prince Edward in 1964 after a marriage lasting nearly 65 years in Elizabeth and Philip remained close agreement work or Prince Philip darling but if she's in public oh she's crosses him she according Philip and one knows then that things are not are a little glacial and the Queen is not the sort person to lose her temper I think if there's a blistering rule about something she will probably go out and ride her horses or go and feed the dogs mmm the corgis and he may stomp about a bit but the Queen her voice is not raised loudly but everyone is aware if she is displeased and not amused in 1977 the Queen celebrated her silver jubilee she traveled to st. Paul's Cathedral in the 200 year old gold state coach her grandparents George v and Queen Mary celebrated their silver jubilee in 1935 riding in the same coach the Queen's processional route was lined with cheering crowds all the way from Buckingham Palace to some Paul's Cathedral then to London's Guildhall where she had lunched and back to the palace she had not expected the warmth of the public's response amazed at the spontaneous bursts of cheering outside st. Paul's Cathedral the Queen made an impromptu walk about the first of her reign she comes from an era when it was not done with those people to be demonstrative in public and sometimes she said after a day of meeting people you know I simply ache with smiling but as confided it's a sad thing she doesn't have a smiley face but where she was actually very touched and very natural was the time with silver jubilee going through the streets and the people came out once again and sugar warm Ellen and she was astonished by this I think she gets a lot of her shyness from Queen Mary same sort of brightness and inability and yet it's so caring on this memorable day over a hundred thousand people waited to cheer her outside the palace five years earlier the Queen and Prince Philip's celebrated their silver wedding playing on the famous Royal use of the pronoun we she included a subtle joke in her speech we and by that I mean both of us I'm most grateful a 21-gun salute marked Prince Philip's 70th birthday in 1991 last December he was successfully treated for a blocked coronary artery five years older than the Queen Phillip has retained his energy and enthusiasm for the monarchy he is Prince Consort in all but name at Balmoral their home in Scotland the royal couple relax with their family and their favorite pets this is the granddaughter of Susan the Corgi that the Queen took with her on her honeymoon this is the breed most associated with her she appears to be at her happiest with her pack of cookies and likes to feed them herself the queen is in the palace she does give them afternoon tea herself I mean she chops up their food and their biscuits and puts it down in little silver salvers and some was my quite snappy and are not averse to biting an ankle sometimes think that gives her a very secret chuckle after lunch at Windsor this is quite disconcerting for guests the Queen will spray dog biscuits around under the table prepares for the Sullivan on one occasion the salver of dog biscuits was presented to the Queen and a nervous bishop who was sitting beside her actually took one and netted Prince Philip took up carriage driving when he was forced to give up the very physical sport of polo at the age of 64 a horseman of long experience carriage driving offered a way of prolonging his participation in equestrian events [Music] even after his heart operation Philips still takes the reins for a spot of more leisurely carriage driving and just as he supports the Queen in her official role she likes to show her encouragement for her husband's unusual hobby she always made time to watch him when he competed at carriage driving trials horses can be disturbed by noisy and intrusive spectators which puts the drivers at risk sometimes she let her feelings be known shearing off unwelcome attention few dare argue with the Queen she is a renowned horse woman with legendary control she rides frequently at Windsor sometimes with Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex she's notably relaxed with her youngest son who's happily married with two young children the Queen is passionate about racing she owns Ascot Racecourse near Windsor and attends Royal Ascot there each June the parade of open carriages before the start of the races was as much part of the attraction in the 1960s as in more recent times but the Duchess of York princesses Anne and Margaret's and of course the Princess of Wales didn't share the Queen's boundless enthusiasm for watching her horses you can see the sort of absent girlish Glee with which she treats them on Winchell's one done you know to get a better view and you know her face lights up us who never see it light up on public occasions she shared her love of horses with her Racing manager Lord Carnarvon they'd been friends since their teens his death from a heart attack on 9/11 the day of the terrorist attacks in America was a bitter blow the Queen had a wonderful relationship with Lauren Arvin he was her racing manager and racing is one thing that the Queen loves above all else and she's extremely extremely intelligent about breeding and here was one man that she could talk to to her heart's content and never be bored now even if he called in the middle of dinner I'm not saying a state banquet but if it was a family dinner she would always take his call so she misses him a great deal the Queen owns racehorses and broodmares worth several million pounds when President Reagan visited Windsor in 1982 the Queen was keen to show off her horses to the one-time Hollywood actor and owner of a Californian ranch he happily posed for the cameras and then led back by the Queen into Windsor Castle Rich List compilers have cautiously estimated the Queen's personal fortune at 400 million pounds it's terribly hard to work out just how rich the Queen is it's very hard to separate the goods chapels which are very valuable ones that she is custodian of for her life the crown worn at the opening of Parliament's is state property but the Queen has fabulous jewels magnificent homes a huge investment portfolio and paintings and drawings which are the envy of the art world her art collection is just astonishing there are so many Van Dyke's around there are Michelangelo's I mean absolutely endless goodies but I'm not sure that she can classify them as being hers Windsor Castle is her favorite home but officially it too belongs to the state despite her lavish surroundings the Queen is well known for her frugal habits we still find the Queen perhaps with a small electric fire I think it may run to three bars but the quiet and very often she'll put on two but she likes to be thrifty the Duchy of Lancaster is the ancient custodian of fifty thousand acres including farmland historic buildings Urban development's and other assets held in trust for the monarch the Duchy pays an annual private income to the queen of over 13 million pounds this is separate from the Civil List awarded by Parliament's to cover her official expenses as head of state and head of the Commonwealth she pays regular visits to the Dutchie and keeps in touch with her many tenants this way here as everywhere else she visits the Queen's clothes and grooming reflect her position rather than her wealth she has a very matter-of-fact attitude to clothes she has always said I'm not a film star the clothes you know are just essential to the job and she has very strict rules she was sated designers who will draw up some beautiful thing for a tour and she said hopeless for waving I can't wave with sleeves like that so they must always ensure that she can waive hats must always be off the face because people must be able to see me and lipstick is always a very strong red and this is for the sake of the photographers and so that she can be seen by people from a great distance but she doesn't have a frivolous attitude to clothes though she does like pretty bright colors she likes lemons Pink's blues purples although she looks very good actually in dark colors her hair is immovable probably in in whatever the weather conditions and I once said to her hairdresser what is the secret of the Queen's hair you know what why does it never move in the wind and he said brute force and lacquer the Queen welcomes world leaders to Britain Nelson Mandela came in 1997 pope john paul ii in 1982 Ronald and Nancy Reagan visited Britain in the same year President George Bush Senior and his wife Barbara were welcomed in 1991 Bill and Hillary Clinton came to call in 1995 more than 2 billion people in 54 countries across six continents count themselves citizens of the Commonwealth and subjects of the Queen about a third of her visits abroad have been to Commonwealth countries starting in 1953 the year of her coronation these tours foster international cooperation and trade links between member countries she has known many Commonwealth prime ministers all as important to her has had 12 British ones from Winston Churchill to David Cameron a lot of people don't appreciate this they consider the Commonwealth was really very unimportant a relic from the past it's not have a Queen visit at all she considers her role as Queen of Australia New Zealand Canada and in the other 16 Dominion countries she considers that every bit as important as being Queen of Britain UK Northern Ireland Wales all that every bit as important and she loves her prime ministers the Commonwealth loved her they think that she's the person who cares about them that the government of the day in Britain usually doesn't and also she's been around so long but all these she's such friends with all these leaders she knows her problems she knows their families she knows intimate details about oh you know whether that brothers just died or something so they really feel that she genuinely cares and she does she speaks privately to everyone at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings although royal tours are immensely well-prepared gaffes can still happen when she made a speech at the White House in 1991 the stand was arranged for a taller figure than the Queen some nitwit had got to the stand for watch where she was reading her speech a little bit too high and the camera was too low and you just had a picture up over the lectern onto you couldn't see the Queen's face properly all you could see was the hat and everybody does it's just the speaking hat she finds this actually immensely amusing she has a great sense of humor well the Queen's friends will tell you what wonderful sense whew man she has on how she fire she likes to laugh at herself for a start and she loves ridiculous things I mean she laughed look tears run down her face and then she's got a quick wit the sense of our name as its story I particularly like and she was in a North workshop dressed as she normally is in the country with her head scarf and everything and a woman came up to and said damn I hope you don't mind my saying so but you look awfully like the Queen McQueen said how very reassuring a fountain in Kensington Gardens is Britain's memorial to Diana it was opened by the Queen in 2004 the Diana who made such an impact on our lives of course there were difficult times but memories mellow with the passing of the years I remember especially the happiness she gave to my two grandsons William have learned a great deal from the Queen when William first started at Eton every Sunday afternoon he was taken up to have tea with granny at Windsor Castle when he was given a few off-the-cuff lessons in constitutional history not the ideal way for a 13 and 14 year old to spend a Sunday afternoon I would have thought but he did and he absolutely worships his grandmother they have a wonderful time at the start of her Diamond Jubilee the Queen made an official visit to the London store of Fortnum and Mason it was dumped the visit of the three Queens Elizabeth the second and the future Queens Camilla and Kate the strong bond between the Queen and Prince William now embraces his wife Kate the Duchess of Cambridge the Queen has made sure that Kate has been welcomed into the royal family and given the guidance that Diana and Sarah Ferguson lacked and in the year since her wedding kate has created a new wave of royal popularity as the Queen moves into her seventh decade on the throne she can reflect on the huge changes in her reign not least in her own family seven years have passed since the wedding of Charles to Camilla once reviled as the woman who destroyed Diana's marriage making Camilla acceptable to the public as a future Queen consort became one of the most important challenges of the Queen's reign in her autumn years the Queen has had to rebrand the monarchy and stabilize it after the turmoil of the 1990s and the tragic death of Diana [Music] in 1981 the Queen had shared the hopes of the world in this star-crossed union of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer 30 years later the wedding of her grandson Prince William - Kate Middleton has given the Queen every confidence that the future of the monarchy is finally secured [Applause] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Absolute History

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Keywords: history history documentary funny history fun history school, timeline, queen elizabeth, royal family, queen elizabeth ii, united kingdom, prince charles, absolute history, full length documentaries, history documentary, documentary movies - topic, the crown, the crown season 3, the crown trailer, the crown season 3 trailer, princess diana interview, princess diana wedding, princess diana funeral, british monarchy documentary, british monarchy family tree

Id: WtleAWbcxE0

Length: 49min 48sec (2988 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 16 2019