One of the Queen’s mottos is “I must be seen to be believed”, but of course, at 96 and with “episodic mobility issues”, her public is seeing less and less of her. So someone quite shrewd has obviously decreed it a good idea to dig out the old home movies and release this mostly unseen footage, by way of compensation for the infrequency of her public appearances. For us, it’s a bit of a treat – a platinum jubilee gift. For the Queen, it’s a chance, as she hints in her narrative, to show those who’ve only known her as a nice old lady that she, too, was young once. It’s quite the trove.
The movies, featuring colour footage from the 1940s, were shot by a rather high-born crew – her father, King George VI; the Queen Mother; her uncle, King Edward VIII; her husband, Prince Philip; and the Queen herself. They were enthusiastic cinematographers, these Windsors, and took their little Super 8 machines wherever they went. The movie collection is apparently enormous, and this selection only takes us up to the coronation in 1953, thus also conveniently avoiding the entry of such figures as Andrew, Diana, Fergie, and the Duchess of Sussex. Instead we get George V, the Duke of Kent, and Charles and Anne as playful toddlers.
