The White House opened its doors to the world in 1962 when First Lady Jackie Kennedy hosted a televised tour of the presidential residence. Buckingham Palace took notice, and in 1965, Queen Elizabeth gave her permission for a similar documentary, The Royal Palaces of Britain. Unlike Mrs. Kennedy—who the late Queen had an awkward dinner with in 1961—Queen Elizabeth didn't star in the program. It was instead presented by Sir Kenneth Clark, director of the National Gallery and a former surveyor of The King's Pictures. But despite his many honors, the broadcaster and art historian shared that his screening of the film with the Royal Family was "a total failure."
In Q: A Voyage Around The Queen, author Craig Brown describes the disastrous reception to what seemed like an innocuous film. Clark "devoted fourteen weeks to the project," per the biography, filming at Hampton Court Palace, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Pavillon in Brighton. However, as Brown notes, Clark's "usual approach" to television was "patrician, gently ironic."
