Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work

The Queen At Her Best
Since 1969 The Queen has allowed cameras to film her and her family's private lives for documentaries several times. I've watched all of these and found them fairly interesting, but none really gave me the sense that I was really watching the Windsors "behind the scenes". There was always the feeling that they were posing for the camera and on their best behavior, as indeed they have to be most of the time. But in Monarchy: The Royal Family At Work"I really felt for the first time that I was seeing the Royal Family as they truly are: a rather ordinary group of people required by the circumstance of their birth to be placed on a pedestal, but who don't really take themselves all that seriously. I saw this particularly with The Queen herself. Now that she's in her 80s, and after going through what must have been a pretty rotten time of it for the last twenty five years or so, she seems more relaxed and informal than I've ever seen her. She smiles at the camera, makes little asides...

A film which shows one year of unprecedented access to Queen Elizabeth and her family.
This superb five part series was a true delight for me. I have to admit to a fascination with the British Royal Family. I understand that is not necessarily a popular opinion in Britian or in America but I have always admired Queen Elizabeth for her steadfast sense of purpose and her willingness to continue placing herself in the public light when it isn't any longer necessary to do so. To watch an institution such as the royal family at work was entertaining and instructive and, at times, just plain fun. The film crew was allowed unprecedented access over a one year period to the daily life of this woman who at 81 (at the time of filming) had been on the throne for 55 years.

This BBC series is presented in five parts as follows, with each part being approximately one hour in length.

1. THE STATE VISIT - This episode shows the Queen both in front of and behind the cameras during a State Visit to the United States. Included are the State Dinner in...

A greater understanding...
Let me preface this review with the fact that I have never really understood the level of fascination that some folks have for 'the royal family'. Let me then say that having watched the abridged version of this on ABC earlier in the year (Feb 08 I believe) really took me by surprise, as I found myself totally riveted to the goings on... the pomp of it all... the wondrous ceremony of everything.

The abridged version was entitled "The Royal Family" and ran some 90 minutes with Barbara Walters slipped in as narrator. This DVD version will be released in its full-length original glory as created for the BBC and while I would never have predicted it about myself, I am totally looking forward to seeing it. Original British narration should lend more credence to a program that takes the viewer inside royal life in epic proportion.

If I were king of the forest.....

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