Sunday 24 April 2016

Behind the scenes of ITV's documentary Our Queen at 90, in pictures






How the Queen's horses reveal more about her than her family: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS on last night's TV
By CHRISTOPHER STEVENS FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 23:58 GMT, 27 March 2016

Her Majesty the Queen will never give an interview. She has come close, notably providing commentary to a TV documentary in 1992 about her reign, otherwise we are left with her annual Christmas broadcasts, the speeches and the rare glimpses of her in conversation with family and friends on film.
She has the most familiar voice in the world. Yet Elizabeth II has never sat in front of a camera, or even a radio mike, and answered questions.
The heir to the throne, Prince Charles, has done so on many occasions. He was still a novice at it in 1981, when he tied himself in knots sitting beside his shy fiancee as they talked to interviewer Anthony Carthew, when the Prince revealed he wasn’t sure what ‘love’ meant.
It’s horses that hold Her Majesty's dearest affection, and the scene in Our Queen at 90 that summed up her unaffected kindness and, at the same time, her regal charm was filmed at the Sandringham stables
It’s horses that hold Her Majesty's dearest affection, and the scene in Our Queen at 90 that summed up her unaffected kindness and, at the same time, her regal charm was filmed at the Sandringham stables
He’s more relaxed now. Our Queen At 90 (ITV) saw him joshing and raising an arch eyebrow as he chatted about his mother. Asked to define the highlights of her reign, he quipped: ‘She put up with all of us and that’s quite an achievement.’
Charles seemed so at ease as a talking-head that it’s possible to imagine him doing so-called ‘filler TV’, waffling about Britain’s favourite 50 sitcoms or wacky fashions of the Seventies.
The rest of the Royals were equally comfortable, though they were careful not to say anything that might be construed as a headline.
The Duchess of Cambridge confided that she’d been racked with nerves during her first Christmas at Sandringham. That’s not a surprise: any girl visiting her boyfriend’s folks will be apprehensive, and it really can’t help if his grandma is Queen of England.
She gave Her Majesty a jar of home-made chutney. Next morning, it was on the Queen’s breakfast table. That broke the ice.

The Duchess of Cambridge confided that she’d been racked with nerves during her first Christmas at Sandringham. That’s not a surprise: any girl visiting her boyfriend’s folks will be apprehensive, and it really can’t help if his grandma is Queen of England
Her husband’s insights were less telling: his granny was ‘someone who’s been there, done it, got the T-shirt’. If that’s how he usually talks, nobody will be rushing to finish the Christmas washing-up and get the telly on at 3pm when he’s King William V.
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex and wife of the Queen’s youngest son, seemed the least accustomed to the camera. Her tone of voice betrayed her when she described Balmoral as lovely, ‘apart from the midges’, the way you might say Hell was super, ‘apart from the flames’.
To have so many senior royals sounding forth was a great coup, but the real triumph of this film, celebrating the Queen not only as a monarch but also as a private person, was its glimpses of her off-duty. Few women of 89 could trot on a horse with such enthusiasm, though we overheard her protesting: ‘I’m rather a fairweather rider — I don’t like getting cold and wet!’
Her husband’s insights were less telling: his granny was ‘someone who’s been there, done it, got the T-shirt

The documentary was packed with expertly chosen clips from the archive, including one marvellous moment of the Queen as a girl, with her father and an alsatian pup that was frolicking with a giant panda cub. As pets go, that beats a hamster.
But it’s horses that hold her dearest affection, and the scene that summed up her unaffected kindness and, at the same time, her regal charm was filmed at the Sandringham stables. Her Majesty spoke of every animal as a friend, and knew its quirks. ‘This one’s a prima donna,’ she joked, pointing to a mare with a My Little Pony mane.
The Queen appears to be, quite simply, happy and glorious
At her elbow, a member of the Royal Household attended with a crisp paper bag of carrots. The Queen plucked one and offered it to La Prima Donna... who spat it out. Her Majesty laughed and looked down at the ground meaningfully: after a moment, the flunkey leapt to retrieve the carrot.
The treat was proffered again, and the horse spat it out once more. The Queen shrugged, as if to say ‘suit yourself’ and walked on. She doesn’t take nonsense from anyone, even cheeky mares. No wonder every one of her Prime Ministers, even Margaret Thatcher, has been rather in awe of her.
Her whole life has proved her dedication to duty. What this remarkable programme showed was the converse, her knack for taking nothing too seriously. The Queen appears to be, quite simply, happy and glorious.


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