Short History Of... - Queen Elizabeth the Second, Part 1 of 2 (Repeat)

Episode Date: September 9, 2022

To mark the passing of the Queen, Noiser brings you this episode from the archive of Short History Of… Spanning seventy years, Queen Elizabeth II’s reign saw the world change beyond recognition. And from her earliest public appearances representing the King to her roles as sister, wife, mother and mother-in-law, she was never far from the headlines. But what was life like for the young princess, who dreamed of a baby brother to take the throne instead? How did she modernise an ancient role to fit a changing world, while managing a family so often overshadowed by scandal? A Noiser production, written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Dr Tracy Borman, author of Crown and Sceptre; and Dr Tessa Dunlop, author of Army Girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's early on the 6th of February 1952 in Kenya, East Africa. It's a beautiful morning at Tree Tops, an exclusive safari resort built in the branches of a 300 year old fig tree. A young man stirs in bed in one of its wooden lodges. His wife, a keen photographer, is already up, having been woken at dawn by the trumpet of an elephant. She opens the curtains and looks out, yawning. She was up late, trying to film an elusive leopard. Glancing down, she nods to the hunter at the bottom of the steep ladder, which is the only way in and out.

Armed with a rifle, he's been stationed there to protect his two guests from predators. After breakfast, the woman packs up her belongings and places her precious cine camera in its case. She passes it down to her husband, before carefully descending the treacherous ladder. Together the couple climb into the back of a car. The woman takes a last look at the watering hole. There are still giraffes loping round. But now it's time to go back to work.

The vehicle set off in convoy along a red dirt road towards their base at Sagana Lodge. The woman doesn't know it yet, but 6,000 miles away in London, a series of events is underway that will shift the gears of her life forever. A series of events is underway that will shift the gears of her life forever. Only seven days ago, her father defied his doctors to go to London airport and wave off his daughter as she departed on a working tour. He was too sick with lung cancer to make the planned trip to East Africa, Australia and New Zealand himself. So he sent the next best thing, his daughter and her dashing young husband. But last night, while his daughter was restlessly filming wildlife in the moonlight at treetops,

he died quietly in his sleep at one of the family homes in Norfolk, England. He was just 56. Now, 100 miles north of Nairobi, the convoy of safari vehicles crunches up the stony drive to Sagana Lodge, where the couple will be staying. It's strangely quiet. There are no radios playing, no music or chatter. The woman frowns. Normally, there are staff preening the flowers, but today only two Askari guards are at their stations beside the front door, spears in hand, faces impassive. The moment the car stops, she steps out and walks from the heat of the day into the shade of the lodge. Inside, she heads towards her writing desk, keen to start on some letters about her night

in the treehouse. Her husband follows, but as he approaches the building, he realizes that the radio sets are not switched off, but turned down low. Gloomy music is playing. A dirge. An older man emerges into the glare of the sun and steps into his path. It's his wife's personal secretary, but he seems strangely hesitant. Slowly, carefully, he explains that the radio stations have gone into mourning. The King of England, George VI,

is dead. The younger man, whose name is Philip, feels like he's been shot, but he swings into action, knowing that he has to tell his wife before she hears the news on the radio. Though the late king was monarch to the people of the United Kingdom and the seven realms of the Commonwealth, to her he was something a little more personal. Because Philip's wife is the heir to the throne, Princess Elizabeth. And though she doesn't know it yet, at the age of twenty-five, that title has already shifted. Locating her inside, Philip gently steers Elizabeth away to the garden, where they find a little privacy beside a river. Here he explains that her father passed away in the night.

They take a moment to absorb the news, and then, straight away, they begin to make preparations for the days ahead. Later that day, the famous hunter, Jim Corbett, the man who sat up all night on the ladder at treetops to look out for leopards, will write in the visitor's book, A young girl climbed into a tree a princess, and climbed down from the tree a queen. 70 years later, Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning monarch in British history. The longest reigning woman in the world. The most widely travelled. And the oldest monarch still on the throne at the age of 96.

Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Dwight Eisenhower were all in power when she was crowned, names from a different world. Her reign is a thread that links that past with our present, and which will lead into the future. But what will history remember of the long reign of England's second Queen Elizabeth? Her thousands of public engagements? Her support for good causes? Her commitment to modernizing the monarchy? Or will her legacy be overshadowed by her sometimes scandalous family? The spirited sister, the daughter-in-law, crowned the people's princess,

the opinionated husband, and numerous torrid crown of the people's princess, the opinionated husband, and numerous torrid affairs of the heart. How well do we know Elizabeth, the real woman beneath the crown? I'm Paul McGann, and to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, this is the first in a two-part short history of Elizabeth II. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor is the most famous woman in the world, but she was never supposed to be queen. On a bright April day in 1926, a man called William Joynson Hicks strides along a busy street in Mayfair, a smart area of London near Buckingham Palace.

He's on his way to witness a birth, though he isn't a doctor or a relative. Ever since the days of Queen Victoria, the births of heirs to the British throne have required verification by a cabinet minister. Today, that vital and slightly uncomfortable role falls to Mr. Joynson Hicks, the Home Secretary. He tuts as he approaches his destination. Why did the Duchess of York have to go into labour today of all days? He's busy enough. The country is in crisis, teetering on the brink of York have to go into labour today of all days? He's busy enough. The country is in crisis, teetering on the brink of a general strike. And this unborn baby isn't even close to the throne.

The current king, George V, is in good health. Next in line is his eldest son, Edward, Prince of Wales. At just 32, the heir apparent will no doubt marry sometime soon, and it will be his children who continue the line of succession. The baby about to make its royal appearance is merely the first child of the king's second son, the Duke of York. Its legitimacy hardly seems more important than a general strike. The Home Secretary wraps at the shiny black door of No. 17 Bruton Street. Its legitimacy hardly seems more important than a general strike.

The Home Secretary raps at the shiny black door of No. 17 Bruton Street, a townhouse, a smart, upper-class home. A butler lets him in and deals with his hat and coat and offers a pot of tea. The doctor is summoned to inform him that the Duchess of York requires a certain line of treatment. Mr. Joynton Hicks sighs and checks his pocket watch. A Caesarian birth could take hours. He settles down to wait. It is 2.40am the following morning, the 21st of April, 1926,

when news finally arrives. A healthy child has been born. A girl. William Joynson Hicks can't help but smile as the proud new father, the Duke of York, gallops down the hallway to tell the household that the child is called Elizabeth. The Home Secretary approves. He hopes that her illustrious ancestor of the same name will be an inspiration. It's only a shame that this Elizabeth is unlikely to play a role of official significance. But only ten years later, everything changes. On the 10th of December 1936, ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth is on her way home with her governess.

The temperature is almost zero, fog hanging low over the serpentine, the lake in Hyde Park, the swans are hidden in the mist. Elizabeth is having a typical day of an aristocratic girl. She has just attended a swimming lesson, where she practiced her life-saving skills. Later, she may study a little history. She likes learning about kings and queens. That's if her younger sister Margaret will let her concentrate. They cross Park Lane to reach 145 Piccadilly. Her mother and father don't seem to be at home, but it's hard to know for sure, as the house is quite large.

There are 24 bedrooms, a library, and a ballroom. Despite the grand surroundings, the family is happiest when they are together. Her father calls them, we four. His role as Duke of York means he has light duties, so they may enjoy many carefree days. He often puts on the gramophone for them to dance when his lungs are strong enough. Elizabeth's grandfather used to join in the family fun. He was an elegant man, with a pointed beard, though everyone was a little afraid of him. But Elizabeth's grandfather wasn't stern with her. They adored one another. He called her Lilibet, and she called him Grandpa England, because he was the king. But Grandpa England died earlier this year.

Elizabeth goes to her nursery and prepares to make notes from her swimming lesson. She is a diligent student, but her only education has been at home rather than school. Today, her work is disturbed by shouts in the street, chants of God save the king. There seems to be a crowd gathering on Piccadilly. She goes out of the nursery to ask a footman what's happening. He explains that King Edward VIII has abdicated. That means he has given up the throne. He wants to marry the American woman, Mrs. Wallis Simpson. Elizabeth knows what abdication means. She's not a baby. It means her father is king now, and that means he won't be home to put on the gramophone records.

Elizabeth runs to tell Margaret. Aged only six, her sister asks why daddy must be king. Elizabeth said he simply must. Margaret frowns, then gasps. Does this mean Elizabeth will one day be queen? Elizabeth tells her that she will. Oh, says Margaret, poor you. After the abdication, the relaxed privacy enjoyed by we four is gone forever. That day, Princess Elizabeth is instructed by her governess to curtsy to her father. He is no longer the fun-loving man that everyone calls Bertie. He is now King George VI. Dr. Tracey Borman is a royal historian and author of the book Crown and Scepter. So this is the controversy of the year 1936, which was the year of three kings. We'd had a couple of those before, 1066 notably.

But 1936 began with the death of Elizabeth's grandfather, George V. The new king was already deeply embroiled with Wallace Simpson, who was an American divorcee. And I think from the beginning, he thought that he could marry her and be king. He tried to persuade the government it wasn't working. And towards the end of that year, Edward made the seismic decision, huge moment in the history of the monarchy, to step down to abdicate the throne in favour of his brother Bertie. And it really was something that has sent shockwaves across the world. The coronation of Elizabeth's father won't take place until the following year, but it will be a purely ceremonial event. The transfer of power occurs with immediate effect as soon as George's elder brother signs his abdication into law. Elizabeth becomes heir assumptive, but not heir-apparent.

The Constitution is clear on matters of gender. Her mother, the Duchess, is only 36. There's still a chance of a son to leapfrog Elizabeth in the line of succession. And apparently from that moment, the young Elizabeth began ardently praying for a brother so that she wouldn't have to be queen. I think it is a poison chalice. It sounds great, doesn't it? Oh, yeah, you get to be queen or princess and live in a lovely palace and all the rest of it. But Edward VIII himself described being monarch as one of the most suffocating, confining jobs in the world. And I think it does come with an awful lot of strings attached. Your life isn't your own.

Admittedly, it comes with huge privilege, but you have to work for that. And absolutely, Elizabeth's father did not want to be king. He would have avoided it in any way possible. But it was a sense of duty that made him go ahead with it. And I think that characterized his reign, but also the reign of his daughter, Elizabeth. With the departure of the feckless Edward, who will spend the rest of his days bouncing between luxury houses around the world with Mrs Simpson, Buckingham Palace is now home to we four. But family life is different to how it had been in Piccadilly. As Princess Elizabeth's governess recalls in a later memoir,

life in a palace rather resembles camping in a museum In fact, their new home is larger than any museum It has 775 rooms and 830,000 square feet of floor space. It has a better art collection than most museums, too. The walls hang with priceless works. Vermeer, Rembrandt, Rubin. Visitors to the staterooms have the impression that the royal family live in opulence and luxury. But upstairs, out of the public eye,

the living quarters have hardly changed since Queen Victoria. There is barely any heating. There is electricity, but light switches for a bedroom might be halfway down the corridor outside. On the governess's first night in the palace, an entire curtain rail comes off the wall and almost hits her on the head.

Nonetheless, domestic harmony reigns. King George VI refers to the crown as the family firm and takes personal responsibility for mentoring his daughter. From a young age, the Princess reads official dispatches from government, greets heads of state and meets senior government officials. Winston Churchill comments that she has a striking air of authority. In 1939, the King takes the Princess to visit the Royal Naval College. She is only thirteen, but as time passes it is increasingly likely she will one day become

head of the armed forces. The family travel to Dartmouth on the south coast of England in the Royal Yacht. Crowds cheer as they sail up the River Dart and come ashore in a tender. It's an informal tour. The King relaxed in a lounge suit while his daughters are in matching coats and berets with white gloves. The girls plant trees to commemorate the visit. Elizabeth is given a whitebeam tree while Margaret gets a scarlet chestnut.

The navy prides itself on the physical fitness of its cadets and the royals are invited to a display of gymnastics and swimming. One cadet in particular catches the eye of Princess Elizabeth. She is introduced for the first time to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. Although the two are distant relations,

both the great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria, this is their first formal meeting. Aged 18, Philip entertains the young princess with a game of croquet and makes her laugh by leaping over tennis nets. Later, he dines with the royal family on board the Royal Yacht in Dartmouth Harbour. And I think she pretty much fell head over heels in love at first sight. And it was a really important moment for her. And her father later reflected that he couldn't believe that his daughter had really married the first man she'd ever met. But this was it for her.

I think it really was a kind of love match and the attraction was very strong, certainly on her part. And there was much to admire in Philip, apart from his looks. He was very erudite, very charismatic. He'd had quite a traumatic childhood himself. And I think that has shaped him into a very, very capable young man and one who was impossible to resist, actually, for Princess Elizabeth. A few months later, Prince Philip is called up when the war breaks out. Back in London, the royal family choose to remain at Buckingham Palace

despite the risk of Nazi bombing raids. But thousands of British children are being sent out of the city to the countryside or even overseas. In 1940, Princess Elizabeth makes her first global broadcast, addressing evacuees all over the world on the BBC. Thousands of you in this country have had to leave your homes and be separated from your fathers and mothers. My sister, Margaret Rose, and I feel so much for you as we know from experience

what it means to be away from those we love most of all. To you, living in new surroundings, what it means to be away from those we love most of all. To you living in new surroundings, we send a message of true sympathy. And at the same time, we would like to thank the kind people who have welcomed you to their homes in the country.

We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well, for God will care for us and give us victory and peace. And when peace comes, remember, it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place. the world of tomorrow a better and happier place. By September 1940, London faces daily aerial bombardments by the German Luftwaffe. On Friday the 13th, the Royal Family is taking tea at Buckingham Palace when they hear an unmistakable sound. Elizabeth's mother describes the moment in a letter to her mother-in-law,

Queen Mary. We heard the whirr-whirr of a German plane, and before anything else could be said, there was the noise of aircraft diving at great speed, and then the scream of a bomb. It all happened so quickly, we had only time to look foolishly at each other when the scream hurtled past her and exploded with a tremendous crash in the quadrangle. Four members of the palace staff are injured. One later dies of their wounds. The royal family escape unharmed. The Queen Mother comments that she is glad they've been bombed, because now she can look people from the blitzed east end of London in the eye. because now she can look people from the blitzed east end of London in the eye. But she needn't worry.

The defiant decision of the royals to remain in the capital has not gone unnoticed by the public. Elizabeth's childhood home on Piccadilly is destroyed by a direct hit, but Buckingham Palace is a potent symbol of British resistance. For Elizabeth, though, watching the war from her grand home is not enough. Inspired by her parents' commitment to duty, now she too wants to serve. Dr Tessa Dunlop is a historian and author of The Army Girls. Elizabeth, you see her getting more and more impatient as she gets older. She gets an honorary role in the Grenadier Guards and she wears her uniform rather well. You know, she's

kind of neat and looks the part, but it's not enough. It doesn't say to it this desire. She's seen the sacrifice that's been demanded of her father. I think that loyalty, that filial loyalty means she wants to support him and she's ready to step up and serve like her father did. I think the cabinet felt as well, the war was coming to an end. And this would be a great way for Britain to speak to the country and the empire, a way of starting not just to win the war, but the peace. This new, new age, democratic Britain with this new age crown princess. She's in uniform.

She's part of the people's war. It's seen as, you know, clever propaganda. At 19, the princess is appointed an honorary junior commander of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, or ATS. Although she does not sleep in barracks alongside other women, she trains as a mechanic and driver of military vehicles. The image of the young royal in uniform reflects the experience of British women whose lives have been changed irreversibly by their war effort. Today we can say she is the last surviving head of state who served in World War II. One of the reasons why she's untouchable is she is the symbolic figurehead

who ties us back to the Blitz, to Churchill, to unprecedented female service, to unprecedented national service. And that is extraordinarily powerful PR going down the decades, becoming more and more important, in fact, because as they become rarer, that generation, their value, their weight as national treasures increases. After the war, Prince Philip as national treasures, increases. After the war, Prince Philip returns to England a hero. He and Elizabeth have been exchanging letters throughout the conflict, and a romance has blossomed.

In a break with royal protocol, Philip asks Elizabeth to marry him, before seeking the permission of her father. Now aged 20, the most eligible woman in the world already knows her answer. Hers will be a life of discipline and duty. As a counterbalance, she wants to spend it with someone who is happy to leap over tennis nets just to make her laugh. But her enthusiasm for the match isn't entirely shared by the family firm. But her enthusiasm for the match isn't entirely shared by the family firm. There were misgivings, actually, from Princess Elizabeth's parents.

Her mother was even more scathing, actually, about Philip. She nicknamed him the Hun, and it was said that he was a prince without a kingdom. And there was quite a lot of derision for Philip amongst the royal household that he wasn't really blue-blooded enough. But Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, stood firm and made it clear it's Philip or nobody. There's only going to be one man for her. In the aftermath of World War II, the royal wedding comes as a morale boost to a devastated nation. A few months before the ceremony, Philip changes his name from the snappy Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg,

opting instead for the Mountbatten of his maternal line. By officially becoming a British subject too, he renounces his right to the Greek and Danish thrones, but for Elizabeth's hand in marriage it's worth it. With the unpopular Germanic connections of the family name taken care of, it's time to consider the details of the big day itself. A lavish ceremony in a time of austerity could appear tone-deaf when so many are facing hardship. So the plans are modest by royal standards. Princess Elizabeth even saves up ration tokens to buy the fabric for her dress.

Nonetheless, tradition dictates that the ceremony is held at Westminster Abbey. So, on a cool November day in 1947, a thousand years after it hosted its first royal wedding, it's here that Elizabeth walks down the aisle to take Philip as her husband. What you can get lost in is that Elizabeth kind of fancied him, and I think she certainly did. The right man came along at the right time, and she was really one of the last generations

where lots of girls married as virgins. They met their one love, their true love, their schoolgirl sweetheart, and they married him. And Elizabeth, when she gets married in 1947, she symbolizes a whole generation. There is a crash down the aisle in 47, 48 that's never been seen before. People get married younger and faster

than they did between the wars. You know, most of them tend to have stayed married, for better or for worse. It really meant something to them. They're the last generation that really believed in the monarchy, that really had a divine right in some respects. And for better and for worse

might mean that your husband strays. Philip had had girlfriends. And of course there is a question mark about whether he continued to have the odd girlfriend. The key point is Elizabeth made it work, Philip made it work, and the press left them to do just that. And in the end, the marriage endures, and I think is very much one of love. We know that. He was hugely supportive. But it was a different model of marriage.

Within a year, Princess Elizabeth gives birth to their first child, Prince Charles. A sister, Princess Anne, arrives soon after. But in 1952, the couple agree to leave their children at home to represent the ailing king on a six-month tour that starts in Kenya. And then, their family life changes forever. Less than a week into the Royal Tour, as Elizabeth and Philip sleep in their African lodge at Treetops. Back in London, Operation Hyde Park Corner is just getting underway.

This is the code name given to the official protocol that swings into action following the death of the King. The Prime Minister Winston Churchill is told at once, and a telegram is sent to Government House in Nairobi, Kenya. months, and a telegram is sent to Government House in Nairobi, Kenya. But the diplomatic message is encoded and it cannot be read for several hours until consulate staff locate the necessary code book, which is locked away in a cupboard. Once the message that the King is dead is received by the heartbroken Elizabeth, she and Philip fly home. Landing at London airport, now Heathrow, on the 9th of February 1952, a black coat and hat has to be smuggled on board the plane,

so that Elizabeth can emerge in appropriate morning attire. When she's ready, steps are lowered onto the tarmac. The Prime Minister is the first to greet Britain's new monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She was just 25 when she became Queen. By the way, the same age as the first Elizabeth. So parallels were drawn between the two Elizabeths at the time. But yes, she dismissed it out of hand.

She got very, very impatient with these kind of parallels and with the press saying, oh, it's a second Elizabethan age. She said, I feel I have nothing in common with my Tudor forebear who never left these shores, who didn't marry or have children, and who was a thorough despot. So she kind of quashed those straight away in fairly uncharacteristically brutal and frank style. I think she just didn't want all of this romanticism. You know, Britain is going to

rule the waves as it did in Elizabeth's day. So she rapidly quashed all of that sentiment. Six years after her wedding, Queen Elizabeth is back at Westminster Abbey for the coronation. Some 8,000 people cram inside the abbey to witness the spectacle, four times as many guests as her wedding. One historian describes the 1953 coronation as the nation's birthday, a chance for people to feel part of Britain's long and arcane history, to marvel at the magic of monarchy, and to celebrate values

they fought to preserve in the war. The Queen symbolises a moment in time. Young, beautiful, and modern, she directs the nation's attention away from its troubled past, towards a hopeful post-war future. Many households buy their first television set to watch the event. Over half a million TVs are sold in just a few days, as coronation fever sweeps the country.

Temporary transmitters are erected in areas without a signal. Those with a television host friends and neighbours. It is said there are 17 viewers for every set. Some 20 million people tune in in the UK alone, almost half the population. It's also beamed around the world, making the coronation the world's first global broadcast event. Cameras even follow the Queen inside Westminster Abbey. Much of the ritual dates back over a thousand years to St. Dunstan, who created a new ceremony for Edgar, King of Wessex, in 973. In this sacred act,

the new ruler is stripped of their finery and anointed with holy oil. But though the coronation is unprecedentedly public, this part of the ritual is a moment of direct communion between the new monarch and God. For these few minutes, the cameras are switched off and a canopy prevents even the congregation from witnessing this detail of the rite. The anointing represents the monarch almost being given powers from God.

There's a sense that if you're monarch, you're semi-divine. And that's the moment where almost God's hand comes down, you're receiving the holy oil. That's when you become more than a mere mortal. Certainly according to the traditions of the ceremony, you emerge from that anointing as God's right hand. You're there, you're appointed by him, and you almost have these kind of divine powers, certainly according to royal traditions, even if perhaps we don't quite believe that today. That's what the commonly held belief was. And so they emerge as an otherworldly being as a result of the anointing. And so that's why, that's something that wasn't appropriate to be filmed. That was very, very personal and a very sacred moment.

Elizabeth emerges from Westminster Abbey wearing the St Edward's crown. Made for Charles II in 1660, it holds over 400 jewels and weighs more than five pounds. She carries in her left hand the orb and cross, symbolizing state and church. She departs in the gold state coach, a four-ton carriage built in 1760 at a cost of the equivalent of two million dollars today. Pulled by eight horses, the Queen parades through the equivalent of two million dollars today. Pulled by eight horses, the Queen parades through the streets of London to Buckingham Palace. All over the country, people leave their television sets to go outside and enjoy street parties.

By happy coincidence, news arrives the same day that the British expedition to Mount Everest has reached the summit. Princess Margaret will later comment that the 2nd of June 1953 felt like a phoenix time. Everything was raised from the ashes. The Labour leader Clement Attlee tells Parliament that we are witnessing the beginning of a new Elizabethan age. Her coronation dress is decorated with a Tudor rose, a New Zealand fern, and lotus flower from Ceylon, which will, two decades later, become Sri Lanka. They are the floral symbols of the Commonwealth, which, in 1953, is a body of eight states, including former empire territories of Canada, Australia, India and Pakistan. As its new head, Elizabeth's domain encompasses half a billion people.

But times are rapidly changing. While the first Elizabeth built an empire, the second Elizabeth will see it dismantled. Today the Queen is head of state of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth realms. But the Union is nothing if not fluid. As recently as 2021 the former realm of Barbados became a republic,

joining 38 independent countries as voluntary members of the Commonwealth. They no longer swear allegiance to the crown, but recognise the Queen as a neutral figurehead. Though often described as the most powerful woman in the world, overseas as at home, the Queen's role is primarily symbolic. It's a very restricted and closely defined power. And this goes all the way back to 1689, when the joint monarchs William and Mary were forced to sign the Bill of Rights, which was basically a contract between Parliament and the Crown, which gave pretty much all the

power to Parliament. And from that moment on, the Crown becomes little more than a figurehead, but it does still have an important constitutional role. The monarch has a right to be consulted, it can advise, and it can encourage, but it doesn't have actually any direct political power. So there's a lovely fact that in a way, the monarch has less political power than the people of Britain, because they can vote in a new government, whereas the monarch can only acknowledge its arrival. There is one realm where the Queen's rule is often challenged, and that is at home. While the history books are full of decadent royal lives peppered with complicated love affairs,

it was once much easier to keep such matters behind closed doors. But increasingly, royal intrigue becomes catnip for newspapers and fodder for public opinion. During the Queen's coronation, the 22-year-old Princess Margaret makes a small gesture that will have huge consequences. She reaches over to pick a piece of fluff from the collar of Captain Peter Townsend, an RAF man who she first met as a teenager when he worked closely with her father, the king. The tiny moment of indiscretion doesn't go unnoticed,

and gossip circulates about the affair. Princess Margaret, it emerges, is in love. The palace and the government are scandalized. Not only is he divorced and sixteen years her senior, but he's a commoner too. Now with the secret relationship thrown into the spotlight by Margaret's public display of affection, the couple decide that they want to marry. The Queen finds herself trapped between family and duty. The Royal Marriages Act states that the princess cannot marry a divorcee

except by permission of the monarch. And so Margaret begs her sister to overrule church and state and let her wed the man she loves. This has so often been misrepresented. Actually, it wasn't some great, tragic, thwarted love affair. Certainly, if you watch The Crown, you'll believe that. Margaret was given the option to marry him. All she had to do was wait until she was 25. And then she was allowed to, according to the terms of the Act. And she waited until she was 25, by which time she'd gone off him. I'm afraid it was as unromantic as that.

She'd cooled off on the idea of marrying Peter Townsend. So the fact that Elizabeth II herself was put in a very difficult position by the whole Margaret Townsend affair, because she was very close to her sister, but she knew that her duties had to come ahead of that. And I think throughout history, we've seen that dilemma playing out. And I think the most successful monarchs are the ones who've put duty ahead of that. And I think throughout history, we've seen that dilemma playing out. And I think the most successful monarchs are the ones who've put duty ahead of everything. And I would draw a comparison

to Elizabeth II's namesake, the first Elizabeth, who famously didn't marry at all because she knew it was tortuously difficult to do so without dividing the country. So she became the Virgin Queen. The first Queen Elizabeth was not under the same constant public scrutiny as the second Queen Elizabeth.

In the 20th century, every move the monarch makes is filmed, photographed, recorded. While she does what she can to control her appearances, her absences are just as heavily scrutinised. On the 21st of October 1966, at Pantclass Junior School in the mining town of Aberfan in Wales, a teacher is taking the morning register. It's just after 9am. The last few children rush into the classroom from the awful weather outside, excited for the end of term.

They only have one half day left before the school holiday. But while the children are settling down, a mine worker on a hill overlooking the village is startled by a sound like thunder or a low-flying jet. Aberfan is surrounded by spoil heaps, vast mounds of debris that have been dug out of the coal mines, soil, shale and stone. The constant rain of the past three weeks has made the heaps waterlogged. For years there have been worries that they could be unstable.

Now, before the man's eyes, the pile of debris turns from solid to slurry. He tries to warn his colleagues, warn the school, anyone, but it's already too late. The black avalanche rushes 700 meters down the hillside. It tears through the village, ripping through buildings and engulfing the schoolhouse. When it stops, the villagers later say, there is utter silence. Not even the birds sing. 144 people are killed in Aberfan, including 109 schoolchildren. It's Britain's worst mining disaster.

But the Queen does not come to the village in the days after the tragedy. She feels that her presence would be a distraction from the rescue efforts, and she sends Prince Philip in her place. But the choice is a PR disaster. By the time she does go to Aberfan, eight days later, the damage is done. She speaks to a grieving parent, telling them, I'm trying to understand what your feelings must be. But the comment is interpreted to show a lack of empathy.

The Queen will later say that her delayed visit to the village in mourning is her biggest regret. In the rapidly changing era of broadcast media, the Palace tries to become more proactive in shaping its public image. In 1969 the Queen is persuaded to let a BBC camera crew film the royal family for a documentary. When it's aired, viewers respond positively to a behind-the-scenes glimpse at life in the palace. They see the family doing normal things, eating supper, playing board games together in the drawing room, listening to the Queen tell a funny story about a gorilla.

But to the cautious, private Elizabeth, it's an embarrassment. All she can see is a stuffy, unrelatable family in formal clothes, looking anything but normal in their vast home. The BBC is asked to withdraw the programme, and the footage is never seen again, except in short snippets. What the Queen needs is a middle ground, a way to maintain her privacy, mystique even, while also showing herself to be accessible and in touch with the people. While on tour in Australia in 1970, the Queen dispenses with the usual protocol of riding in a vehicle past waving crowds.

Instead, in local parlance, she goes walkabout. In a sunshine yellow dress coat, the Queen meets and greets well-wishers on foot, showing a relaxed good humour that charms the crowd. Throughout the long history of the British Crown, the incumbent has appreciated the need to be seen by their people. You get the great Elizabethan progresses, for example, or the wonderfully named gyrations of Richard II, which was basically when he went on a tour of his country and they were called the gyrations of the king. So I think that need has always been appreciated. of the king. So I think that need has always been appreciated. And just to meet their public, to kind of judge the public mood, but also to show off the royal splendor and magnificence and dazzle their subjects into submission. The queen meeting her people face to face,

that's always gone well, because I think she's very likable. People talk about her wit and her warmth and her intelligence as well. And I think she never lets the side down if she's very likeable. People talk about her wit and her warmth and her intelligence as well. And I think she never lets the side down if she's meeting the public. Princess Anne later tells a story about three student protesters in Australia who take advantage of a walkabout to present the Queen with a satirical gift, a fake arm made from a stuffed glove. The Queen accepts the present with thanks. This is just what I've always wanted, she tells them. Her comment disarms the protesters

and neutralises an otherwise awkward moment. She later jokes with her family that she could use the fake arm to wave from her carriage. But, despite the tight security at royal events, there are times when greater access to the public will put the Queen herself at risk. It's the 13th of June, 1981, the Queen's official birthday. Although she turned 55 in April, a national party is held for the monarch every summer. Known as Trooping the Colour, the ceremony dates back to 1748. Trooping

the Colour is a display of pomp and pageantry. The Queen's personal troops, known as the Household Division, march on foot or horseback from Buckingham Palace, along the Mall to Whitehall. There are some 1,400 officers two hundred horses and ten military bands. Every year thousands of people come to London to witness the display. Today a teenager named Marcus Sargent is among the crowd, just one face in a sea of onlookers. Fans lie in the streets, pressing up against metal barriers, hoping for a glimpse of the Queen. As a band marches past, children in Union Jack hats wave flags. The scene is a riot of red, white and blue.

At the end of the Mall, where the street turns onto Horse Guards Road, Sargent elbows his way to the front. He doesn't have to wait long. A buzz runs through the crowd to say that the Queen's procession has left Buckingham Palace. As people jostle, Sargent struggles to keep his place at the barrier. The frenzy is in stark contrast to the stately procession of the Queen and her troops down the Mall. She rides alone out in front. She is side-saddle on a black mare named Burmese, a horse who was a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Queen wears a scarlet jacket and a velvet hat, one white-gloved hand on the reins, the other hanging relaxed by her side. Her nearest guards are a horse length behind. The screaming of the crowd reaches fever pitch as the Queen turns Burmese off the Mall into Horse Guards Road. Marcus Sargent watches her approach. He waits until she is directly in front of him. He then pulls out a gun.

Holding the Colt revolver with both hands stretched out in front of him, he fires six rapid shots. The crowd screams. Startled, Burmese flicks her tail and runs. A member of the Scots Guard spots the gunman and grabs him, hauling him over the barrier, where he's subdued by officers who come running from every direction. Out on Horse Guard's road, the Queen brings Burmese under control, calming her with a pat on the neck. The sovereign escort closes ranks around the monarch. Remarkably, after just a few seconds, order is restored, and they march on to complete the parade. Many in the crowd are unaware until they see the news later that the Queen has just survived an assassination attempt.

The teenager Marcus Sargent is armed only with a replica gun loaded with blanks, but his intent is real. He had tried to buy ammunition for his father's service revolver, but failed. He leaves letters about how he was inspired by the murder of John Lennon and the shootings of Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. He tells police that he wanted to be the most famous teenager in the world. Instead, he's convicted under the Treason Act and sent to prison for five years. Neither the Queen nor Burmese suffer any lasting effects

from the attack. The pair participate in trooping the collar for another five years, until Burmese retires. When the mare dies a few years later, she is given the rare honour of a burial at Windsor Castle, and in 2005, the Queen unveils a bronze statue of herself astride Burmese, in the town of Regina in Canada, the nation that presented her with her favourite mare. But just a month after the shooting incident, the Queen is once again on parade. It's the 29th of July, 1981. Around 10.30 in the morning, the Queen is riding in a carriage en route to St. Paul's Cathedral. Outside, the streets are lined with the faces and flags of the two million spectators who flock to London to witness the wedding of the century.

For once, the Queen is not the main event. Although people scream and wave as she passes, tirelessly she waves back. As usual, she is highly visible. In a vibrant turquoise blue, her dress is silk and chiffon, a matching turban-style hat covered in tiny flowers. She wears the Williamson pink diamond brooch, made from a 54-carat stone presented to the Queen at her own wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh 34 years earlier. Although there have been many challenges during those years, the family firm looks to be on the up. Some 750 million people worldwide have tuned in to watch her son and heir, Prince Charles, marry Lady Diana Spencer. In a break with tradition, the couple will not marry at Westminster Abbey.

St Paul's allows a longer procession through London, which is necessary given the unprecedented public interest. In the wedding vows, Diana will not promise to obey Charles, an update to the service that will no doubt raise eyebrows. But otherwise, the Queen hopes that the teenage bride is the right match for the future King, and will grow into the role of future Queen, just as Elizabeth herself did. She came from a very privileged aristocratic family, the right stock you would say. She was untouched, she had no skeletons in her cupboard, she was a virgin and she was a blank canvas that I think the presumption was a bit like the Queen had been a blank canvas that would be

pliant and of course she grew almost bigger briefly than the institution itself, which was extraordinarily hard to manage. The fairytale wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales results in a honeymoon period for the whole monarchy, as Diana's glamour shines a fresh light on the institution. The Queen can rest easy, knowing that a key duty has been performed. She has secured the succession of the House of Windsor, with a son and heir who is married to a people's princess. When two grandsons, William and Harry, quickly follow, it seems the union of Charles and Diana is blessed.

But, behind the scenes, there are problems at the palace. But behind the scenes, there are problems at the palace. I think Diana almost brought the monarchy to its knees. Well, she did bring it to its knees. From the very beginning, Diana was adored, not just by the British people, but worldwide. She had that kind of charisma, that appeal, really. And she was described as being when a Hollywood superstar meets royalty head on. She just had it. She had the X factor. She had relatability.

She was much more tactile and informal than a normal member of the royal family, and people loved her for it. And I think the royal family finally woke up to the fact they had to somehow find ways of being more accessible, more relatable. In the next episode of this special two-part short history of Queen Elizabeth II, a shocking death causes the Queen public as well as private anguish. We do gorge and feast on the tension between this institution of state and the heartbeat, the real lives within it. And it's the balance that maintains people's fascination. But if the

balance is briefly out of kilter, as it was in that Diana Charles period, with, of course, all the muckraking tabloids, that's very, very dangerous. I think this blurring of royalty and celebrity is something that we've seen increasingly. It's ever since Diana came onto the scene, and certainly it's the case today. And in fact, I think it was Sir David Attenborough who said, never let the tribe inside the chieftain's hut. You know, because if you see inside it too much, the further you go along the corridors of the palace, the more threadbare the carpets become. That's next time on Short History Of.