Life of a Queen
It's Good to be the King! • 15m
Directed by Not credited • Documentary • With Queen Elizabeth II • 1960 • 16 minutes
Compilation newsreel portraying Queen Elizabeth II from her childhood to the early days of her reign, sponsored by the Central Office of Information. This film starts with early footage of the Queen as a girl and young women, including some images of her during the Second World War. Important events in the young Princess’s life depicted include a visit to South Africa at the age of 21, her engagement to Philip Mountbatten and subsequent Royal Wedding, as well as King George VI lying in state. We follow the Queen on visits to Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Nigeria, and to European neighbours such as France where she gets a warm welcome from the people of Paris. There is footage of the King and Queen of Thailand’s state visit to the UK followed by other official engagements the Queen carries out such as ship launches, a tour of a coalmine, and the opening of a new telephone system. We also see Queen Elizabeth as a mother and surrounded by her family. The film stresses her responsibilities as monarch and depicts it as a lonely role, but the commentary ends on an uplifting note with the following words: “Alone, but sustained by the love of her family, and the love of her people.”
Up Next in It's Good to be the King!
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Southward with Prince Philip
Directed by Not credited • Documentary • With Prince Philip • 1957 • 12 minutes
Please note that this film contains disturbing scenes of animal cruelty.
In the late 1956 the Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh went on a tour of Antarctica and the South Atlantic, which included visits to Graham Land...
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Royal Children
Directed by Not credited • Documentary • With Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew • 1961 • 19 minutes
This compilation of newsreels sponsored by the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Central Office of Information, portrays the royal children at a young age. The f...
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Royal Journey
Directed by David Bairstow • Documentary • 1951 • 54 minutes
A documentary account of the five-week visit of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to Canada and the United States in the fall of 1951 includes the pageantry of Québec City; the National War Memorial in Ottawa; the Trenton Ai...
