Royal Family (documentary)

Royal Family is a documentary film about the British royal family, which was produced in 1969 by the BBC. The film was directed by Richard Cawston, narrator was actor Michael Flanders, the screenplay was by Anthony Jay. The film granted for the first time ever, an insight into the everyday life of the royal family and cared for record- high ratings.

In the late 1960s, there were increasing efforts to present a more modern image of monarchy. In particular, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, wanted to show the public that members of the Royal Family " normal, hard-working people " were. For centuries, the opinion had prevailed, the preservation of the monarchy was a degree of mystification and cant indispensable; the private life of the royal family should be protected at all costs. With the advent of the mass media in the 20th century, these views began to change gradually.

As in 1968, the upcoming investiture of Charles Prince of Wales was announced, the royal family was faced with unusually many media inquiries. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were, a documentary was only her eldest son might be of little interest; so the idea to involve the rest of the family was born. Director Richard Cawston from the BBC initially wanted to turn an analytical film about the monarchy, but then decided after the start of production for a chronological account of the life of the royal family during a year. Royal Family was broadcast on 22 June 1969 at the BBC program, reaching 22 million viewers, an additional 15 million watched the replay a week later on ITV This means that around two thirds of all UK television viewers watched the two-hour documentary.

Since these two broadcasts of the documentary remained largely under wraps - allegedly because the Queen was worried her family make it an ordinary impression. Elizabeth II is in the possession of the copyright and granted only a few people have access to the footage, for scientific purposes. Short extracts were first released back in 2011 for The Duke at 90 BBC documentary ( for the 90th birthday of the Duke of Edinburgh), as well as 2012 for the exhibition Queen: Art and Image occasion of the Diamond Jubilee. However, large parts of the film to the public continue to be withheld.