- It's a documentary film.
They will follow all of us in our daily lives.
- So we all have to get used to
camera's being here all the time.
- All of you, on best behavior.
(dramatic music)
- Ever wanted to take a deep dive
inside the real events covered in "The Crown"?
Join me, Laura Jackson as we explore
the now banned "Royal Family" documentary
in this edition of "Beneath the Crown".
Who wants magic when you can have transparency?
Access into the lives and minds
of the Royals is commonplace now,
but until the landmark "Royal Family" documentary in 1969,
the media had been firmly shut out.
"Was it the right decision to let them in?",
is a question still being asked 50 years on.
The BBC ITV co-production entitled "Royal Family"
was filmed over the course of a year.
Following the queen and her family on their daily routines.
- It's jolly powerful, that light, isn't it?
- The documentary stemmed from the
negative shift in attitudes towards
the monarchy in the 1960s.
Equality had come to the forefront of public consciousness,
a value not easily compatible with heredity privilege.
Deference was no longer an entitlement,
admiration had to be earned.
- We are the endangered species.
- And so Buckingham Palace's dynamic
new press secretary, William Heseltine,
developed a cunning plan.
Television was seen as the best way
to connect with the masses
and alter their perceptions.
If the royals were shown as
individuals defending the interests of the people,
surely that would help their cause.
- We must all seem very glamorous,
British Olympic team for lunch,
the American President for dinner.
But is, you know, it's a lot of work,
all the preparation and a lot of expense.
In terms of what it actually achieves,
well I like to think, it, we are worth every penny.
- Filming wasn't initially a smooth process.
On one occasion, the Queen's personal protection officer
karate-chopped a long boom microphone
that was thrust out in front of her,
but everyone quickly (got used)
the camera crew being around.
Prince Philip chaired a joined BBC ITV committee
to agree what was going to be filmed.
He wanted to portray the Royals
as a hardworking family.
Scenes that show them participating
in the autocratic pass times of grass and pheasant shooting
were cut in favor of everyday scenes.
The Queen feeding her horses,
buying Prince Edward's sweets at the village shop,
Prince Charles practicing on his cello
and the Duke of Edinburgh painting.
The family preparing a barbecue at Balmoral or
getting ready for Christmas at Windsor and Sandringham.
Reality TV in the 60s was ever
so slightly less dramatic than what we have now.
- We are being filmed watching television.
The people might watch us, watching television,
on their own television sets at home.
This really is plumbing new depths of banality.
- The shows purpose was to present the Royals
as more relatable and accessible.
The "Royal Family" documentary was screened
first in black and white on BBC one on June the 21st 1969
and then in color on ICV the following week.
A staggering three quarters
of the British public watched it.
- Wonderful viewing figures,
the highest for a factual documentary ever.
- The documentary was sold to more than a 125 countries,
with the Queen donating her share of the profits
to the Society of Film and Television Arts,
now known as BAFTA.
It helped to organization move
to new headquarters in Piccadilly, London.
(clapping)
(dramatic music)
- Despite the Queen receiving praise
from viewers from coming across as natural and humorous,
the Royal Family has not allowed
it to be shown since the late 1970s.
The Queen was said to have regretted
her private life been put on display.
(clicking)
- Crucially, the relationship between
the media and the Royals would never be the same again.
The floodgates had been opened,
and their private lives were
increasingly ripe for public consumption.
- The smoke and the mirrors,
the mystery and the protocol,
it's not there to keep us apart.
It is there to keep us alive.
(dramatic music)