This episode reveals fresh insights into how George V rescued the monarchy by dumping his family's German roots, and explores the Edward VIII abdication crisis.During World War I, the royal family rebrands itself amid intense anti-German sentiment. Edwards VIII creates a crisis when he abdicates.
This episode reveals how a lovesick Elizabeth and her ailing father, George VI, keep up appearances while crises loom on every front.As Britain struggles with post-World War II austerity amid a brutal winter, George VI embarks on a strenuous South African tour with his family.
The epic six-parter continues, telling the gripping family saga of the world's most famous dynasty over the last 100 years. The third episode reveals how Prince Philip was frustrated by having to give up his beloved naval career in exchange for a lifetime of trailing after his wife - but channelled his energy into becoming the Windsors' most radical moderniser. When Elizabeth is catapulted on to the throne, her husband wants to assert his rights by having his children bear his surname of Mountbatten. But the young and inexperienced Queen faces formidable opposition from her mother, grandmother and the most powerful man in the land, the PM Sir Winston Churchill. They want the Royal Family to retain the very English name 'Windsor', and the Queen gives in.After Elizabeth becomes queen, Prince Philip shakes things up with his modern ideas, including using television to revamp the Windsors' public image.
The fourth episode of the gripping saga of the world's most famous dynasty features intimate letters from the Prince of Wales and previously unseen family photos of the aristocratic relative earmarked by Charles' great uncle for him to marry in the late 1970s. Charles was determined to do the right thing as Prince of Wales and avoid the mistakes of his great uncle King Edward VIII, who abdicated to marry the divorced woman who he loved, and almost brought the House of Windsor to its knees. Another great uncle, Lord Mountbatten - an ambitious man of boundless energy and ego - wants to cement his position at the heart of the House of Windsor by acting as kingmaker to Prince Charles, who calls him his 'honorary grandpa'. The programme reveals how Mountbatten arranged a secret meeting in Paris between the exiled King and Charles. But, rather than fearing 'Uncle David' as a warning from history, Charles describes how he sees him as an object of sympathy, even affection.As Prince Charles comes of age, he faces pressure to avoid the romantic pitfalls of Edward VIII, and is taken under Lord Mountbatten's wing.
The fifth instalment of the epic family saga of the world's most famous dynasty features correspondence from the Queen's personal family archive held at Windsor, and reveals how a naïve 19-year-old was transformed into a global celebrity. Diana's huge personal popularity and tragic death posed the greatest challenge to the Windsors since the abdication of Edward VIII. Like Edward VIII, Diana was a stellar personality who found attention overwhelming but craved the limelight. She also developed her own vision of monarchy, talking openly about her life and problems; behaviour that was taboo under the Windsors' code of zipped tight discretion. On paper Diana was perfect; in reality she turns out to be deeply troubled. As her marriage flounders she turns her vulnerability to her advantage by reaching out to other damaged people and wins huge affection as result.The royal family struggles with challenges caused by Diana's extreme popularity, her rift with Prince Charles, and her tragic death.
The last episode in the epic series that tells the gripping saga of the world's most famous dynasty. Prince Charles is the most outspoken heir to the throne in the Windsors' history. He's promised a vision for the monarchy that's radically different from his mother's. But will his reign make or break the Windsor dynasty? From the age of 20, Charles is determined to do something as Prince of Wales and not just be a playboy 'ribbon cutter' waiting for his mother to die. By the time he's Prince William's age, he'd set up the Prince's Trust to help unfashionable causes like drug addicts and homeless young people. He's prepared to wade into controversial political issues like immigration and relations between Islam and the West. In 1999, he snubs the Chinese President, insulting his mother and angering the Labour government.Pursuing his unconventional vision of the monarchy, Prince Charles tackles social and political issues, sometimes clashing with Queen Elizaabeth.
