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Secrets of the Royals_ Births, Marriages and Deaths - Season 1 Episode 1
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00:00Some call it a fever. Some call it delirium. Others call it love.
00:08For a foresight, it can be both a blessing and a curse.
00:14The Foresights continues Monday at 9. Watch. Stream. On 5.
00:20The future king, William, is ready to reshape the royal family.
00:25I think it's going to usher in a new golden age for the monarchy.
00:27He's got to make it relevant. How far will he go?
00:31There's going to be a big shake-up.
00:33William, when he becomes king. Next Saturday at 5 past 9. Watch. Stream. On 5.
00:41Both strong, caring and with an overwhelming sense of duty.
00:45What else did they have in common?
00:47Catherine and Queen Elizabeth, a special relationship is at 5 past 9.
00:51Brand new first, secrets of the royals. Births, marriages and deaths.
00:57Greatness is seeing my dad smile again.
01:03Great British Stories on 5. Sponsored by Help for Heroes.
01:06My crown, I am.
01:14But still my griefs are mine.
01:18Still am I king of those.
01:22Royal births, marriages and deaths have determined the course of British history.
01:27Fire! Fire! Fire!
01:29Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! It's about power. It's about position.
01:34Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
01:37Fire! Fire! Fire! And this power is passed down by line of succession.
01:48Henry was absolutely over the moon.
01:52Bonfires were lit. Celebrations were had across the city.
01:57The birth of Archie was a major international event because he was in line to the throne.
02:02A royal wedding is a new start.
02:08It's glitz and glamour and optimism.
02:12On the happiest day of his life, the prince was drunk, crying,
02:18Why am I marrying this woman?
02:25Lord Dawson took a syringe and he injected morphine into the king's neck.
02:31This was regicide.
02:38Here in the archives, we can hear these voices.
02:42The hopes wrapped up in a longed-for royal baby.
02:46The fairytale weddings that end in disaster.
02:50This is where we find the grisly deaths.
02:56This blessed plot.
02:58This earth.
03:01This realm.
03:02The final days and hours leading up to a royal death
03:14are usually very private affairs.
03:16Family moments shrouded in mystery.
03:19But for Queen Victoria's death,
03:21there are incredible personal diaries written by those who were there
03:24which give us an almost hour-by-hour account
03:27of exactly what happened behind palace walls.
03:30James Reed, Victoria's personal physician,
03:35wrote an intimate diary of her last days.
03:39So James Reed was very close to Queen Victoria.
03:42She grumbled to him about everything that she wanted to grumble about.
03:47Sometimes he would say I was the lightning rod
03:48to absorb all her tension between her family
03:51because she was always in conflict with her family.
03:54Without his diaries,
03:55we would have a rather sanitised account of her dying.
04:01His diaries explain exactly what happens.
04:04We understand the fights between the children
04:06because everybody was in denial about the Queen dying.
04:10And we even have the words of Victoria herself
04:13in the entries she wrote in her own journal.
04:16Now part of the Royal Archives,
04:19the papers of the royal family itself.
04:21Queen Victoria began keeping her diaries
04:24when she was 13 years old in 1832
04:26and she continued writing the diaries
04:29right up until her death in 1901.
04:32She trusted very few people around her
04:35and it was only really in her diaries
04:38that she could confide the full truth of her life.
04:41These sources allow us to reconstruct Victoria's final days
04:45in unprecedented detail.
04:46And what they reveal is a squabbling household,
04:50a nation in denial,
04:52and a Queen whose servants she trusted
04:54more than her own flesh and blood.
04:58The demise of this great Queen
05:00began in the winter of 1900
05:02at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight,
05:05where she'd gone to spend a quiet Christmas
05:07with two of her daughters.
05:09Victoria's always in Osborne for the winter,
05:11for the Christmas.
05:13Start of the new year,
05:13it's bleak weather,
05:15it's snowing,
05:16it's cold.
05:17It was fairly quiet.
05:18The Prince of Wales was off shooting in the country.
05:21Most of her children were spread around.
05:23Only her two daughters were there.
05:25So it was a fairly somber place.
05:27Not too much fun.
05:29And there's an entry in Victoria's journal
05:31written at Osborne House,
05:33which gives us an intriguing glimpse
05:35into her state of mind
05:36just three weeks before her death.
05:39This entry is from the 1st of January,
05:41but far from feeling excited
05:43about a new year
05:45and indeed a new century,
05:47she complains that she's feeling
05:48so weak and unwell
05:50that I enter upon it sadly.
05:53She's always been quite resolute,
05:55quite upbeat.
05:56But here there's definitely
05:57a sense of weariness,
06:00of the world closing in upon her.
06:03It's almost as though
06:04she's losing her zest for life.
06:06In fact, the previous 12 months
06:08had been tough for the Queen,
06:10who'd been beset by personal tragedy.
06:13She'd had a grim year
06:15leading up to the Christmas.
06:17Her daughter had just been diagnosed
06:19with breast cancer.
06:21Her daughter was the Dowager Empress of Germany
06:23and mother of the Kaiser.
06:26Her favourite son, Alfred,
06:28had died from throat cancer.
06:31Her grandson,
06:33who'd been fighting out in the Boer War,
06:36died on a journey back to England.
06:39And then her closest friend,
06:41Lady Jane Churchill,
06:43died on Christmas morning.
06:46And that was her last close friend.
06:50So really, Christmas was a bit grim for the Queen.
06:53Losing so many loved ones
06:55had taken its toll.
06:56And a rather mundane detail
06:58Victoria also records
07:00gives us a further insight
07:02into not just her melancholy frame of mind,
07:05but her physical frailty.
07:08This entry describes how the Queen
07:10spent the day visiting
07:11her local convalescent home.
07:13When she returned to Osborne,
07:15she rested for a while
07:16and was able to take a little more food
07:18for her supper than she had
07:19for the last three days.
07:21To be quite frank,
07:22Queen Victoria was notoriously greedy.
07:25So to hear that she didn't have much appetite
07:27is definitely a sign
07:29that something was wrong.
07:30And in the last few weeks of her life,
07:32in fact,
07:33the Queen was only able to digest baby food.
07:37And as January progressed,
07:40very quickly,
07:41Victoria's health started to go downhill.
07:43She has these moments of exhaustion,
07:46breathlessness,
07:47and by the 12th of January,
07:50her doctor was getting quite worried.
07:52In an age before the internet,
07:55the palace issued written bulletins
07:57to inform the press of royal news.
07:59And Sir James was convinced
08:01the Queen would want her subjects
08:03to know about her health.
08:04He asks the Prince of Wales,
08:06shall I put in something?
08:08And Prince of Wales says,
08:09no, definitely not.
08:11So this is going on
08:12till the 18th of January.
08:15Reid is getting more and more worried.
08:17And he says,
08:18we need to put out something.
08:20So this very bland statement
08:22is put out saying,
08:23the Queen is not in her full health.
08:26In fact, we now know
08:28Victoria had just four days left to live.
08:31Sir James knew the Queen was dying,
08:34but absolutely everybody refused to acknowledge
08:37that she was not going to recover.
08:39It was a situation
08:40that Sir James felt needed to be remedied.
08:43So he began secretly
08:44to contact those he felt should be told.
08:47The first person he does want to inform
08:49is actually the Kaiser,
08:51the Queen's grandson.
08:54Kaiser Wilhelm II
08:55was the Emperor of Germany.
08:57And there was no love lost
08:58between him and Victoria's children,
09:00his aunts and uncles.
09:02The Kaiser had told Reid,
09:04the family will block me when she dies.
09:07Please let me know when she is poorly.
09:09Kaiser had once called the Prince of Wales
09:11an old peacock.
09:12And he had also referred to the Queen's daughters
09:17as the petticoats.
09:19They weren't fond of him,
09:20he wasn't fond of them.
09:21But such a high profile
09:22and unexpected visit
09:24was bound to cause a public stir.
09:27Much excitement in London.
09:28The Kaiser has arrived.
09:30He's quite a figure.
09:31You know, some are fond of him,
09:33some don't like him.
09:34Whatever.
09:35But he's excited the press.
09:36But before the Kaiser
09:38had even managed to get to Osborne,
09:40unbeknownst to the now curious journalists,
09:43the Queen suffered what was believed
09:44to be a series of strokes.
09:47In the face of this new crisis,
09:49Victoria's children began to descend
09:51on Osborne House.
09:53The family were all summoned
09:54to come to Osborne House.
09:57And following them
09:58were a bunch of journalists
10:00who began to camp outside the gates.
10:03And the press bulletins
10:05over the next 48 hours
10:06revealed Victoria's final days
10:08were nothing less than a rollercoaster.
10:12Initially, Victoria defied expectation.
10:15But within eight hours,
10:17it was a very different story.
10:19By midnight that day,
10:21her condition was
10:22Reed is convinced
10:24that she's not going to make it
10:25through the night.
10:26He's now called a team of doctors
10:28and they're all looking
10:29after the Queen
10:30who is drifting in and out
10:32of consciousness.
10:34But as dawn broke,
10:35the Queen again defied the odds.
10:37So here we go again.
10:38It's like a constantly
10:40swinging pendulum.
10:42But by the evening
10:43of Monday the 21st of January,
10:45it was clear the end was in sight.
10:47It's a very stressful night for Reed.
10:50And finally that bulletin
10:51has to go out.
10:52That Queen is deteriorating.
10:54It is actually happening.
10:57As the moment of Victoria's death
10:59drew nearer,
10:59and whilst the press waited,
11:01we now have astonishing detail
11:03about her final hours.
11:06By now, Queen Victoria
11:07had been moved
11:08to a little divan bed.
11:09She's having trouble breathing.
11:11There's an oxygen mask on her.
11:13The room was packed.
11:14Her daughter, Princess Beatrice,
11:16was telling the Queen
11:17who was there.
11:19I mean,
11:19they were all devoted
11:20to their grandmother
11:21or their mother.
11:22I mean,
11:22they were really fond of her.
11:24She's a good granny.
11:26There is this din
11:27in this room
11:28because all the householders there
11:29they are weeping.
11:31Kaiser,
11:32he will not move.
11:33He's standing
11:34on the right side of the bed.
11:35He says,
11:36this is my place.
11:37And he actually props her up
11:39so she can breathe.
11:40The Queen remained conscious
11:41throughout this
11:42even though she couldn't speak.
11:44So James Reed
11:45was feeling her pulse.
11:47She suddenly became alert
11:48and she stared
11:49at a picture on the wall
11:50which was the entombment
11:52of Christ.
11:57And then
11:58a few moments later
12:00she died.
12:03Reed notes the time
12:05and then the Prince of Wales
12:06he gets up
12:07and he closes her eyes.
12:10Suddenly
12:10it's all quiet.
12:12It's over.
12:14It's the end of an era.
12:18Coming up
12:22the funeral of a queen
12:25that broke royal precedent.
12:27She didn't want to be embalmed.
12:29She didn't want black
12:30and she didn't want a hearse.
12:33And a storm
12:34that threatened to disrupt
12:35an autumn wedding.
12:37There's a thunderstorm
12:38and Her Majesty walks in
12:39and the tree goes flying.
12:41My head be it.
12:42It's.
12:48Every bride and groom
12:54want every aspect
12:55of their big day
12:56to be perfect.
12:57From the dress
12:58to the cake.
13:00But with the entire country
13:01tuning in
13:02royal weddings mean
13:03it's not just family
13:04and friends
13:05who are watching.
13:08And on the 12th of October
13:102018
13:11when Princess Eugenie
13:13was due to marry
13:14her long-term boyfriend
13:15Jack Brooksbank
13:16at St George's Chapel Windsor
13:17every detail
13:19was under scrutiny.
13:20When the public
13:21watch a royal wedding
13:22they are paying
13:23into a fairy tale
13:25a vision of what
13:27life and love
13:28should and could
13:29be like.
13:31And one of the most
13:32important elements
13:33is the flowers.
13:34I was very honoured
13:36to be asked
13:36to be part
13:37of Her Royal Highness
13:38Princess Eugenie
13:39and Jack's wedding
13:41ceremony
13:41at Windsor Castle.
13:44Both Her Royal Highness
13:45and Jack
13:46were very involved
13:47with the whole look
13:48of the whole ceremony.
13:50And with an October date
13:51the couple chose
13:53an autumnal theme.
13:55It was mid-autumn
13:56and there was
13:57the perfect time
13:58to bring in
13:59all these beautiful
14:00autumnal British flowers
14:01foliages and trees
14:02and all in keeping
14:04with autumn.
14:05On the day
14:06before the wedding
14:07after months
14:08of planning
14:09Rob and his team
14:10were finally allowed
14:11inside the castle gates
14:12to turn this royal
14:14floral vision
14:15into a stunning
14:16regal reality.
14:18But such a historic
14:19building posed
14:20some rather unique
14:21challenges.
14:23You're not allowed
14:23to put any nails
14:24or structures as such
14:26that might damage
14:27the building.
14:28we had to come up
14:29with using lots
14:30of sandbags
14:31to secure the trees
14:32tying them back
14:33with ropes
14:34to the staircase
14:34handrail
14:35because you can't
14:37do any damage
14:38to a building
14:39like that.
14:39But at the same time
14:40we deal with
14:41the royal family
14:42you don't want
14:42anything to start
14:44flying on the day
14:45and injuring anybody.
14:47So that was
14:48quite a stressful
14:49period of
14:51making everything
14:53secure.
14:54The result
14:55was a stunning
14:56array of autumnal
14:57blooms
14:58fit for a princess
14:59and the focal point
15:01were full-size
15:02liquid amber trees
15:04framing the entrance
15:05to the chapel.
15:06We brought in
15:07these massive
15:07big trees
15:08to place on the
15:09staircase
15:09to get that
15:10big impact.
15:11We had oak leaves
15:13we had hydrangeas
15:14lots of dahlias
15:15so it was a whole
15:17abundance
15:17of autumnal
15:18With everything
15:20in place
15:20it seemed as if
15:22nothing could
15:22possibly go wrong.
15:24But as Rob
15:25was doing
15:25his final touches
15:26there was
15:27one ominous
15:28sign of something
15:29he couldn't
15:31control.
15:32It was so windy
15:33and the weather
15:34was like
15:34dodgy
15:36like was it
15:37going to rain
15:37was it going to
15:38stay dry
15:39so sleepless
15:40nights.
15:41And later
15:42that night
15:43the forecast
15:44didn't bode well.
15:47One of the
15:48year's biggest
15:49storms
15:50Storm Callum
15:51was about to
15:52hit British shores.
15:54An autumn wedding
15:55is very romantic
15:56in theory
15:57a little bit risky
15:58in practice.
15:59You are battling
16:00that great British
16:01character
16:02the weather
16:04that will rule
16:05over everything.
16:07As the day
16:08of the wedding
16:09dawned
16:09and the first
16:10guests made
16:11their way
16:11to the beautifully
16:12decorated chapel
16:13Storm Callum
16:14was making
16:15his presence felt.
16:16it was extremely
16:18grim
16:19very windy
16:20not great
16:21if
16:22you've got
16:23full-sized
16:24trees
16:24parked outside
16:25your wedding
16:26party.
16:27As the royal
16:28guests finally
16:29arrived
16:30with nearly
16:30four million
16:31people watching
16:32across the UK
16:33for Rob
16:34it wasn't just
16:35his reputation
16:36at stake
16:37one strong
16:38gust of wind
16:39could spell
16:40absolute royal
16:41disaster.
16:43My husband
16:43and I
16:44were very
16:44lucky enough
16:45to be invited
16:46to the
16:46exorc ceremony
16:47and I was
16:48shaking like that
16:49and said to my
16:50husband
16:50what's wrong
16:51with you
16:51I went
16:51have you seen
16:53these doors
16:53outside
16:54it's blowing
16:55I went
16:55you've made
16:56sure everything
16:57is secure
16:57but you still
16:58if there's a
16:59thunderstorm
16:59and Her
17:00Majesty
17:00walks in
17:01and the
17:01tree goes
17:02flying
17:02might have
17:03be it.
17:05But as the
17:05bride made
17:06her way
17:06down the
17:07aisle
17:07any major
17:08incident
17:09seemed to
17:09have been
17:10averted.
17:11Thank God
17:11there were
17:12guardian angels
17:12looking after
17:13us
17:13everything
17:14went very
17:14smoothly
17:15people still
17:16say to me
17:17why do you
17:17get nervous
17:18you've done
17:18this for
17:1940 years
17:19and of
17:20course you
17:20get nervous
17:21I think
17:21there's only
17:22normal
17:22when you're
17:22dealing with
17:23something like
17:24this
17:24where the
17:25whole world
17:25is watching
17:26it's a
17:28huge
17:28privilege
17:28the bride
17:29and groom
17:29were over
17:30the moon
17:31and that's
17:32what we
17:32want
17:32the British
17:44monarchy
17:44isn't usually
17:45associated
17:46with big
17:46surprises
17:47it stands
17:48for tradition
17:49stability
17:50a tried
17:51and trusted
17:51port
17:52in any
17:52storm
17:53but by
17:56the mid
17:561960s
17:57as Queen
17:58Elizabeth
17:58was about
17:58to give
17:59birth at
17:59Buckingham
18:00Palace
18:00to her
18:00fourth
18:01child
18:01there were
18:02surprises
18:02in abundance
18:03and the
18:05first
18:05involved
18:05the pioneering
18:06monarch
18:06throwing off
18:07the shackles
18:08of royal
18:08birthing
18:08tradition
18:09and deciding
18:10to embrace
18:11the changing
18:11times
18:12there was
18:14there was
18:15there was
18:15there was
18:15there was
18:15something
18:15very unusual
18:17and unorthodox
18:18about the birth
18:18of Prince
18:19Edward
18:19which is
18:20that Prince
18:20Philip was
18:21indeed present
18:22that's
18:23shockingly
18:23modern
18:24newfangled
18:25behavior for
18:26the royal
18:26family
18:27the Queen
18:28had been
18:28reading some
18:29women's
18:29magazines
18:30which were
18:31suggesting that
18:31in fact it
18:32would be a good
18:32idea for
18:33these ancillary
18:35objects called
18:36the fathers
18:36to be present
18:37at the birth
18:38of their own
18:39children
18:39so there he
18:40was Prince
18:41Philip
18:41in the room
18:43worst having
18:44your husband
18:45at your side
18:45during labor
18:46might not
18:47sound like
18:47cutting edge
18:48progress
18:48it was a
18:49big shift
18:50for this
18:50royal couple
18:51for her
18:53fourth son
18:53Edward
18:54this was
18:54a complete
18:55change
18:56the first
18:57child
18:58Prince
18:58Charles
18:59Prince
19:00Philip
19:00had no
19:02interest
19:02in staying
19:03there
19:03he went
19:04off to
19:04play squash
19:05and he
19:06just said
19:06let me
19:07know when
19:07it happens
19:08and I'll
19:09come back
19:09I think
19:10men
19:11at one
19:12point
19:12would be
19:13very scared
19:13of seeing
19:14something like
19:15that
19:15and still
19:16are perhaps
19:17but you know
19:18he'd moved
19:19with the times
19:20and he held
19:21her hand
19:22and he talked
19:23to her
19:23and he was
19:25absolutely
19:25amazed by it
19:27Prince
19:28Philip
19:28I suspect
19:29would have
19:30been as
19:31keen on this
19:32I don't think
19:32he would have
19:33needed any
19:33encouragement
19:34he was very
19:34much a sort
19:35of pioneer
19:36so I suspect
19:37that was as
19:38much down
19:39to him
19:39as down
19:40to the
19:40queen
19:40but the
19:41decision
19:41for Philip
19:42to be
19:42at the
19:43arrival
19:43of his
19:43son
19:44wasn't
19:44the only
19:44surprise
19:45with this
19:46royal birth
19:46in fact
19:47Prince Edward
19:48arrived a week
19:49before his due
19:50date
19:50on the 10th
19:51of March
19:511964
19:52and his
19:53parents-to-be
19:54had no idea
19:55they were even
19:56expecting a boy
19:57Prince Edward
19:59it was thought
20:00that he was
20:00going to be
20:01a girl
20:01because he
20:02was a very
20:04small baby
20:05so she
20:05obviously had
20:06a very small
20:06bump
20:07and the
20:07projections
20:08that the
20:08child was
20:09going to be
20:09rather small
20:10I think he was
20:10about five or six
20:11pounds
20:11and so there
20:12was a sort
20:13of surprise
20:13that this
20:14small bump
20:15was actually
20:15a boy
20:16and not a girl
20:17the excitement
20:20in Buckingham
20:21Palace
20:21was reflected
20:22by the
20:22whole nation
20:23that the
20:23queen was
20:24safely delivered
20:24of a son
20:25at 8.20
20:26that evening
20:26with Edward
20:28Philip and
20:29Elizabeth
20:29had finally
20:30completed
20:30their family
20:31and in another
20:33break with the
20:33Norm
20:34this happy
20:35moment was
20:35captured in
20:36an extraordinary
20:37photo
20:37taken soon
20:38after Edward's
20:39birth
20:39to see a
20:42queen
20:42sitting up
20:43in bed
20:43whether she
20:44has or
20:44hasn't
20:45just given
20:46birth
20:46is amazingly
20:48intimate
20:49and even
20:50quite shocking
20:51traditionally
20:52we are used
20:53to seeing
20:53queens and kings
20:54in full state
20:55regalia
20:56being extremely
20:57formal
20:58suddenly
20:59we're in
21:00their bedroom
21:01and they might
21:02be wearing
21:02pearls and
21:03makeup
21:03but they're
21:04also wearing
21:04their actual
21:05nightie
21:06it's an
21:07amazing view
21:08into ordinary
21:10royal domestic
21:11life
21:12the images
21:13after the
21:14birth of
21:14Edward
21:15softens
21:15that image
21:16of royalty
21:16and we
21:18see the
21:19queen
21:19as wife
21:20and mother
21:21of course
21:22that's one
21:22of the things
21:23that is so
21:24striking about
21:25the late queen's
21:26reign
21:26that she grew
21:27up from being
21:28a young
21:29married woman
21:30right through
21:30to being a
21:31mother
21:31grandmother
21:32and great
21:32grandmother
21:33during her
21:33reign
21:34and that's
21:34a really
21:35important
21:35means by
21:36which I
21:36think people
21:37are connected
21:37with her
21:38most royal
21:48weddings are
21:49times of
21:49happy celebration
21:50and a reminder
21:52to us all
21:52what it feels
21:53like to be
21:54young and in
21:54love
21:55but in the late
21:5718th century
21:58there was one
21:58princely groom
21:59who was very
22:00definitely not
22:01looking forward
22:01to getting
22:02hitched
22:03the most chaotic
22:04and scandalous
22:06royal wedding
22:07in history
22:07has got to be
22:08that of
22:09George Prince
22:10of Wales
22:11future George
22:12IV and his
22:13cousin Caroline
22:14of Brunswick
22:15it was an
22:17arranged marriage
22:18and it looked
22:18great on paper
22:19but it was
22:20the most
22:21disastrous
22:22blind date
22:23in history
22:24in 1795
22:26the whole
22:27country is
22:28waiting for a
22:29royal wedding
22:29George has got
22:30to get married
22:31he's the heir
22:32George has been
22:34given a long
22:35list of possible
22:36protestant princesses
22:38to marry
22:38and he rather
22:40said
22:40well any
22:41might do
22:42Caroline was
22:43said to be
22:44pleasant
22:44attractive
22:46reasonably well
22:47educated
22:47and could speak
22:49a little bit
22:49of English
22:49so perfect
22:51Caroline comes
22:53over from her
22:54German principality
22:55a very tiring
22:56trip on rough
22:57seas
22:57and they meet
22:58for the first
22:59time in the
23:00palace
23:00Caroline
23:02cuts this
23:04and George
23:05receives her
23:06and then he
23:07raises her up
23:08a look of
23:10total
23:11horror
23:12spreads
23:13over his
23:14face
23:15he immediately
23:15dashes away
23:17out of the
23:18room
23:18looking for
23:19brandy
23:20and saying
23:20he must
23:21go to
23:21mother
23:21princess
23:23Caroline
23:24left in
23:25the room
23:25says
23:26by god
23:27is he always
23:28so fat
23:29he looks
23:30nothing like
23:30his portrait
23:31well
23:32George was
23:33a bit
23:33large
23:33from this
23:35inauspicious
23:37beginning
23:37things just
23:39get worse
23:41three days
23:43three days later
23:43they are
23:44wed
23:44at the
23:44chapel
23:45royal
23:45in
23:45St
23:46James's
23:46palace
23:46was going
23:47to be
23:48the great
23:49grand
23:50royal wedding
23:51of the
23:51future king
23:52the great
23:53and the good
23:54the aristocrats
23:55are there
23:55and yet
23:56the wedding
23:57is nothing
23:58short
23:58of a
23:59catastrophe
23:59George
24:01staggered
24:02up the
24:03aisle
24:03totally
24:04drunk
24:05when he
24:05gets to
24:06the altar
24:07he actually
24:07starts crying
24:09he has a
24:09look of
24:10torment
24:10on his
24:11face
24:11George
24:13was
24:13overwhelmed
24:14with misery
24:15and that's
24:16because
24:17he was
24:17already
24:18married
24:19coming up
24:26the forbidden
24:28wedding of
24:28England's
24:29bigamous
24:29king
24:30poor old
24:31Mrs. Fitzherbert
24:32her marriage
24:32was deemed
24:33illegal
24:33and she had
24:34to watch
24:35her husband
24:35marry someone
24:36else
24:37and the
24:37astonishing
24:38final journey
24:39of a
24:39beloved
24:40queen
24:40it was
24:41so impressive
24:42because it
24:43was 11
24:44miles of
24:45battleships
24:45and cruisers
24:47top to toe
24:48lined across
24:49the
24:49and as the
24:50queen's coffin
24:51went past
24:52they were
24:52firing their
24:53minute guns
24:54on the 22nd
25:03of January
25:031901
25:04queen
25:05victoria's
25:06death
25:06was announced
25:07to a
25:07shocked
25:08world
25:08it was a
25:09seismic
25:10event
25:10not only
25:11for the
25:11country
25:11but for
25:12the empire
25:12it was
25:13announced
25:14in the
25:14theaters
25:14and all
25:15the
25:15performance
25:16of plays
25:17musical
25:17concerts
25:18all stopped
25:19and the
25:20audiences
25:20poured out
25:21onto the
25:22streets
25:22after a
25:23reign that
25:24had lasted
25:24over 63
25:25years
25:26it was a
25:27moment the
25:27nation
25:28would never
25:28forget
25:29it was the
25:30end of an
25:30era
25:31and nobody
25:32knew
25:33what life
25:34was like
25:34without queen
25:35victoria sitting
25:36on the throne
25:36in 2022
25:38when another of
25:40britain's longest
25:40reigning monarchs
25:41elizabeth the
25:43second passed
25:44away
25:44the preparations
25:46for her funeral
25:46had been worked
25:47out in detail
25:48years beforehand
25:50but for queen
25:51victoria
25:51it couldn't have
25:53been more
25:53different
25:54nobody knows
25:55exactly what
25:56to do
25:57they are not
25:58prepared
25:59they are not
25:59prepared in
26:00windsor
26:00the government
26:01is not prepared
26:02it's like the
26:03queen would live
26:03forever
26:04was just what
26:05everyone felt
26:06the last royal
26:07funeral for a
26:08monarch had
26:08taken place in
26:091837 when
26:11william the
26:11fourth queen
26:12victoria's uncle
26:13died
26:14up to that
26:15time royal
26:16funerals were
26:17private affairs
26:18they took place
26:19at night in
26:20the confines of
26:22windsor castle
26:22and they were
26:23lit by candle
26:24light there
26:25were no public
26:26there no great
26:27ceremony or
26:28anything like
26:28that
26:29but victoria had
26:31other ideas
26:32the queen
26:32left a detailed
26:34note of what
26:35she wanted to
26:36happen
26:36she didn't want
26:38to be embalmed
26:38there was to be
26:40no lying in state
26:41she didn't want
26:42black and she
26:44didn't want a
26:45hearse
26:45and far from
26:47being the private
26:47funeral of her
26:48predecessor
26:49victoria wanted
26:50the whole nation
26:51involved
26:52she wanted a
26:53full military
26:55state funeral
26:56and she wants
26:57it to be a
26:58white funeral
26:58there'd never
26:59been a full
27:00military state
27:01funeral
27:01for a monarch
27:02the last
27:03military funeral
27:05state funeral
27:05was for the
27:07duke of
27:07wellington
27:08nearly 50
27:09years earlier
27:10again there
27:12was nobody
27:12around who
27:12helped organize
27:13that they
27:14were all dead
27:14and they
27:15were suddenly
27:16faced with
27:16this fact that
27:17this is what
27:18the queen
27:18wants
27:18but with no
27:20preparations in
27:21place and
27:22only 10 days
27:23to organize a
27:24grand state
27:24funeral with
27:25an unprecedented
27:26color scheme
27:27time was tight
27:29i think it
27:30took everybody
27:31by surprise
27:32it was just
27:32utter chaos
27:33and one of the
27:36most pressing
27:36tasks was
27:37preparing the
27:38white funeral
27:39paul needed to
27:40lie over victoria's
27:41coffin but with
27:42no advanced
27:43warning it
27:44proved almost
27:44impossible to
27:45find anyone who
27:46they felt could
27:47produce it in
27:48time but queen
27:49victoria's daughter
27:50helena was
27:51absolutely convinced
27:52that there was a
27:53group of women who
27:54would be more than
27:55able to rise to the
27:56challenge the ladies
27:57of the royal school
27:58of needlework of
28:00which she was
28:01patron the story
28:02goes that there
28:03was no company
28:04that would be able
28:05to do the funeral
28:06paul in the
28:07time frame that
28:08there was princess
28:09henna said no her
28:10school could produce
28:11it for them to
28:13make the task
28:14quicker the team
28:15chose particular
28:16techniques to
28:17produce a stunning
28:17paul in record
28:19time the design on
28:21the funeral paul
28:22had coats of arms
28:24in each of the
28:24four corners and
28:26then on the top
28:26of the funeral
28:27paul was a cross
28:28so with a tight
28:29deadline we look
28:30at a technique
28:30known as a
28:31plique which is
28:32applying fabric
28:33to fabric and
28:34then the details
28:35are put in with
28:36embroidery records
28:38tell us that they
28:39had about 48
28:39hours so they had
28:41a team of
28:42approximately 45
28:43women who were
28:44brought in and
28:45they worked a
28:45continuous 21 hours
28:47in order to
28:48complete in the
28:49time the finished
28:51effect would have
28:52been absolutely
28:53stunning would have
28:54just caught any
28:55sunlight and it
28:56would have just
28:57looked beautiful
28:57with the funeral
29:00paul complete the
29:02next challenge was
29:03getting the queen's
29:04coffin from osborne
29:05house on the isle of
29:06white to london for
29:07her funeral the
29:10queen's coffin was
29:10taken down on a
29:11carriage to a very
29:13small yacht called the
29:14alberta tiny little
29:15thing and it began a
29:17procession across the
29:18solon as this great
29:20monarch's coffin sailed
29:22the short distance to
29:23the mainland victoria's
29:25body was accompanied by
29:26a magnificent array of
29:2840 battleships it was
29:31so impressive because it
29:33was 11 miles of
29:34battleships and cruisers
29:36and they were top to
29:38toe lined across the
29:40solon and as the little
29:42alberta went past they
29:44were firing their
29:44minute guns so it was a
29:46very moving an orchestra
29:50was playing chopin's
29:52funeral march as the
29:53queen slowly made her
29:54way to portsmouth the
29:58strains of the music could
29:59be heard from the south
30:00downs where onlookers
30:01gathered to watch this
30:03incredible spectacle there
30:05are lots of descriptions
30:06about this how moving it
30:08was and they remarked how
30:10tiny her coffin looked on
30:12the alberta and and the
30:14boat was tiny with these
30:16huge great battleships with
30:18all the sailors standing
30:20to attention as it went
30:21past for two hours the
30:24might of the largest navy
30:25in the world stood in
30:27solemn respect for their
30:28commander-in-chief it's
30:31all very quiet with the
30:32sun setting the rest of the
30:34royals are all there and
30:35they all kneel down and
30:36there are people on the
30:37shore watching that is very
30:39impressive and very sad side
30:41everyone is moved by this
30:44farewell that you know of
30:45the queen's coffin being
30:47carried from this little
30:48island that she loved back
30:50to the mainland as the day
30:53of the funeral dawned
30:55london was alive with
30:56visitors from across the
30:58country who'd all flocked to
30:59witness their great queen's
31:01final journey anybody who
31:04had houses or shops on the
31:06route they began to sell
31:08space on their balconies but
31:11they were selling them for
31:11ridiculous amounts of money
31:13a seat in the corner of a
31:15balcony cost the equivalent
31:16today of about three thousand
31:18pounds
31:19but perhaps the view was worth
31:21the money as this was one of
31:23the most incredible sights
31:24london had ever witnessed
31:26despite the bitterly cold
31:29weather it's estimated that a
31:31million people lined the
31:32streets to watch
31:33military bands played and over 40
31:36members of royalty were present
31:38from all over europe it was a
31:41magnificent royal spectacle and a
31:44tribute to a monarch who throughout
31:45her lifetime had held a fragile
31:47europe and world together
31:50her funeral was described as the epitome of empire the 40 kings dukes princes
31:57walking behind her you know franz ferdinand of austria who within a few years he's going
32:03to be assassinated it's going to lead to the first world war he is there in that
32:07procession edward the seventh the king and he's there kaiser is there and within a few
32:13years all going to be at war it is incredible when you think of what she held together and how quickly
32:21it's all going to fall apart the kaiser victoria's grandson who'd held her so gently as she died
32:27would in just over a decade be leading germany against the nation she ruled the soldiers so proudly
32:35pulling their empress's coffin would be facing death themselves at the hands of german troops in
32:41the trenches of world war one it's the height of empire and also as i see it the beginning of
32:48the end of empire because it's going to break apart empires are going to fall boundaries are going
32:53to be changed the whole world is going to change and this woman who at age 81 was holding things
33:00together her death means it's the end
33:02not every royal marriage is destined for a happy ever after but usually the wedding at least has the
33:20air of a fairy tale but in 1795 the nuptials of the prince of wales later george the fourth
33:26to caroline of brunswick were nothing short of a catastrophe on the happiest day of his life the
33:33prince was drunk overwhelmed crying why am i marrying this woman and that's because he was already
33:42married so now he was getting married again which strictly speaking he's bigamy why did this disastrous
33:52marriage go ahead a decade before the wedding george had been in love with maria fitzherbert
33:58she was a catholic widow and she was very virtuous and she refused to marry him so he tried everything
34:05to persuade her she wouldn't have it in the end george said he was on his deathbed and it was his dying
34:11wish that she married him and there was a clergyman waiting around just in case and when poor mrs fitzherbert
34:18said of course it's your dying wish of course we will marry george married her and then said he felt
34:23an awful lot better mrs fitzherbert was shocked but she did love george very sincerely
34:29but there was just one problem it was a totally illegal marriage as the heir to the throne george could
34:37not marry a catholic but also there was the royal marriages act of 1772 and this said that royal marriages
34:44had to be approved by the sovereign and there's no way that his father the king would have approved
34:49it so george had broken the law in these two respects and yet george treated her as a wife
34:57i mean the royal family knew they were married but turned a blind eye and george adored her yet as he
35:03grew older he needed a legitimate heir to carry on the monarchy and he had gigantic debts
35:10and the king and the government said to him if you want those paid off you have to get married
35:16there's a wonderful cartoon by james gilray called lover's dream and george he's lying in bed
35:22imagining princess caroline and behind him is everything he's leaving gambling the women and he's
35:29dreaming of his future it's all very romantic but really his dream is of bags of gold so george
35:36was marrying princess caroline for money poor old mrs fitzherbert her marriage was deemed illegal
35:43and she had to watch her husband marry someone else well perhaps it was some consolation that he cried
35:50all the way through the ceremony george died in 1830 35 years after his disastrous marriage
35:58he had a miniature of mrs fitzherbert around his neck the only woman he ever truly loved
36:06coming up the intimate photo capturing a queen after death the victorians had a completely
36:18different relationship with death than we do and death photography was a hugely popular tradition at the
36:25time as victoria's body made its way to st george's chapel at windsor what mourners weren't aware of
36:39was that within her coffin were precious objects she'd left precise instructions to be buried with
36:45objects that she was determined to keep secret even from her own children
36:51if this coffin had fallen heaven forbid and the contents spilled out there would have been so much
36:59shock and horror in her family and the court because nobody had any idea what victoria was smuggling in
37:06with her it was her secret
37:08in the week before her funeral an astonishing photo of the dead queen was taken showing her lying in her open
37:20coffin the victorians had a completely different relationship with death than we do and death
37:27photography was a hugely popular tradition at the time this is an image that is not necessarily meant to be
37:34distributed publicly the person who supposedly took this was an artist who often worked from photography
37:41to then transpose that to paint so this is almost a preparatory sketch in a way but of course what it gives
37:48us now is a remarkable record of that moment and the photo gives a fascinating insight into how victoria
37:56wanted to be dressed for burial rather than wearing the somber mourning clothes she'd favored since the death of her
38:03beloved husband albert her choice of coffin attire was quite a surprise
38:08this queen who had worn black you know for half her life wanted now to be in white with her wedding veil on her face she says that she is now going to meet albert in heaven so she is going as a bride to him
38:23and so they put on a white gown for her and her wedding veil covers her face
38:29but it wasn't just what victoria wanted to wear that gives us such an intimate glimpse into the
38:36woman behind the crown but the objects she'd asked to be buried with after her deaths she had given her
38:43personal instructions to mrs stuck who was her dresser and these were about what was going to be with her in her
38:50coffin and there's a long list as well as trinkets from her daughters and family photos she also requested
38:58that a rather curious physical reminder of the man she'd spent the past 40 years mourning accompany her to
39:05her grave she had numerous objects relating to albert but most significant was a plaster cast of his hand
39:11this was not a new item she'd had it made during his lifetime and had reportedly taken it to bed with her
39:18every evening this was a way for the queen to stay close to her husband she missed his touch and it
39:24would slip under her pillow at night and she would sleep alongside it and here it was entering the coffin
39:30with her even following her to the grave this evocation of the man who'd been missing from her life for so
39:35many decades as far as the world knew queen victoria's entire life had been defined by her love of prince
39:43albert and her intense grief after his premature death aged only 42 but in fact as well as the
39:51request she left with her dresser mrs tuck victoria also left secret instructions her family knew absolutely
39:58nothing about which reveal a rather different love story victoria leaves a secret will and it goes to
40:06james reed who's her physician and he is the person who then receives these instructions and it makes
40:11total sense that she would select reed for this he's someone who's very close to the royal body in the run
40:16up to the death and in the immediate days afterwards he has access to the coffin and he can enact these last
40:22requirements of hers and the highly confidential items victoria asked reed to place with her for all
40:29eternity had to be included in strictest confidence because of who they once belonged to there are
40:37other items in there that you might not expect and a lot of these relate to john brown john brown had
40:44been queen victoria's devoted servant who looked after her horses at balmoral for over 30 years before his
40:50death in 1883 john brown was a gilly and became the queen's constant companion and he was elevated to
41:00a status that no one quite understood and eased her out of her mourning for prince albert in the wake of
41:09albert's death victoria had withdrawn from the world to the scottish highlands to mourn and it was there at
41:16belmoral that brown lifted her out of her sadness in the decades in which victoria withdrew from society
41:23she became incredibly close to brown there were rumors that their relationship transcended the usual
41:30servant mistress relationship and her children in particular found this incredibly difficult they
41:35found him to be uncouth and to behave in a way that really overstepped the boundaries of the place
41:41that he held in society but victoria didn't see it like that she had great affection for him
41:45after victoria's death had her children known of their mother's secret instructions to read relating
41:51to the man they so disliked they would have been horrified they loathed john brown and the prince
41:58of wales in particular went round and destroyed anything connected with john brown after the queen died
42:05he would have nothing to do with john brown in fact there was a statue i think it was in osborne
42:10which he had smashed down one of the first acts he did little did the prince know that as he was
42:17trying to obliterate all traces of one of his mother's closest confidants john reed was discreetly
42:24placing some of brown's most treasured possessions in victoria's coffin itself on her secret instruction
42:31she wanted a photograph of john brown placed in her left hand and she wanted a lock of john brown's
42:40hair and she would like to have his handkerchief in the coffin she requested that her wedding
42:46engagement ring from albert be moved from her left hand to her right and instead on her wedding finger
42:52her ring finger she had john brown's mother's wedding ring placed there he always wore his mother's
42:59wedding ring it was the dearest thing he possessed all of these items in the coffin were kept secret
43:04by a blanket of flowers that were placed on top so anyone coming to see the body including her
43:09children of course would not have seen this secret arrangement of memorabilia that victoria had so
43:14desperately wanted in there so the royal family had no idea of what she was carrying with her when she
43:21died so that is victoria's little secret reed had faithfully carried out the instructions his queen had
43:28left him and it was only with the publication of his diaries in 1986 85 years after victoria's death
43:35that what he and mrs tuck had done for her finally came to light she had a realistic view about how
43:42difficult her family were and her children and they're bickering and they're arguing and i think
43:47she she trusted them i think she trusted them completely more than she trusted her family victoria's
43:53final wishes and death shed a whole new light on the royal love story that appeared to define her life
44:00it's remarkable because we have this narrative of victoria and albert this golden couple they're the
44:07ultimate victorian love story and they were the aspiration for so many other couples in this period
44:12and yet we have this whole other version of victoria years after albert's died finding love again
44:20potentially and making a life for herself a life of which of those around her did not approve
44:26clearly she held john brown in enormous affection and to even take the risk of asking for these intimate
44:35items to be buried with her without her children's knowledge uh shows how much affection she had for john brown
44:43the worst queen victoria is remembered as one of britain's most powerful and influential monarchs
44:50who presided over the empire at its height her coffin reveals what to her had mattered most
44:57throughout history there's always that difficult tension between the monarch and the person
45:03who they are in public and who they are in private but in victoria's case the list of items and the fact
45:10they make their way into the coffin is an autobiography of her own making
45:13royal births marriages and deaths remind us that behind the pomp and ceremony lies a family just like
45:24any other with tensions secret passions and simple human love from victoria's final wishes to be buried
45:31with memories of those she cared for to george the fourth's disastrous public marriage under the
45:37immutable golden crown there always lies a fallible human heart births marriages and deaths are so
45:45important because the royals are our soap opera we want to see love we want to see funerals all the
45:52finery with a little bit of passion and scandal thrown in
45:55and secrets of the royals continues next saturday at five past eight
46:03if royal walls could talk what would they say discover secrets of the royal palaces stream now on five
46:10coming up their bond was about more than just passing down the baton
46:14catherine and queen elizabeth a special relationship is next
46:18you
46:19you
46:23you
46:25you
46:27you
46:29you
46:31you
46:32you
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