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00:00For the royals, tradition is everything.
00:05Honarchy is about the past, the present, and the future, and tradition is absolutely...
00:10...central to that.
00:11Spectacular.
00:12All of the parading, the history, it's almost...
00:15...fairytale thing.
00:16Sacred.
00:16If you were royal, you had been chosen by God.
00:20And very British.
00:21Meeting the Queen is an experience that...
00:25...everyone will remember for the rest of their lives.
00:28Now we venture behind...
00:30...palace walls into the riches beyond.
00:33Not all royal jewels are the...
00:36We know that this was a gift of love.
00:38And delve deep into...
00:40...and rare royal records.
00:42Written in early January 1642.
00:44It's the...
00:45...equivalent of a live blog.
00:47This is right in the eye of the storm.
00:48To discover the...
00:50...untold secrets of Britain's most loved...
00:52...and mysterious royal tradition.
00:55He liked to show that he could control nature.
00:59It's a ritual...
01:00It's royal heritage steeped in war, intrigue and scandal.
01:05In order to get your face on this wall...
01:07...you had to be somebody.
01:08Perhaps even a royal mistress.
01:10But at its heart is a deep-seated duty to the nation.
01:15Queen Elizabeth II met more people than anybody else in history.
01:20No matter what the task.
01:21As I heard him...
01:23...I thought, oh, you're not going to like that child.
01:25This is how, for over a thousand years...
01:28...the royals have shaped the history...
01:30...and traditions we know today.
01:33Tradition is what...
01:35...that actually keeps them in power.
01:36It wouldn't be Britain...
01:37...if we didn't have these sorts of things.
01:40These are the secrets of the royal traditions.
01:45...a long time God bless the示威...
01:48...the secrets of love...
01:50This time,
01:55the centuries-old royal tradition
01:57that was a potential death sentence
01:59for the mob.
02:00He could be killed on the battlefield.
02:04He could...
02:05He could be kidnapped.
02:05He could be used as ransom.
02:08The royal ritual's being reshaped.
02:10In the name of modern parenting.
02:12Kate and William are undoing the...
02:15Bad tradition of being distant
02:16from your own kids.
02:18And how the traditional royal guide...
02:20...blossomed to become
02:21a fully-fledged passion.
02:23Charles III is...
02:25coming to reshape the landscapes
02:27in his own image.
02:30Nothing says royal tradition...
02:35like Trooping the Colour.
02:38Trooping the Colour.
02:40Signals to the world, really.
02:42On the global stage
02:43that we are still here.
02:45We can still do these things.
02:46This is what our monarchy is about.
02:50It may look like pantomime
02:52to everyone else,
02:53but...
02:54It's...
02:55It's rooted in tradition
02:56over hundreds of years.
02:59It's very important.
03:00for the royal family
03:00to be seen on those occasions.
03:03Today, this colourful spectacle...
03:05is the traditional centrepiece...
03:06on the royal tourist trail.
03:10But this great royal ritual
03:13has its origins in...
03:15in a darker, more violent past.
03:17When the king didn't just wear a uniform...
03:20He was expected to fight.
03:22The military and the monarchy
03:23have been...
03:25dead fellow since time immemorial.
03:27If you look on the walls
03:27of an Egyptian temple,
03:29you will invariably...
03:30see the pharaoh
03:30commanding his armies
03:32from his chariot.
03:33And that continued
03:34right the way through.
03:35into the Middle Ages.
03:36There is a very strong link
03:37between the royal family
03:39and the...
03:40military.
03:40And that's for good reason.
03:41Because for centuries,
03:43to be a good king...
03:45you had to be a good warrior.
03:46The crown was often won
03:48and lost on the battlefield.
03:50For hundreds of years,
03:52British monarchs,
03:53from King Harold in 1066...
03:55to William III in 1690...
03:58led their troops into battle.
04:00Sometimes they lost the throne
04:02and sometimes they won it.
04:05The tradition died out
04:07with King George II,
04:08the last king to fight...
04:10at the head of his army.
04:11But even today,
04:13the royal family's ties
04:14to the military...
04:15are one of their
04:16most vital traditions.
04:18The monarch really understands...
04:20the important role
04:21that the armed forces have
04:22and have had
04:23over the centuries to...
04:25protect the nation
04:25to shape democracy
04:28as it stands today.
04:30All of the male members
04:31of our senior royal family
04:33have spent time
04:34in the armed forces.
04:35But only one female royal
04:38has actively served.
04:40The late queen
04:42was a serving member
04:43of the auxiliary territory.
04:45service.
04:46Now we know that
04:47the nearest that the queen
04:48got to fighting...
04:50the Germans
04:50was in a Camberley
04:51in southern England
04:53working out
04:54the different streets.
04:55between a spanner
04:55and a pair of pliers.
04:57But the bottom line is
04:58she was seen to...
05:00serve.
05:01But perhaps the secret weapons
05:03in this great royal tradition...
05:05are two royals
05:06who haven't ever been
05:07in the armed forces.
05:09All of the...
05:10the leading members
05:10of the royal family
05:11are associated
05:12with the military
05:13in some way.
05:15or another.
05:15Princess Anne
05:16is colonel-in-chief
05:17of goodness knows
05:18how many different regiments.
05:20She is an admiral
05:22in the royal navy.
05:24She is an air chief...
05:25marshal in the RAF
05:28and she is a general.
05:30in the British army.
05:31And I think she's
05:32absolutely seen
05:34as...
05:35carrying that royal
05:36and also royal
05:37female military.
05:40role into the present day.
05:45And carrying that flag
05:46into the next generation
05:48is Princess Catherine.
05:50The Princess of Wales
05:52is the new colonel
05:53of the Irish Guards.
05:55She takes it very seriously
05:56presenting the shamrock
05:58every St. Patrick's Day.
05:59She loves...
06:00Sheamus,
06:00the big Irish wolfhound.
06:02She always has a little word
06:03and a pat for him.
06:05Although the ceremony
06:05is quite formal,
06:07there is that informal element
06:08going into the mess hall
06:09after...
06:10words...
06:10Hooray!
06:11Hooray!
06:12Hooray!
06:13Hooray!
06:14Hooray!
06:14Hooray!
06:15Soldiers afterwards
06:15will always talk about
06:16how wonderful it was
06:17to hear from
06:18their colonel-in-chief.
06:20So really I do think
06:22it's one of the most
06:22personal appointments
06:23that a royal can have.
06:25But even today,
06:27this royal sense of duty
06:28means much more
06:30than being just a ceremonial figurehead
06:32because this ancient tradition...
06:35symbolizes the defense of the nation.
06:37I think to the military...
06:40personnel,
06:40it's very meaningful
06:41to swear your allegiance,
06:44which they do.
06:45in the army
06:45and in the RAF
06:46to the monarch.
06:48I think that acts...
06:50as a focal point,
06:51a rallying point,
06:52almost like a flag
06:54when you're going into...
06:55battle.
06:55It's a strength
06:56to have a monarch
06:56that isn't a politician,
06:58that isn't associated
06:59with devices.
07:00as if party politics.
07:01And I think that's
07:02one of those traditions
07:03that you would not want
07:04to change...
07:05without really good reason.
07:10defending the nation
07:14may be one of the most
07:15most important traditions
07:16the royals follow.
07:18But as a family...
07:20there's another tradition
07:21that's almost as crucial...
07:23bringing up the next monarch.
07:25something that in the past
07:28often didn't involve...
07:30the royal parents.
07:32Traditionally,
07:32the royal family
07:33relied on nannies
07:34and government...
07:35of the nannies
07:35is it was perfectly all right
07:36to not see your kids all day
07:38and then have them
07:38brought to you.
07:40at five o'clock
07:41for a 15-minute interview
07:42where you check
07:43that they're still alive.
07:45and then they're taken back up
07:46to wherever it is
07:48they go in a palace.
07:50That centuries-old custom
07:51of hands-off royal parenting
07:53continued until...
07:55in the 1980s
07:55when one royal mother
07:57very publicly broke.
08:00with tradition.
08:01It can definitely be argued
08:02that Diana,
08:03Princess of Wales
08:03was the one who...
08:05set the tone
08:05for that more hands-on
08:06parenting style
08:07with her own children
08:08William and Harry.
08:10Charles wanted to bring them up
08:11in the old-fashioned way.
08:13Be sent to the royal nursery.
08:15But Diana,
08:16being a kindergarten teacher,
08:18knew that her...
08:20approach would be different.
08:21She didn't want to miss out
08:22on bringing up
08:24her children.
08:25I think Diana
08:26very much succeeded
08:28in being a mum
08:29as well.
08:30as a princess.
08:31She adored the children.
08:32She told me
08:33I'm going to bring them up
08:34in a way no...
08:35other royal princes
08:36have been brought up before.
08:38I remember Diana
08:39as...
08:40spending most of her days
08:41in the royal nursery
08:42and the children.
08:45coming downstairs
08:46and falling asleep
08:48in their mother's arms.
08:50That would never happen
08:51at the Buckingham Palace.
08:53The royal nanny
08:54would never...
08:55let that happen.
08:56In another break
08:57with royal tradition,
08:59Diana was...
09:00openly and publicly
09:01affectionate with her boys.
09:05Diana smothered them
09:06in kisses.
09:07She said,
09:08I didn't have...
09:10any love as a child
09:11so I smother my boys
09:13in kisses.
09:14That's what she did.
09:15You can see clearly
09:17in the way that
09:17William and Harry
09:18talk about...
09:20Diana that they adored her
09:22and that all of the love
09:23that she wanted to give
09:24to...
09:25them they absolutely received.
09:30And Diana's modern parenting
09:34has clearly...
09:35had an impact on William.
09:38According to Royal Insiders...
09:40he and Kate resolved
09:41to balance their royal duties
09:43to allow them to be present
09:45rather than remote parents.
09:50I think Catherine and William
09:53have adopted a very...
09:55different way of parenting.
09:57They're very on message,
09:59I think, with...
10:00their generation of young parents.
10:03Kate and William...
10:05are undoing the bad tradition
10:06of being distant
10:07from your own kids
10:08and creating...
10:10a new tradition.
10:11And they're doing it
10:12so that successive generations
10:14will bring...
10:15up their children differently.
10:20and bringing up...
10:21the other royal traditions
10:22of bringing up baby
10:23that have fallen out of faith...
10:25in favour.
10:26Royal women were not expected
10:27to breastfeed.
10:28It was beneath them.
10:30The traditional weekly chat
10:32between the two most powerful people
10:34in the country.
10:35It's the one meeting
10:36of that is sacrosanct
10:38in the prime ministers.
10:40and the royal custom
10:42of having a flutter
10:43on the Gigi's.
10:45If one of our horses
10:46were racing,
10:47we'll betide anyone
10:48who would forget...
10:50to tape that race
10:51for Her Majesty
10:52when she had time
10:53to watch it.
10:55born on the Gigi's.
10:57Two years later,
10:58I was going to say
11:00to the other woman
11:01we went into a huge
11:02small village
11:04of the Greek
11:04and the southern
11:06of the Greek
11:07and the German
11:08at the time
11:09of the Greek
11:10and the free
11:11took her
11:12into a massive
11:13Spanish
11:14and the ale
11:16was also
11:17with the Spanish
11:18the English
11:19and the Spanish
11:20the English
11:22and the English
11:23is usually
11:24and and
11:05Royal traditions are woven throughout Britain's ancient institutions.
11:10From the centuries-old historical connections that link the crown and the military...
11:15The monarch is the commander-in-chief.
11:18To government.
11:20The role of a monarch in a constitutional monarchy, particularly in the UK, is to...
11:25Courage, to warn, and to be consulted.
11:27Those are the three tenets of their role.
11:30Although running the country is the responsibility of the British government...
11:35The monarch still plays a vital role.
11:38And traditionally, they...
11:40They meet every week with the Prime Minister to discuss affairs of state.
11:45It's the one meeting of the week where they don't reschedule.
11:48I mean, it happens at a particular...
11:50And that is sacrosanct in the Prime Minister's diary.
11:55Good evening, Your Majesty.
11:56And discretion is key to the success of this weekly...
12:00It is an occasion when the two of them are entirely...
12:05Entirely alone.
12:06No-one is taking notes.
12:07No-one is listening.
12:09And if things...
12:10If things go to plan, nothing will be said outside the room of what went on.
12:15The origins of the weekly tradition are vague.
12:19It wasn't until the...
12:20The Queen came to the throne in 1952 that it became a regular custom.
12:25One she never broke.
12:27I think the longer the late Queen's reign...
12:30The more she went on, the more valuable her advice, her wisdom, her experience...
12:35was for her Prime Ministers, most of whom were much younger than her.
12:40I actually think that the late Queen enjoyed that more maternity...
12:45She was the nation's matriarch.
12:47She could give them space.
12:49She could not...
12:50She could not...
12:51Tony Blair once said...
12:53That you...
12:55really valued those audiences. He said, there are only two people I can really tell everything to.
12:58One's the wife.
13:00And the other's the queen.
13:02But newspaper reports have said
13:05suggested not all PMs have been quite so tight-lipped.
13:10Some prime ministers have come into disfavor, I think, with the late queen.
13:15Because they blabbed.
13:17Those conversations are private and they should...
13:20They should stay private.
13:21Unlike some politicians, the late queen was always...
13:25too diplomatic to say whether she liked or disliked a prime minister.
13:30But there have been rumors about one particularly powerful woman.
13:35I don't believe at all that there was a frosty relationship between the queen.
13:40and Margaret Thatcher.
13:41Bear in mind, the queen and Margaret Thatcher were of roughly the same age.
13:44They grew up...
13:45During the Second World War, they actually had quite a lot in common.
13:49And the fact that...
13:50The queen only went to two funerals of her prime ministers.
13:53Winston...
13:55Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher should tell you something.
13:59Traditionally...
14:00The queen was always careful to never express political opinions.
14:03But the worst...
14:05Of concerns, once Charles was on the throne, that might change.
14:10When he was Prince of Wales, he would write countless letters to cabinet.
14:15ministers and effectively lobby them in the same way that a pressure group would.
14:18And the fear was that when...
14:20When he became king, he would continue to do that.
14:22But he hasn't done that.
14:23All the politics...
14:25The politicians I talk to say that he's been absolutely exemplary in his role.
14:30as monarch and has never tried to influence anything unduly.
14:34The weekly...
14:35The weekly meeting of an elected ruler and a hereditary sovereign may seem an unusual...
14:40But it's a tradition that celebrates the past and future of...
14:45both the monarchy and British democracy.
14:48I think that is where...
14:50The role of the monarch is so vital.
14:53Because it immediately...
14:55Humbles the prime minister in question.
14:57It immediately reminds them of their...
15:00Transient role.
15:01And they are only there because we put them there.
15:05And the monarch signs them off.
15:07Monarchs are raised from...
15:1010,000 people.
15:11No!
15:12I'm sorry.
15:13For those who value B.
15:17queen. They were expected to get that sort of loving sentiment.
15:22A fundamental bond from their servants because they often stayed with them for all of their child.
15:27And they were meant to be deferential to their parents.
15:31They wasn't meant to be necessary.
15:32A loving close bond.
15:35That separation between royal...
15:37Parents and offspring often started as soon as they were born.
15:42And in some cases, the royal babies spent their formative years...
15:47in a completely different palace.
15:51Welcome to...
15:52The Kew Palace. Originally known as the Dutch House because it began...
15:57a planet's life in the 17th century as a merchant dwelling.
16:01A century...
16:02Later, the house became Kew Palace as King George III and his wife Charlotte...
16:07turned it into the royal nursery.
16:09It was full of governesses and sub-governnesses.
16:12and wet nurses and dry nurses and cradle rockers.
16:14In fact, I'm surprised there was room for the 15 children that they had.
16:17George III and his wife were a very traditional royal family.
16:22He ruled, and she produced as many potential heirs as possible.
16:27Fifteen children in just 21 years.
16:31With...
16:32So many babies at any one time, one of the most crucial roles in the royal nursery...
16:37was that of the wet nurse.
16:39The wet nurse was the person who would...
16:42provide breast milk for the infant prince or princess.
16:46We might...
16:47think of that as quite an odd tradition to have nowadays.
16:50But royal women were not expecting...
16:52to breastfeed, it was beneath them.
16:54But secondly, when they didn't breastfeed...
16:57that meant they could continue performing their duties...
16:59of hopefully conceiving the next heir.
17:02Very little is known about the...
17:07women who cared at such a key stage of the royal baby's life.
17:10But in 1766...
17:12one such royal foster mother would make an impression that would last a life...
17:17time.
17:18We know that the Duchess of Northumberland, one of Queen Charlotte's friends...
17:22probably recommended a lady called Anne Percy...
17:25who was appointed as well...
17:27a wet nurse to King George and Queen Charlotte's son Prince Edward.
17:30This was a...
17:32top...
17:33job.
17:34And it was also...
17:35very...
17:36ex...
17:37exclusive one that gave you this direct relationship with the child...
17:40who was in your charge.
17:42It could certainly be in the best interests of a prospective wet nurse...
17:46because the...
17:47salary...
17:48was very high.
17:49And even when they retired once the child had been...
17:52trained...
17:53they would receive for the rest of their life an annual pension that was five times...
17:57the income of a skilled tradesman.
18:00Anne Percy...
18:02she remained in her role at Kew for two years.
18:05But once Prince Edward was weaned...
18:07she maintained a life-long connection to the royal family.
18:12King George and Queen Charlotte come to admire wet nurse Percy immensely.
18:16They sent her...
18:17gifts.
18:18The royal family sent them locks of their own hair which is a sign of really...
18:22a familial bond at the time.
18:24The tradition of royal wet nursing petered out...
18:27during Victorian times.
18:32But it took another five generations before Princess Diana...
18:37finally dragged royal parenting into the modern age...
18:41creating a new...
18:42tradition...
18:43her own children have continued.
18:45William and Kate have clearly...
18:47made a decision that they are going to be recognizably normal...
18:51present...
18:52loving...
18:53attentive...
18:54parents.
18:55It's very relatable.
18:56They've probably...
18:57learned from centuries of royal tradition...
19:00what not to do.
19:02one royal tradition that has...
19:07one royal tradition that has...
19:07hasn't changed for centuries...
19:08and is now an unmissable part of the royal calendar...
19:11is...
19:12royal ascot.
19:13Royal ascot is a very important week in the royal year.
19:16There is...
19:17the season...
19:18the tradition which moves us through the summer...
19:20and of those traditions...
19:21royal ascot...
19:22royal ascot...
19:23is perhaps one of the biggest...
19:24royal ascot...
19:26pronounced...
19:27royal ascot...
19:28not ascot...
19:29royal ascot...
19:30royal ascot...
19:31belongs to...
19:32the monarch.
19:33It's their racecourse.
19:35And that's why...
19:37they are the patrons...
19:38of the racecourse...
19:39and bring their family...
19:40to the races.
19:43It's become...
19:44a royal tradition...
19:45which is part of the social calendar.
19:47The racecourse itself...
19:49was first founded by Queen Anne...
19:51in 17...
19:52in 1711...
19:53on land leased from the crown.
19:55Today...
19:56the...
19:57event spans a whole week...
19:59attracting over a quarter of a million people...
20:01every year.
20:03And traditionally...
20:04the late Queen...
20:05would visit on...
20:06every one of its...
20:07five...
20:07five days of racing.
20:08She loved royal ascot...
20:10and...
20:11to have...
20:12people to come...
20:13to dine...
20:14sleep...
20:15and go to the races...
20:16the next day.
20:18There may be a lot of royal hobnobbing...
20:20throughout Asgard Week...
20:22but it's backed...
20:23by a royal passion...
20:24like no other.
20:26The Queen...
20:27absolutely loved horses...
20:28and horse riding.
20:29She is completely...
20:31steeped in...
20:32the tradition...
20:33of being a horsewoman...
20:34ever since she got...
20:35her first gift...
20:36of a Shetland pony.
20:37as a child.
20:39And when it came...
20:40to horse racing...
20:41in particular...
20:42Queen Elizabeth...
20:43really knew her oats.
20:45The late Queen...
20:47knew...
20:48everything there was to know...
20:49really about horses...
20:50and she knew about...
20:51breeding them as well.
20:52she employed...
20:53the finest trainers...
20:54and the finest breeders...
20:55she had really...
20:56quite some...
20:57success.
20:58If one of the horses...
20:59were racing...
21:00won't betide anyone...
21:01who would...
21:02forget...
21:03to put in...
21:04the VHS tape...
21:05tape that race...
21:06for Her Majesty...
21:07when she...
21:07had time...
21:08to watch it.
21:09She was known...
21:10to bet...
21:11on the horses...
21:12and of course...
21:12there are famous...
21:13images of her...
21:14looking really joyful...
21:15if one of her horses...
21:17won...
21:18Whenever she did...
21:19have a winner...
21:20then...
21:21you saw the woman...
21:22the lady...
21:22Queen's backing...
21:23of the horse racing...
21:24industry...
21:25helped it bring in...
21:26over 4 billion pounds...
21:27to the UK economy...
21:28every year...
21:29but when she...
21:30passed away...
21:31in 2020...
21:322022...
21:33there was...
21:34concern...
21:35that the industry...
21:36and events...
21:37like Royal Ascot...
21:37would suffer...
21:38Thankfully...
21:39King Charles...
21:40has continued...
21:41the Royal tradition...
21:42I think everyone...
21:44was quite surprised...
21:45this year...
21:46that Charles...
21:47and Camilla...
21:47went...
21:48every day...
21:49to Royal Ascot...
21:50but...
21:51everyone's been...
21:52delighted...
21:53I think...
21:54that they took...
21:55dependent on Royal Support...
21:56I think...
21:57Camilla's...
21:58fascinated...
21:59and...
22:00of course...
22:00is very interested...
22:01the Tsar...
22:02is interested...
22:03so...
22:04I think...
22:05that the Royal...
22:05support...
22:06for horse racing...
22:07certainly...
22:08will last...
22:09through this reign...
22:10had a very very ever...
22:11back...
22:12back...
22:13gotta say....
22:14we attend...
22:15we went to...
22:16a new quarter...
22:17and...
22:18we weren't able to...
22:19help us...
22:20They probably back...
22:21to...
22:22make our car...
22:23while...
22:25we stand...
22:26and...
22:28we mourn...
22:29yes...
22:30we...
22:31wi...?
22:33go...
22:34must our...
22:35we...
22:36we leave...
22:37we...
22:38just from...
22:39The death of Britain's most infamous king on a battlefield changed a royal tradition.
22:44He was a brave man and a gallant man and I think he was going to...
22:49..to win no matter what.
22:54We have had a mon...
22:59There was anarchy in England and Britain for over a millennium.
23:02During that time...
23:04The corporations of kings and queens have introduced all manner of rituals and traditions.
23:09While many have been consigned to history, others are still very much...
23:14..in practice today.
23:16The monarchy is a crucial part of Britain's...
23:19..identity.
23:20It's part of the heritage, the fabric of Britain.
23:22It's why people come and visit.
23:24You see these traditions being played out and it's what makes the British monarchy...
23:29..special.
23:30At the heart of many of these ceremonies and traditions is the royal...
23:34..the royal's continuing connection with Britain's military.
23:37If you look at...
23:39England's medieval kings and those who are traditionally considered great...
23:44..the monarchs, they will almost certainly have been monarchs who were successful in the...
23:49..the battlefield.
23:50For centuries, kings had to be trained soldiers.
23:53They had to be able...
23:54..to go to war on behalf of their country.
23:57But it's a tradition...
23:59..that proved lethal for many royal monarchs.
24:02At the time, war...
24:04..the war was face-to-face, hand-to-hand, vicious and omnipresent.
24:09There are risks, but it's non-negotiable.
24:12That's how crowns are one and...
24:14..you have to be lost.
24:15You have to know what you're doing on the battlefield.
24:17One of the most infamous monarchs...
24:19..to lead his troops from the front and die in the process...
24:22..was Richard III.
24:24..a king who was a far better military leader than we've been led to believe.
24:28Shakespeare...
24:29Shakespeare portrays Richard III as this hunchback, very...
24:34..the devious, cruel murderer of his nephews.
24:38But then...
24:39..that's in contrast to what we know of Richard...
24:41..as being an incredibly able...
24:43..military...
24:44..the military man.
24:45Richard III is a very experienced, gifted...
24:48..and even...
24:49..his enemies would say, immensely brave warrior.
24:52He has a lot of experience thanks to...
24:54..the civil wars that have been happening throughout his lifetime.
24:57He was incredibly skilled.
24:59..and he was definitely the favourite in the Battle of Bosworth against...
25:04..Henry Tudor in 1485.
25:09Although Richard, a traditionally trained fighter, was the favourite...
25:12..it was Henry III...
25:14..the seven's discretion, rather than valour, that eventually won the day.
25:18For...
25:19Richard, to be fully involved at the Battle of Bosworth makes sense.
25:22Here is a king who has the battle...
25:24..the background and the backbone to dirt.
25:26He was willing to fight until the death.
25:28He was a brave man...
25:29..and a gallant man.
25:30And I think he was going to win no matter what.
25:34..and unfortunately, you know, he didn't.
25:39If Richard III had won, then it would have had a profound impact on British...
25:44..his history.
25:45..very likely, we wouldn't have had the Tudors, then the most famous dynasty.
25:49..in royal history would not have existed.
25:52Richard III's death on the battlefield...
25:54..was a gruesome reminder of the dangers of a king leading his troops into battle.
25:59Today, it's a risk our modern royal family wouldn't be expected to take.
26:04But those earlier sacrifices are still celebrated in the monarchs' kingdom.
26:09..his traditional role as head of the armed forces.
26:12I think that really speaks to...
26:14..to this idea of the monarch as the chief of the army and the armed forces.
26:19..it's a really historic link and relationship that has...
26:24..never been forgotten.
26:28Although...
26:29..far less lethal, another royal tradition that had turbulent beginnings...
26:33..is the king's weakness.
26:34..he was recently meeting with the prime minister.
26:36..how the tradition of the royal...
26:38..how the tradition of the royal...
26:39..how the royal audiences with the prime minister develop...
26:41..is really reflective of how the monarchy and...
26:44..how the royal parliament develop over the centuries.
26:46Today, it's a regular chance for the monarch to describe...
26:49..and to briefly discuss matters of state with the elected head of government.
26:52..and to briefly discuss matters of state with the elected head of government.
26:54..but back in the 1830s, as this tradition began to take shape, there was nothing...
26:59..discreet about it.
27:02Victoria tried her very best...
27:04..to meddle in the affairs of state directly, as well as indirectly.
27:09..she had meetings with ministers whose policies she didn't like.
27:14..and chided them to do better.
27:16Queen Victoria was served by ten people...
27:19..and two PMs throughout her reign.
27:21Many quickly learned there was an art to the tradition...
27:24..of handling the feisty monarch.
27:26And one prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli...
27:29..excelled at it.
27:31We know that with Disraeli, he was a flatterer and a...
27:34..a bit of a charmer.
27:35He really understood that she liked to feel she was...
27:39..as important in that relationship.
27:40Victoria essentially felt needed.
27:44She felt she was powerful behind the scenes.
27:49..and whether this was a facade or the reality didn't really...
27:54..matter.
27:55Because what it did do was allow...
27:59..with Victoria and Disraeli to sing from the same hymn sheet.
28:04Disraeli's tactics worked.
28:06Victoria openly adored him.
28:09..and everything he stood for.
28:11But William Gladstone, the PM who followed him...
28:14..israeli, dispensed with the traditional charm offensive...
28:17..and publicly...
28:19..he suffered the consequences.
28:21She despises Gladstone.
28:22She's rude to him at every...
28:24..as available opportunity.
28:25She says that he addresses her as if he's lecturing...
28:29..a public meeting.
28:30And Victoria finds this both boring and offensive.
28:33I think Gladstone...
28:34..and Gladstone saw Victoria as very much a queen...
28:36..and an authority figure.
28:38Which was...
28:39..while being respectful and deferential to her.
28:42I think she missed out on that...
28:44..personal element.
28:49Following the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861...
28:53..Victoria became...
28:54..began to withdraw from public life.
28:56And political power...
28:58..began to move...
28:59..to move away from the sovereign to government.
29:02By the end of Victoria's reign...
29:04..you really see pretty much the last vestiges of political...
29:09..being relinquished...
29:11..and instead replaced with...
29:13..I...
29:14..the ideas of a popular royal family.
29:19..the 70-year-old women...
29:20..the 60-year-old women...
29:21..and...
29:22..and...
29:24Today, unlike their feisty ancestor,
29:29our modern royals have learned to embody discretion,
29:31providing unbiased support and guidance.
29:34To whoever is in power.
29:36I think the monarch looks at things from very...
29:39from a very different viewpoint from the public,
29:41from a very different viewpoint as any politician.
29:43And that's...
29:44That's why prime ministers really value the counsel of the monarch
29:48because there is no agenda...
29:49and there is no gender there.
29:54The weekly prime ministerial meeting
29:56is one of the most private royal traditions of...
29:59in modern times.
30:01But there are other long-running traditions...
30:04that allow more public mingling with the monarchy.
30:07A garden party is a mass event.
30:09It's a time when the royal family can meet people...
30:14who have given public service.
30:16You can't write in and ask to be invited.
30:19But you tend to be nominated.
30:21So if you're somebody that's been of service to the state...
30:24or your local community, it might be put forward.
30:28The very first...
30:29royal garden party was thrown in 1868.
30:33Although Queen...
30:34Victoria found the large number of people she had to engage with...
30:37very puzzling and bewildering.
30:39Garden parties quickly became a traditional fixture in the summer calendar.
30:44And today, very little has changed.
30:48Each year...
30:49there tend to be three garden parties at Buckingham Palace.
30:52It's a straight...
30:54strange experience because you're both in an enormous crowd...
30:57but it's also intimate for you.
31:00I do love to see the palace all decked out...
31:03and the people...
31:04arriving really early...
31:05and queuing outside the palace gates...
31:07in their hats...
31:08and the...
31:09in their beautiful dresses.
31:13Since Queen Victoria...
31:14Victoria's very first garden party...
31:16the events have traditionally been held in the late afternoon...
31:19and follow a strict timetable.
31:22So you go through the palace...
31:24and this would be the largest number of people...
31:26visiting the palace...
31:27maybe $8,000...
31:29in the summer's afternoon.
31:30Then you go into the bow room...
31:31which looks out over the garden...
31:32and you give it a little briefing...
31:34about what you're expected to do.
31:37At four o'clock...
31:38the royals would come...
31:39onto the steps...
31:41and stand in a line...
31:42and the national anthem would be...
31:44played...
31:45and then they would mingle.
31:47If you're lucky to be selected for a chap...
31:49with a member of the royal family...
31:51or even the king or queen...
31:52the rule...
31:53is not...
31:54to stray off topic.
31:56Most members of the public...
31:57are polite enough...
31:59I'm pleased enough to be there...
32:01not to veer into...
32:02any embarrassing areas or...
32:04you know...
32:05questions they know...
32:06wouldn't be very welcome.
32:07With the queen...
32:08I used to try and tell the silly stories...
32:09most of the time...
32:10because I thought...
32:11I'll brighten up your day...
32:12and I'll tell you some story...
32:13or I'll ask you some...
32:14wacky question...
32:15and she found me quite...
32:16amusing sometimes...
32:17but...
32:18bemusing...
32:19bewildering...
32:20mostly...
32:21I think.
32:22The whole...
32:24event lasts for just...
32:25under three hours...
32:26but that's ample time...
32:29to experience...
32:30another royal tradition...
32:31one that usually...
32:32only the royal family enjoys...
32:34a stroll around...
32:35the palace gardens.
32:39The gardens of the palace...
32:41are beautiful...
32:42and they are huge.
32:43It's...
32:44not really a garden...
32:45it's a bit more like...
32:46an exquisitely...
32:47kept park...
32:48it's...
32:4939...
32:49acres...
32:50and it's a...
32:51varied landscape...
32:52so there's...
32:53woodlands...
32:54um...
32:55fowls...
32:54thousands of trees...
32:55a very, very long...
32:56herbaceous border...
32:57with lovely ornaments...
32:59elemental...
33:00flowers...
33:01designed to be...
33:02at their best...
33:03for the garden party...
33:04and right at the bottom...
33:04there's a stunning lake...
33:05it's very beautiful...
33:06and peaceful...
33:07and quiet...
33:08with all...
33:09the bustle and hustle...
33:10of London life...
33:11around you...
33:12you could be...
33:13in the countryside really...
33:14today's gardens...
33:18at Buckingham...
33:19palace...
33:20were first laid out...
33:21in 1825...
33:22by George IV...
33:24and they followed...
33:25in a long tradition...
33:26of royal gardens...
33:27stretching back...
33:29centuries...
33:30the tradition...
33:31of having gardens...
33:32is...
33:33really very...
33:34very much...
33:35associated...
33:36with...
33:37wealth...
33:38and...
33:39the monarchy...
33:40you know...
33:41they were the only ones...
33:42in the past...
33:43who had the money...
33:44to...
33:44to buy land...
33:45and to use...
33:46garden...
33:47and rural...
33:48landscaping...
33:49to...
33:49display...
33:50their wealth...
33:51and their expertise...
33:54coming up...
33:57why...
33:58the tradition...
33:59of royal gardens...
34:00began to bloom...
34:01the gardens...
34:02were all about...
34:03existing...
34:04exerting...
34:05his control...
34:06so he liked...
34:07to show...
34:08that he could...
34:09control nature...
34:09and how...
34:10the royal family's...
34:11traditional links...
34:12to the armed forces...
34:13helped...
34:14Prince Harry...
34:14I think anyone...
34:15who served...
34:16in the armed forces...
34:17it gives them...
34:18a sense of purpose...
34:19and I think...
34:20that was particularly...
34:21the case...
34:22for Prince Harry...
34:24of his own...
34:26who would have...
34:27Oh...
34:28my...
34:29that was a good time...
34:30to bring me to...
34:31I think...
34:32I think...
34:33I'm not enough...
34:34but...
34:35I'm not enough...
34:36I'm not enough...
34:37to...
34:38I'm not enough...
34:39to...
34:40but I'm not enough...
34:41to...
34:42I'm not enough...
34:43to...
34:44I'm not enough...
34:45to...
34:46to...
34:47I'm in...
34:48their character on the landscape and reshape the landscape in the fashion.
34:53Our own king is said to never be happier than when
34:58he's pottering around in his own garden.
35:01Highgrove is created...
35:03...one of the great gardens of the last 50 years by consulting...
35:08...widely, by studying.
35:10He really knows his stuff.
35:12And by...
35:13...he's been doing lots of actually hands-on gardening.
35:16It's really, I think, his...
35:18...the biggest passion.
35:20The tradition of creating palatial royal gardens...
35:23...really began to bloom in the 15th century.
35:26Before then...
35:28...royal residences had to be more for defence and protection.
35:33This was a period before the Tudors when...
35:36...England was almost constantly at work.
35:38...whereas during the Tudor period, palaces were more for pleasure.
35:43And that's why you get the rise of the manicured, beautifully designed gardens.
35:48Henry VIII kick-started the trend for opulent...
35:53...and among his most impressive outdoor spaces...
35:58...was his private, or privy, garden at one of his favourite palaces.
36:03Hampton Court was really Henry VIII's pleasure palace.
36:06He came here to relax...
36:08...to have fun...
36:09...and he spent a lot of time in the gardens...
36:11...as with so many other things.
36:13The gardens were all about exerting his control.
36:16He liked to show that...
36:18...he could control nature.
36:20So the gardens were well-structured, well-manicured...
36:23...and he had mounds built...
36:25...which were some mini hillsides.
36:28...and literally so that he could go to the top...
36:30...and kind of survey all that he owed.
36:33The gardens are about showing off his intellect, his wealth.
36:38...and his sophistication.
36:39His second wife Anne Boleyn was educated in France.
36:42There are some Europeans...
36:43...and European influences coming in...
36:45...and keeping up with the French...
36:46...does seem to be a major...
36:48...part of early English royal gardens.
36:51But the traditional royal rival...
36:53...meant that within 150 years...
36:56...Henry's magnificent...
36:58...privy garden...
36:59...was seen as old hat and redesigned.
37:03William III, when he becomes king in the 1690s...
37:07...is determined...
37:08...to constantly one-up Louis XIV's renovations at Versailles.
37:13William decides to give the British royal palaces...
37:16...a garden that can keep up...
37:18...with or hopefully eclipse...
37:20...the royal family across the channel.
37:23...and brought in this very formal style of gardens...
37:26...from the Dutch Republic.
37:28...with neatly manicured hedges...
37:30...and precise symmetry.
37:32But utterly...
37:33...spectacular.
37:34Today, that royal tradition of both maintaining...
37:37...and creating...
37:38...royal gardens...
37:39...is still going strong.
37:41Our current king is...
37:43...said to have inherited his love of gardening...
37:45...from the queen's mother.
37:46...and...
37:48...and it has now become...
37:49...one of the great passions of his life.
37:52His interest...
37:53...in gardens...
37:54...is kind of central to who he is...
37:56...because it goes with...
37:58...his views on sustainability...
38:00...and conservation.
38:01So...
38:02...gardening for him...
38:03...it's a great pleasure for him.
38:04...but it's kind of...
38:05...central to his work and his vision.
38:08...gardening is one royal tradition...
38:12...that allows our current...
38:13...king to revel in getting his hands dirty.
38:18...but sometimes...
38:19...a hands-on approach...
38:20...isn't advisable.
38:22...
38:23...especially when it comes to...
38:24...the ancient custom of a monarch...
38:25...leading their troops into battle.
38:29Part of the problem is...
38:30...not just the fact...
38:31...that the air could be killed...
38:33...on the battlefield...
38:34...but also that he could be kidnapped...
38:36...he could be used as ransom...
38:38...despite the obvious risks...
38:40...it's still a royal tradition...
38:42...for the men...
38:43...of the family to join up.
38:45Some have even seen action.
38:47The Queen's...
38:48...the father, George VI...
38:49...did actually serve...
38:50...in the First World War...
38:52...of course one of...
38:53...the reasons was...
38:54...he didn't know at the time...
38:55...he was going to become king.
38:57His brother, Edward...
38:58...the 8th...
38:59...was kept well away...
39:00...from the front line.
39:01The most recent...
39:03...to follow that tradition...
39:04...with a stint in the military...
39:06...was Prince Harry...
39:07...who joined...
39:08...in the British Army...
39:09...in 2005.
39:10I think anyone...
39:11...who served...
39:12...in the armed forces...
39:13...it gives them a structure...
39:15...to their lives...
39:16...it gives them a sense...
39:17...of purpose.
39:18...and I think that was...
39:19...particularly the case...
39:20...for Prince Harry.
39:21I think to go...
39:23...into the military...
39:24...for the young men...
39:25...of the family...
39:26...is liberation...
39:27...in a way.
39:28It's where...
39:28...where they are treated...
39:29...almost...
39:30...as equals.
39:31He became one of the boys.
39:33There was no...
39:34...heirs and graces.
39:35Oh!
39:36There it is!
39:38His surname was Windsor...
39:40...and he really fitted in.
39:42I really think...
39:43...in so many ways...
39:44...that was...
39:45...the high point...
39:46...if not just...
39:47...of Harry's young life.
39:48...but of his life today...
39:49...where he really felt...
39:50...this sense of belonging.
39:53...during his ten years...
39:56...in the army...
39:57...Harry saw two...
39:58...tours of Afghanistan...
40:00...trained as an Apache...
40:01...helicopter commander...
40:02...and...
40:03...lose to the rank of captain...
40:05...and although he was...
40:06...deployed to the front line...
40:08...it was short-lived.
40:11Harry was sent off...
40:12...on his...
40:13...his first tour to Afghanistan...
40:14...after a few weeks...
40:15...his location...
40:16...his whereabouts...
40:17...and his role...
40:18...were spilt out...
40:20...in the international press...
40:21...and he had to be withdrawn.
40:23Inevitably...
40:24...if you have a public profile...
40:25...you are going to be...
40:26...more of a target...
40:27...than anybody else.
40:28...if you're a target...
40:30...on enemy terrain...
40:32...that doesn't only...
40:33...imperil you...
40:34...it imperils...
40:35...the men and women...
40:36...serving around you.
40:37I think the...
40:38...the fact that he had to...
40:39...effectively abandon...
40:40...his compatriots...
40:41...in Afghanistan.
40:43...wasn't his choice...
40:44...but I think he understood...
40:45...why it had to happen.
40:46He didn't want to put them...
40:47...in any more danger.
40:48...than they were already in.
40:54The prince left the army...
40:55...in 2015...
40:57...but he has started...
40:58a new royal tradition, supporting former colleagues across the services.
41:03who have been injured in the line of duty.
41:05Look how Harry, even though...
41:08he no longer serves as a full-time royal, has worked to embolden the role of...
41:13the military to lionize those injured men and women who come back from military service.
41:18James really, I think, will go down as his most impressive legacy.
41:23What?
41:24What?
41:28From leading troops into battle to becoming a ceremonial commander-in-chief...
41:33establishing some of Britain's greatest public parks.
41:38to spearheading conservation and sustainability.
41:42The monarchy...
41:43is constantly evolving to stay relevant to British life by maintaining old royal...
41:48traditions...
41:49and creating new ones.
41:51They really fully...
41:53understand the importance of tradition and heritage and what that means.
41:58for them as they operate in society today.
42:02They...
42:03really hark back to trying to connect the past with the present.
42:06They try to unwind us of where they...
42:08came from and why they still exist today.
42:13Next time...
42:18the extravagant royal tradition that cost a king his head.
42:21He wanted to send a message.
42:23I'm here...
42:24and I'm powerful.
42:25The gruesome rituals of royal medicine...
42:28plunging him into icy cold baths...
42:31or rub corsic soda onto his legs...
42:33or hot glass cups on his back.
42:35and the custom of keeping it in the family.
42:38no matter what the consequences.
42:40George the first turns up with all the...
42:43charm of a wart.
42:44I mean no one is happy to see him.
42:48those secrets...
42:50next Saturday at 7.30...
42:52and for the latest...
42:53crisis goings on behind palace gates...
42:55catch up with the royals...
42:56with Reverend Richard Coles...
42:58Saturday lunchtime...
42:59new at 5 to 2.
43:01In a mo...
43:02she's come a long way since...
43:03TV punditry on Pebble Mill...
43:05what makes Claudia Winkleman...
43:06one of a kind...
43:07five go...
43:08shows behind the fringe...
43:09new after the break.
43:13and it's roads will go from...
43:15Indiana have to tear through a dense센 york style...
43:17and finally there are stations...
43:19in all these stations.
43:20in all the stores and bars,
43:22which are mostly...
43:23what rel nutters?
43:24like...
43:25and some shows that...
43:26the path they would be over...
43:27even more.
43:28Who is NOW!!!
43:29What is this?
43:31To Kelly Hook?
43:32where does the race in...
43:33and it's tonight...
43:34some standards praisezo...
43:36to everybody...
43:39a pilot!
43:40as a pilot!
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