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00:00This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle, this earth of majesty.
00:13Royal births, marriages and deaths have determined the course of British history.
00:20Finally, on that famous balcony, the royal couple appear before a caring multitude.
00:26These are the milestones that transform the royal family.
00:29They have shaped its destiny for over a thousand years.
00:37The heir to the throne, the next king, was in this space being baptised.
00:44This is the Tudor dynasty and the Tudor dynasty is here to stay.
00:46When she got out of the car and the dress was revealed, every detail was exquisite.
01:01It looked like a moment of shared celebration.
01:04Finally, someone was getting some much-deserved happiness.
01:08There were a lot of reasons why Jane might not have survived the birth.
01:15It was a very risky thing to do.
01:18The king wished to be buried next to his beloved wife, but with the sides cut off of their coffins,
01:23so that they could, as he put it, mingle.
01:26Here in the archives, we can hear these voices.
01:35The hopes wrapped up in a longed-for royal baby, the fairy-tale weddings that end in disaster.
01:42This is where we find the grisly deaths.
01:45Over the centuries, royal wedding dresses have thrilled and fascinated,
02:06providing us with moments of pure escapist glamour.
02:09And perhaps one of the dresses that has most captivated the nation
02:13was that of Kate Middleton as she went to marry her prince.
02:17I will never forget that day,
02:20because I was doing commentary for a couple of different TV channels,
02:25and the atmosphere was off the charts.
02:29It was so joyful.
02:33And from the moment this future princess appeared,
02:36speculation about who had made the most anticipated gown of the year
02:40was at fever pitch.
02:42It was huge anticipation about Kate's dress,
02:45and like most royal weddings,
02:47we didn't get to see any information
02:50until she actually got out of the car at Westminster Abbey.
02:54So we had that whole journey with her in the car,
02:59trying to scrutinise tiny elements of the dress, the veil, the tiara,
03:04trying to second-guess.
03:06Who the dress was by, what it looked like.
03:11And as Kate emerged, she didn't disappoint.
03:15The first glimpse of the world's most talked-about dress.
03:20Catherine always looks marvellous in whatever she wears,
03:23but that wedding dress beat anything.
03:27It was just the most exquisite dress you could ever see.
03:32And finally the world was told the designer of this masterpiece,
03:37Sarah Burton, creative director at Alexander McQueen,
03:41and the legendary British Couturier's successor.
03:44When she got out of the car and the dress was revealed,
03:48it became very obvious then to me that it was Alexander McQueen.
03:52There was all of that appliqued lace onto the satin,
03:58and the fit was just sublime.
04:02Every detail was exquisite.
04:05As the world marvelled over the craftsmanship of this extraordinary gown,
04:11at Hampton Court Palace, there were a handful of people
04:14who were only too aware of how much work and dedication had gone into making it.
04:18The embroiderers of the Royal School of Needlework.
04:232011 was a really exciting time.
04:26We were commissioned by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen
04:30to produce the lace for the Princess of Wales dress.
04:35The dress design included a tray nearly nine feet long,
04:40covered in exquisite embroidery.
04:42So the school knew it had its work cut out.
04:45And immediately a call went out for any alumni who might be able to help.
04:51The embroiderers, aged from 19 to over 70,
04:55began to make their way from all over the country
04:58to the workrooms at Hampton Court.
05:01Some of our embroiderers had to actually stay overnight in the area,
05:04and often they would be staying with another member of the team
05:07who was also part of the project.
05:10So it was very much a community feel.
05:12Once everyone was assembled,
05:14the detailed work to make the dress could begin.
05:18And keeping the lace pristine was of paramount importance.
05:22Because it's white on white and we're stitching with a white thread,
05:26we had to be really conscious of keeping everything clean.
05:30So we surround the area that we're stitching with tissue paper
05:33so that only the bit that we're actually working on is uncovered.
05:37So hands were washed every 30 minutes.
05:40Threads were really short lengths, no more than about 30 centimetres.
05:44And if there was any sign of wear or discolouring, then they were changed.
05:48And it was to a traditional embroidery technique from Ireland,
05:53dating back to the 1820s, that Sarah Burton turned for inspiration.
05:58So the main technique was a pliquet,
06:00so each of the pieces of lace were applied with a tiny stitch.
06:04The inspiration was carrick cross lace,
06:07which is where you apply fabric to a lace and stitch a corded edge.
06:11We had net framed up as a base fabric and then onto the net we placed the lace motifs.
06:18So we had to cut all of these out individually
06:20and then place them on according to the plan.
06:25And then they were pinned in position
06:26and then we stitched around the edge of them to hold them in place.
06:31The dress itself was made of ivory and white satin
06:35and the lace motifs were carefully chosen from across Europe.
06:39There was enormous craftsmanship involved
06:42and the lace was sourced from three different suppliers,
06:46so two from France, Solstice and Sophie Hallett,
06:49who do the most exquisite couture lace with very traditional looms
06:54and then there's some Cluny lace there from Derbyshire.
06:58So there was a range of motifs,
06:59so sometimes they were flowers,
07:01sometimes they were sprigs with stalks to help construct that design.
07:05Some of the motifs were as small as a 5p piece,
07:08so they were really tiny.
07:10But the design of the dress wasn't just about making a garment
07:13that was breathtakingly beautiful.
07:16Some of the lace pieces,
07:17they were to represent the four emblematic flowers of Great Britain,
07:21so there was the daffodil, the shamrock, the rose and the thistle,
07:25and they were all embedded in within the design.
07:28And just as the details of the dress were shrouded in secrecy
07:32on the day of the wedding,
07:33astonishingly, as Anne and the team worked on this delicate masterpiece,
07:38even they weren't told exactly what they were making or who it was for.
07:42We didn't know who the designer was,
07:44and I certainly, because I was just part of the team,
07:48wasn't really aware of who the designer was.
07:51With it being white and lace,
07:52we kind of all assumed it was a wedding dress,
07:54and obviously we chatted amongst ourselves
07:56and thought perhaps it might be the dress,
07:58but we didn't know for sure.
08:00And even though Anne and the team were working round the clock
08:03to make sure they delivered the dress on time,
08:06they too were sworn to silence.
08:09We are known for our discretion, so we weren't allowed to tell anybody,
08:12not even family or partners, nobody.
08:15But we all thought up different stories of why we were here
08:18and different commissions,
08:20none of which were relating to our wedding dress.
08:22So, yeah, we had to hold it in until the day.
08:26As the day of the wedding finally dawned
08:28and vast crowds began to gather along the route to Westminster Abbey,
08:32Anne and all the embroiderers who had worked so hard
08:36on this historic masterpiece were on tenterhooks.
08:40When you embroider on a garment,
08:42you get the pieces when they're flat,
08:43so you don't actually see the garment in its 3D form.
08:47So for me, I didn't see the wedding dress in its 3D form
08:51until the actual day on TV.
08:53It was so exciting.
08:55As Kate appeared,
08:57and the world gasped at the beauty
08:59of this extraordinary work of art,
09:00all the effort had finally paid off.
09:04I watched the wedding.
09:06I watched it from home.
09:07Nobody could talk in the house.
09:09The children had to be quiet
09:10just to be able to watch her arrive.
09:13I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.
09:15And then I could say,
09:17that's what I've been working on.
09:19They were just amazed, absolutely amazed.
09:21You felt so proud to have been part of that.
09:24Coming up,
09:33the infamous wedding hats,
09:35which got all the wrong kinds of attention.
09:38They were brave styles,
09:40and Beatrice in particular
09:42had a lot of fun made of her
09:44for her choice of hat.
09:46I think they were upset about it.
09:48It's not nice to have hundreds of people saying,
09:51what did you look like, absolutely awful.
09:55And the rebel princess,
09:57whose very ordinary cremation bucked the royal trend.
10:00It's very much a kind of municipal,
10:03modern crematorium down a side road in Slough,
10:07but along came the royal hearse.
10:17Deciding where you want to be buried for all eternity
10:20is a choice everyone eventually has to face.
10:23But for one princess,
10:25with a fierce reputation for knowing her own mind,
10:28her choice of final resting place
10:30meant breaking with centuries of royal tradition
10:33and a solitary final journey
10:35to a tomb that was never originally meant for her.
10:39In the 1950s and 60s,
10:41Princess Margaret was the most glamorous,
10:44most fashionable,
10:45most with it,
10:46to use a 1960s phrase,
10:49member of the royal family.
10:50She was as glamorous as Vivian Leigh
10:53or Marilyn Monroe,
10:55but she had a bit of edge
10:57because monarchy in that era was still revered.
11:00So she wasn't just an uber-celebrity.
11:04She was, in a way,
11:05the last of the really old-style princesses.
11:09But in the spring of 1999,
11:11on the island of Mustique,
11:13where she'd spent many happy holidays,
11:15a lifetime of living the high life
11:17seemed to be catching up with her.
11:19Margaret had been ill for some time.
11:22She was quite a heavy smoker,
11:24and that didn't help.
11:26But there had been an incident on holiday in Mustique
11:29when she'd run a bath
11:31and got into the bath
11:33and scalded her feet
11:35because it was like a gas heater,
11:38so she hadn't calibrated the temperature.
11:40So she was immobile for some time,
11:43and then there was a series of strokes
11:45which incapacitated her.
11:47And in the two years before her death,
11:49her physical decline was clear to see.
11:52While in 2000,
11:54she joined in the celebrations
11:55for her mother's 100th birthday
11:57on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
12:00Exactly 12 months later,
12:02her decline was only too obvious.
12:06There she was determined
12:08to honour her mother,
12:10and the butler, William Tallon,
12:12took the decision to wheel her out
12:13and be photographed
12:14with the rest of the royal family.
12:16So we could see that Margaret was ailing.
12:18The last time that she was out,
12:22she was in a wheelchair,
12:24and I think that's a real shock
12:27because she used to like dancing,
12:29and she enjoyed life,
12:32but she'd been unhappy
12:34for a very long time.
12:37She was drinking far too much,
12:39and I don't think she particularly
12:42wanted to stay in this world.
12:46Six months later,
12:48Margaret suffered another stroke,
12:50and on the 9th of February 2002
12:52at her London residence
12:53in Kensington Palace,
12:55she finally died.
12:57It was obviously a terrible blow
12:59to the Queen.
13:00I mean, she and her sister
13:01have sort of spoken on an almost daily basis
13:04all their adult lives.
13:06But also, for the Queen,
13:08there was the added worry
13:09about the impact on the Queen mother
13:12and the shock to her
13:13of losing her daughter.
13:16Ever determined to be
13:17Queen of her own destiny,
13:19Margaret had left clear instructions
13:21for her send-off,
13:22and at Windsor Castle,
13:24six days after her death,
13:26crowds began to gather
13:27to pay their respects.
13:28It had been the princess's wishes.
13:32She wanted to have a proper
13:33private farewell
13:34at St George's Chapel,
13:36so the entire royal family were there.
13:39The Queen mother,
13:40who by this stage
13:40was extremely frail,
13:42was 101,
13:44but was absolutely,
13:46very touchingly made a point
13:48as the coffin
13:49of Princess Margaret
13:50was carried out.
13:50She summoned up
13:51all the strength she had,
13:54stood up,
13:55which is quite something
13:56at that age,
13:57given what an appalling shock
13:59it must have been for her.
14:00And after a lifetime
14:02ploughing her own unique furrow,
14:04this rebellious royal
14:06broke with tradition,
14:07even beyond the grave,
14:09this time with her choice
14:10of final resting place.
14:12There's always a tradition
14:13that junior or lesser
14:16members of the royal family
14:18would be buried
14:18at the family burial ground
14:21at Frogmore,
14:22but Princess Margaret
14:23didn't want that.
14:24that she wanted to be
14:24with her parents
14:25in perpetuity.
14:27Her father,
14:28King George VI,
14:30was buried in a crypt chapel
14:31below St George's Windsor,
14:33a chapel which was never built
14:35to accommodate
14:35his youngest daughter.
14:37It's a very small crypt chapel,
14:40and it had been designed
14:41very much with room
14:43for George VI,
14:45in due course,
14:46the Queen mother,
14:47in due course,
14:48Elizabeth II,
14:49and Prince Philip,
14:50but there wasn't room
14:51for any more than that.
14:52But Margaret was undeterred.
14:55There was only space
14:56for the remains
14:57of four people,
14:59so Margaret was told
15:00the only way
15:00she could be in there
15:01was if she was cremated.
15:03In 1,000 years
15:05of royal history,
15:06there had only been
15:07one other cremation
15:08of a senior royal.
15:09In 1939,
15:11when Princess Louise,
15:12Queen Victoria's
15:13unconventional fourth daughter,
15:15personally requested it
15:16when she died.
15:17But such was the close bond
15:20with her father.
15:21Margaret had no doubts
15:22that, unorthodox though it was,
15:25cremation was the only option.
15:27It was a very tight family unit
15:29of George VI,
15:32Elizabeth,
15:33Queen from 1936,
15:34Queen Mother from 1952,
15:36and their two sisters,
15:38Lilibet and Margot,
15:40or Elizabeth and Margaret.
15:42Us four,
15:43they were known as,
15:43and after the difficulty
15:45of the abdication,
15:46and then carrying the country
15:47through the Second World War,
15:49it was a really tight family unit.
15:51But in 1952,
15:53George died,
15:55aged only 56,
15:56ripping apart the Us four
15:58he so fondly called
15:59his wife and daughters.
16:01And for Margaret,
16:02who was just 21,
16:03it was devastating.
16:05I think for Margaret,
16:07incredibly proud
16:08of her father
16:09and how he led Britain
16:10through the war,
16:11adored him,
16:12felt he'd died
16:14much too young.
16:15And so after decades
16:17of failed relationships
16:18with men she'd loved and lost,
16:20Margaret broke the rules,
16:22even in death,
16:23to be with the one man
16:25she could always count on
16:26for eternity.
16:29And if that meant
16:30being cremated
16:31to fit into a crypt
16:32never meant to include her,
16:34then so be it.
16:37If you're a royal,
16:38you're expected to be buried.
16:40And that's it,
16:43you know,
16:43buried as you are,
16:45you are not burnt.
16:47And nothing has changed.
16:49It's the same now.
16:51So that is the sort of hugeness
16:53of her courage
16:55and her determination,
16:56that she was absolutely
16:58determined to have that
16:59and for them
17:01to give her that wish.
17:03And so almost 50 years
17:05to the very day
17:06that her beloved father
17:08had died,
17:09Margaret set off
17:10on her final journey
17:11alone.
17:12After the funeral service,
17:15the royal family
17:16returned up the hill
17:17to the castle
17:18for the wake
17:19and the coffin
17:20went off to the crematorium
17:22and it was
17:23an extraordinary moment.
17:25I remember standing,
17:26I remember it was
17:27a freezing cold day
17:28and standing outside
17:30Slough Crem
17:31watching the purse arrive.
17:34It's very much
17:36a kind of municipal
17:37modern crematorium
17:38down a side road
17:40in Slough.
17:41There'd been other cremations
17:42going on that day
17:44and there were other ones
17:45coming along afterwards.
17:46It was a process
17:47rather than
17:48a grand ceremony.
17:51But that's
17:52how she wanted it.
17:53I mean,
17:54all through her life
17:54she'd been this one-off,
17:56this extraordinary character
17:58who'd like to do things,
17:59you know,
18:00differently her way
18:01and that went on
18:04right to the end.
18:15Weddings are always
18:16an excuse to buy a new frock.
18:19But for the guests
18:19at royal weddings,
18:21with the world's press
18:22watching
18:22and millions of eager viewers
18:24waiting with bated breath
18:25to dissect every detail,
18:27the pressure
18:28to pull a stylish look
18:29out of the bag
18:29is very much on.
18:32And at Kate and William's
18:34spring wedding of 2011,
18:36some ensembles
18:37grabbed rather more attention
18:39than others.
18:41Princess Eugenie
18:42and Princess Beatrice
18:43got a slightly
18:44sort of unfair amount
18:46of publicity
18:47for their choice
18:48of hats
18:49for the wedding.
18:52They were
18:53Philip Tracy,
18:54he's one of the best
18:55milliners in the world,
18:57I would say,
18:58and they were
18:59brave styles.
19:01And Beatrice
19:02in particular
19:02really had a lot
19:05of fun made
19:06of her
19:07for her choice
19:07of hat.
19:09Philip Tracy
19:10designed an incredible
19:1136 hats
19:13for the wedding.
19:14But none
19:15generated quite
19:15as many headlines
19:16as Beatrice's pretzel.
19:18I think they were
19:21upset about it.
19:22It's not nice
19:23to have hundreds
19:24of people saying,
19:25what did you look like?
19:27Absolutely awful.
19:29You know,
19:29I think they found
19:30that difficult.
19:31I would have taken it
19:32off at some point,
19:34run to the ladies,
19:35brush your hair,
19:36come back and sit down
19:38and pretend
19:38nothing happened.
19:40But, you know,
19:41obviously they felt
19:42they had to keep
19:42their hats on.
19:43But rather than
19:45letting the bad press
19:46dent her confidence,
19:47Beatrice transformed
19:48the negative publicity
19:50into a force for good
19:51by auctioning
19:52the infamous hat
19:53on eBay.
19:55She brilliantly
19:56turned it around
19:57to making something
19:58positive out of it,
20:00which is so typical
20:01of Beatrice.
20:02You know,
20:02she's ever can do.
20:04And so she auctioned
20:06the hat off
20:07for two of her
20:08favourite charities,
20:10UNICEF
20:10and Children in Crisis,
20:12and turned
20:13the whole instant
20:14into a positive.
20:16The hat made
20:17a staggering
20:18£81,100
20:19and one pee.
20:22I think that was
20:23a very nice thing
20:24to do,
20:24to get money
20:26for something,
20:26because it had
20:27a character in its own,
20:28this hat,
20:30and she gave the money
20:31to a charity.
20:33So I expect
20:34they put it
20:34on the wall,
20:35really,
20:35rather than wear it.
20:37And over a decade
20:38after her wedding
20:39day disaster,
20:40rather than being
20:41condemned to fashion
20:42Siberia,
20:44Beatrice found
20:44her style celebrated
20:46as she made
20:47the 2024 Tatler
20:48Best Dressed list,
20:50dubbed the
20:51Princess of Perfection.
20:53It was the
20:53perfect revenge.
20:56She definitely
20:57has had the last laugh.
20:59She's found
21:00her style DNA.
21:01She knows
21:01exactly what works
21:04for her,
21:05and she sticks
21:06with that.
21:07And she looks
21:07fabulous.
21:08But it wasn't
21:09just Beatrice
21:10who made
21:10a fashion statement
21:11at the wedding.
21:12When the maid
21:13of honour,
21:14Pippa Middleton,
21:14appeared,
21:15she almost threatened
21:16to upstage the bride.
21:18Everybody liked
21:20Pippa and her bottom
21:21in that dress.
21:23She looked
21:23phenomenal in it,
21:25and it nearly
21:27took away
21:27too much
21:28from Catherine,
21:30because she just
21:31had the most
21:31beautiful figure,
21:33and he only
21:34saw her
21:35bottom first,
21:38and she just
21:39looked lovely.
21:40But perhaps
21:41the guest
21:42who'd put the
21:42most thought
21:43into her outfit
21:44was the ultimate
21:45style icon,
21:46Queen Elizabeth
21:47II,
21:48a woman who'd
21:49certainly attended
21:50her fair share
21:51of royal weddings,
21:52many of which
21:53hadn't quite had
21:54such happy ever-afters.
21:56Interestingly,
21:57the Queen chose
21:58to wear a pale
22:00primrose yellow,
22:01possibly to get
22:03away from
22:03the blue curse.
22:05Over the previous
22:06five decades,
22:08Elizabeth's choice
22:08of wedding outfit
22:09had followed
22:10a predictable colour.
22:12But unfortunately,
22:13all the weddings
22:14she wore it to
22:15also tended
22:16to have rather
22:17disastrous outcomes.
22:19She had worn blue
22:20to her sister,
22:21Princess Margaret's
22:22wedding,
22:23to the Prince of Wales
22:25wedding,
22:26to Andrew and Sarah's
22:27wedding,
22:28and to Princess Anne's
22:29wedding, too,
22:30and all of those
22:31weddings had ended
22:32in divorce.
22:34And after half a
22:35century of reaching
22:36for the dependable,
22:37but seemingly unlucky,
22:39for Kate and
22:39William's nuptials,
22:40she decided to
22:41ring the changes.
22:43And so she strategically
22:45chose not to wear blue
22:47on this occasion.
22:48It was a choice
22:49which seems to have
22:50worked.
22:51Fourteen years on,
22:52and the curse appears
22:53to have been well
22:54and truly broken.
23:05Coming up,
23:06the undignified death
23:08of an 18th century monarch.
23:10The king was sprawled
23:12on the floor,
23:13covered in blood,
23:14and he was beyond hope.
23:16The king had died
23:18on the toilet.
23:19And the precautions
23:20taken to ensure
23:22the birth
23:22of a Tudor king.
23:24Henry VIII was asked
23:25at a crucial moment
23:26during this labor
23:27whether he wished
23:28to save the mother
23:29or the baby,
23:29and he said,
23:30save the child,
23:31I can find another wife.
23:33Over the centuries,
23:42monarchs have died
23:43in some undignified ways,
23:45but perhaps none
23:45so ungraciously
23:46as George II,
23:48the 18th century sovereign
23:49who proved that Elvis
23:51wasn't the only king
23:52to have died on the toilet.
23:55King George II
23:55was a man of routine.
23:57On the 25th of October, 1760,
24:00he rose early
24:01at Kensington Palace
24:02as he always did.
24:04He went for his customary cup
24:05of hot chocolate
24:06which he enjoyed
24:07every morning,
24:08and then he retired
24:10to his clothes stool
24:11to pass his customary
24:13bowel movement.
24:14So far, so normal.
24:17Then there was
24:18a massive crash,
24:19and his valet
24:21rushed to the room
24:22and found the king
24:24was sprawled on the floor,
24:27covered in blood,
24:28and he was beyond hope.
24:30The king had died
24:32on the toilet.
24:35Now, all this might have been solved
24:37had the groom
24:38of the stool been present.
24:40We might think
24:41helping the king
24:42to go to the toilet
24:43is the most repulsive
24:44job in history,
24:45but in reality,
24:47it was fought over.
24:49Courtiers were desperate
24:50for that job,
24:51because when you took
24:52the king to the toilet,
24:53just the two of you,
24:54you had his ear.
24:57But by the time
24:58of George II,
25:00his groom of the stool,
25:01William Nassau de Zullenstein,
25:04his role had been combined
25:05with the role of gentleman
25:07at the bedchamber,
25:08so he didn't necessarily
25:10go to the loo with the king.
25:11The king went alone.
25:12So the poor king
25:13went alone to the loo
25:15and then died
25:16a rather horrible death,
25:19but a quick one.
25:21The next day,
25:22the king's doctor
25:23opened him up
25:24and realized
25:25that the king
25:26had suffered
25:26from an aortic dissection,
25:29and this is a catastrophic event
25:30in which blood surges
25:31through a vent
25:32in the innermost layer
25:33of the aorta
25:34and then dissects its way
25:36along the vessel wall.
25:39Dr. Nichols said very clearly
25:40it was the straining
25:42of the bowel movement
25:43that had killed the king,
25:46and apparently,
25:47this is not that rare.
25:49What had happened
25:50was George had suffered
25:52a massive rupture
25:53of the aorta,
25:55fallen,
25:56hit his head,
25:57and died.
25:59The king left
26:01rather creepy instructions
26:02on how he wished
26:03to be buried.
26:04He wished to be buried
26:05next to his beloved wife,
26:07but with the sides
26:08cut off of both
26:09of their coffins
26:10so that they could,
26:12as he put it,
26:13mingle.
26:15George had ruled
26:15from the throne
26:16and died on one too.
26:28When a pregnancy
26:30is announced,
26:31it's usually a moment
26:32of anticipation
26:33and celebration,
26:34and in royal history
26:35there has been perhaps
26:36no birth more keenly anticipated
26:39than that of the longed-for
26:41male heir of Henry VIII
26:42and his wife,
26:43Jane Seymour,
26:45Edward VI.
26:47Having divorced one wife
26:48and beheaded another,
26:50when Henry married
26:51his third wife,
26:52Jane Seymour,
26:53in May 1536,
26:54the king had one thing
26:56on his mind.
26:57So Henry in the 1530s
27:01is an incredibly anxious
27:02and paranoid man.
27:04He's just had Anne Boleyn executed
27:07for some trumped-up charges
27:09of adultery and treason,
27:11all of which are untrue.
27:12He is also still without a male heir,
27:15so he is very anxious
27:17and paranoid about his dynasty,
27:20his legacy,
27:21and the future of his country.
27:22But in the winter of 1537,
27:26it seemed as if Jane
27:27and Henry's dreams
27:28had come true,
27:29when just seven months
27:30after their wedding
27:31it became clear
27:32Jane was expecting
27:33their first child.
27:35Henry and Jane
27:36are incredibly excited
27:37that Jane is pregnant.
27:40Henry apparently has no affairs
27:42during Jane's pregnancy.
27:44He is probably aware
27:46that the stress
27:47that he placed Anne under
27:48whilst having an affair
27:49when she was pregnant
27:50might have led
27:52to her having a miscarriage.
27:54So Henry is faithful
27:55during this time
27:56trying to make sure
27:57Jane is having
27:58the most comfortable pregnancy
27:59as possible.
28:02But whilst for Henry
28:03it was simply a waiting game,
28:05for Jane,
28:06aged only 28,
28:08this was a moment
28:08of enormous change
28:10and potential danger.
28:12It's been suggested
28:13that maybe one in 18 women
28:15died giving birth.
28:17It was an average
28:18across history,
28:18which doesn't sound
28:20like a huge number
28:21but when you think
28:23about it in real terms
28:24that means that
28:25every woman
28:25will have known
28:26at least one person
28:27that lived near them
28:29within their village
28:30or within their family
28:31that had died
28:32in childbirth
28:32and I think that
28:33was quite a terrifying
28:35prospect actually.
28:37And as the moment
28:38of the birth grew nearer,
28:39Jane had plenty of time
28:40to contemplate
28:41her potential fate.
28:44Before any royal birth
28:45there was a salary
28:46known as the Queen's
28:47taking to her chamber.
28:48This normally took place
28:50about six weeks
28:51before the baby
28:51was considered to be due.
28:53A mass would be said
28:54after which the Queen
28:55would be formally escorted
28:57by the King
28:57and his male attendants
28:59to the suite of rooms
29:00which had been prepared
29:01for the birth.
29:02After that she would see
29:03only women
29:04until the baby was born.
29:06At Hampton Court Palace
29:07on the 16th of September
29:091537,
29:10Jane left her courtly life
29:12behind.
29:12to enter a small room
29:14under the eaves
29:15which would be
29:16her entire world
29:17for the last weeks
29:18of her pregnancy.
29:20The obsession
29:21with walling up mothers,
29:23closing them in
29:24in bedrooms
29:25for a lengthy period
29:27before delivery
29:28is partly common sense,
29:31although it didn't
29:32really work very well,
29:33the idea that
29:34you must shield
29:35the mother
29:36from accidents
29:36and infections
29:38by getting her
29:40out of normal society.
29:41By all accounts
29:42Jane Seymour
29:43wasn't a particularly
29:44imaginative woman
29:45and I think that was
29:47probably just as well
29:48because it's positively
29:49macabre
29:50that she was
29:52locked up
29:53at Hampton Court
29:54such a short time
29:55after Anne Boleyn
29:56had been executed
29:58I think it would have
29:59been pretty terrifying
30:00and one could imagine
30:02Anne's ghost
30:03creeping through
30:04the darkened rooms
30:05was like some sort
30:06of dire warning.
30:08In an age
30:09when medical knowledge
30:10was rudimentary,
30:12extreme precautions
30:13were taken
30:13to protect
30:14a mother's health
30:14and maximise
30:16her chances
30:16of survival
30:17and the atmosphere
30:18in Jane's birthing
30:19chamber would have
30:20been extraordinary.
30:22They would have
30:23kept her warm
30:24because there were
30:24some real concerns
30:25about getting cold
30:26into the body
30:27during childbirth
30:29so the fires
30:29would have been roaring.
30:31There were usually
30:32two beds prepared,
30:33one a bed of state
30:34with the canopy
30:36to show the royal
30:37woman's rank
30:37gorgeously draped
30:39with furs
30:39and silks
30:40and then the birthing
30:42bed which was
30:42a simple pallet
30:43at the end of the bed
30:44where the birth itself
30:46would take place
30:47and this was often
30:48equipped with
30:49wooden handles
30:50or sometimes ropes
30:51that the woman
30:52in labour
30:53could grip on.
30:55Perfumes and spices
30:56were burned
30:56to keep the air sweet
30:58because it was believed
30:58that any bad odours
31:00could have a dangerous
31:01effect on mother
31:02and child
31:03and it would have
31:04been terribly oppressive
31:06with nothing to do
31:08all day but pace
31:09and pray
31:10and rest.
31:12And as the day
31:13of the expected birth
31:14grew nearer
31:15the atmosphere
31:16would only have
31:17intensified
31:18and at a time
31:20when superstition
31:21was rife
31:21precautions were taken
31:23not just to prevent
31:24disease entering
31:25the chamber
31:25but evil spirits.
31:28As it became clear
31:29that Jane was going
31:30into labour
31:30the birth room
31:31would have been
31:31made dark
31:32the windows
31:33would have been
31:34covered
31:34to stop the light
31:35coming in
31:36so that it would
31:36have been lit
31:36by the fire
31:37and that again
31:38was to keep
31:39the room warm
31:40but also to make
31:41sure that malevolent
31:42spirits stayed out.
31:44On the 9th of October
31:461537
31:47Jane finally
31:48went into labour.
31:54It was a very long
31:55labour
31:56and this would have
31:57come with complications
31:58as well
31:59as they thought
32:00a longer labour
32:01could have led
32:02to the child
32:03possibly dying
32:04through suffocation.
32:06During Jane's
32:07gruelling ordeal
32:08Henry's physician
32:09William Butts
32:10was called
32:10to the birthing chamber
32:11and whilst you might
32:13think to have a doctor
32:14on hand would be
32:15a comfort
32:15in the 16th century
32:17a man's arrival
32:18in the room
32:19especially if that man
32:20was a surgeon
32:21was very definitely
32:22a moment to be feared.
32:24One of the few
32:25occasions when a man
32:26might be in the
32:27birthing chamber
32:28was when a surgeon
32:29would be called
32:30because the delivery
32:31wasn't progressing
32:32and there weren't
32:33many ways to deal
32:34with this
32:35so technically
32:36a caesarean section
32:37could be performed
32:38but that guaranteed
32:39the death of the mother
32:40so that was often done
32:42as a very last resort
32:44when the mother
32:44was almost dead anyway.
32:47More likely
32:48a surgeon might be called
32:49to dismember the infant
32:50in order to bring
32:52the infant out
32:52of the birth canal.
32:53You might imagine
32:55saving the life
32:56of a queen
32:56during labour
32:57was of paramount
32:58importance
32:59but for Henry
33:00the women he married
33:01were entirely expendable.
33:03There's a story
33:04that Henry VIII
33:06was asked at a crucial
33:07moment during this labour
33:08whether he wished
33:08to save the mother
33:09or the baby
33:10and he said
33:11save the child
33:12I can find another wife.
33:14I don't know
33:15how true this is
33:16but for him
33:17the key issue
33:18was to produce
33:18a son and heir.
33:19After more than
33:2160 excruciating hours
33:23at 2am on October 12th
33:251537
33:26Jane finally gave birth
33:28to a baby boy.
33:31Henry of course
33:33was overjoyed
33:34he had just
33:35dispatched of two wives
33:37in his endeavour
33:38to have a legitimate
33:39male heir
33:40so he was absolutely
33:41over the moon.
33:42Bonfires were lit
33:43celebrations were had
33:45across the city
33:46the Tudor dynasty
33:47was finally secure.
33:49But for Jane
33:50the arrival of her son
33:52the future Edward VI
33:53was the beginning
33:54of the end.
34:00Coming up
34:01the tragic death
34:02of the queen
34:03who secured
34:04the future
34:04of the Tudor dynasty.
34:06There were a lot
34:07of reasons
34:07why Jane might not
34:08have survived the birth
34:09it was a very risky
34:10thing to do.
34:11To assist the baby's
34:13passage
34:13lubricants
34:14would be applied
34:15by people
34:16with unwashed fingers
34:18so the risk
34:19of contagion
34:20is extremely high.
34:23And was the happiest
34:24day of William's life
34:25the beginning
34:26of the end
34:26of the close bond
34:27he shared
34:28with his brother?
34:29I remember seeing
34:30Harry come past
34:31and he looked
34:32pretty sad.
34:33He felt that
34:34he was saying goodbye
34:35to William and Kate.
34:36He felt it was the end
34:37of that close bond
34:38of brotherhood
34:39I think.
34:39As the sun
34:47went down
34:48on the 15th
34:49of October
34:491537
34:50Hampton Court
34:52was alive
34:53with torchlight.
34:54Three days earlier
34:55Jane Seymour
34:56had given birth
34:57to a baby boy
34:58and on this
34:59winter's night
35:00he was being
35:01christened
35:01and it was here
35:02in the chapel
35:03of Hampton Court
35:04Palace
35:05that the ceremony
35:05took place.
35:06So this was
35:09one of the high points
35:10for the Tudor dynasty
35:11it was Edward's
35:12christening.
35:13Now Henry designed
35:14this whole procession
35:15himself
35:15and it was
35:16a night time
35:16christening
35:17where Edward
35:18was taken down
35:19from Jane Seymour's
35:20chambers
35:20the Queen's chambers
35:21and there were
35:22hundreds of torchbearers
35:23lining that route.
35:26Fascinating sketches
35:27of the procession
35:28showed Jane's
35:29baby son
35:29the future
35:30Edward VI
35:31being carried
35:32through the palace.
35:33This was the moment
35:34Henry had been
35:35dreaming of
35:36for 30 years.
35:38The heir
35:39to the throne
35:40the next king
35:41was in this space
35:42being baptised
35:43it was a real mark
35:45this is the Tudor dynasty
35:47and the Tudor dynasty
35:48is here to stay.
35:49And yet although
35:50this was one of the
35:51most triumphant
35:51moments of Henry's life
35:53he and Jane
35:54didn't attend
35:55the christening.
35:56The presence of kings
35:57or queens
35:58not just at christenings
35:59but also at funerals
36:00was simply not part
36:02of protocol
36:03and it was part
36:04of preserving
36:05the mystique
36:06of royalty.
36:07In fact
36:08as the archbishop
36:09was baptising
36:10her newborn son
36:11Jane was still
36:12confined to the room
36:14in which she'd
36:14given birth to Edward
36:15three days before.
36:17It's a room
36:18which still survives.
36:20So today
36:22this room
36:22is now an office
36:23but under
36:25Jane Seymour's
36:26stewardship
36:27this room
36:27would have had
36:28a massive
36:28four poster bed
36:30with the huge
36:31Tudor fireplace
36:32behind it
36:33and the bed
36:33would have overlooked
36:34this courtyard
36:35just here.
36:37And as the flicker
36:38of torchlight
36:38from the christening
36:39below
36:40cast shadows
36:40on the walls
36:41we now know
36:42Jane had just
36:44nine days left
36:44to live.
36:46I think it's
36:47quite doubtful
36:47that poor Jane
36:48knew very much
36:49of what was happening
36:50when her baby
36:50was taken out
36:51to be christened.
36:53Jane hadn't been
36:54well since she'd
36:55given birth to Edward
36:56and in fact
36:57it may well have
36:58been the extreme
36:59conditions in her
37:00chamber during
37:01the period of the
37:02birth which
37:02contributed to her
37:03decline.
37:04The medicine
37:06of the time
37:07and the superstition
37:08of the time
37:09actually made
37:10the mother's
37:10position worse.
37:12To assist
37:13the baby's
37:13passage
37:14lubricants
37:15would be applied
37:16to the mother
37:17but applied
37:18by people
37:19with unwashed
37:21fingers
37:21and so
37:22the risk
37:23of contagion
37:24is extremely
37:26high.
37:27And spending
37:28prolonged periods
37:29in bed
37:30may also have
37:31contributed
37:31to Jane's
37:32demise.
37:33They were
37:34confined to
37:34their rooms
37:35in the dark
37:36and so
37:36it is a
37:37possibility
37:37that lying
37:39down,
37:39not moving
37:40could have
37:40increased the
37:41risk of
37:41clotting
37:42for Jane.
37:43She may have
37:44developed a
37:44deep vein
37:45thrombosis,
37:46a clot in
37:46her legs
37:47and when she
37:47got up
37:48that could have
37:49dislodged
37:49into her chest
37:51causing a
37:51pulmonary
37:52embolism.
37:53The exact
37:54cause of
37:54Jane's death
37:55may always
37:56be shrouded
37:56in mystery
37:57but it's
37:58clear that
37:58for any
37:59Tudor woman
38:00even a queen
38:01giving birth
38:02in the 16th
38:03century was
38:03one of the
38:04most dangerous
38:05things you
38:05could do.
38:07So many
38:08women died
38:09in childbirth
38:10at the time
38:10and the
38:11causes of
38:11death
38:12particularly
38:12to do
38:12with infection
38:14or hemorrhage
38:14were very
38:15little understood.
38:17It may
38:17also have
38:18been though
38:18that because
38:19the labour
38:20was so long
38:21she simply
38:21didn't have
38:22the physical
38:22strength left
38:23anymore to
38:24resist the
38:25infection which
38:26eventually killed
38:27her.
38:28Little had
38:28Jane known
38:29when she first
38:30entered this
38:30chamber,
38:31full of
38:32expectation
38:32at the
38:33arrival of
38:33her child,
38:34that in
38:34the end
38:35it was a
38:35room she
38:36would never
38:37leave.
38:38She was
38:38going through
38:39the last
38:40stages of
38:41her life.
38:41It's thought
38:44that Henry
38:44had been
38:44called into
38:45this room
38:45to spend
38:46his final
38:47few hours
38:47with Jane
38:48and in
38:49the early
38:49hours of
38:49the 24th
38:50of October
38:51she passed
38:52away.
38:53At the age
38:53of just
38:5428,
38:55Jane had
38:55married a
38:56king and
38:57delivered an
38:57heir and
38:58she was in
38:59the end
38:59the only
39:00wife that
39:01Henry ever
39:01mourned.
39:11weddings are
39:14always moments
39:15when family
39:16dynamics shift.
39:17Old
39:18relationships
39:18are bound
39:19to change
39:19when new
39:20bonds are
39:20pledged.
39:22And in
39:222011,
39:24when Prince
39:24William finally
39:25made it up
39:26the aisle,
39:27the effect
39:27his wedding
39:28would have
39:28on one
39:28relationship
39:29in particular
39:30was something
39:31the nation
39:31was waiting
39:32to see.
39:33And from
39:34the moment
39:34the two
39:35brothers arrived
39:35at Westminster
39:36Abbey,
39:37their close
39:37bond was
39:38obvious.
39:39It's a point
39:40where the
39:40two brothers
39:41are very,
39:41very close
39:42and in fact
39:42there's a
39:42sort of
39:43threesome
39:43because Kate
39:44becomes the
39:45sister that
39:45Harry never
39:46had.
39:46So it's a
39:47lovely moment
39:48actually seeing
39:48them.
39:49The night
39:49before the
39:50wedding,
39:51William came
39:52out with
39:53Harry to
39:54talk to the
39:55masses of
39:56people that
39:57were waiting
39:57outside and
39:59William was
40:00shaking hands
40:01with all of
40:01them.
40:02Very nice,
40:02it was something
40:03very special.
40:05For the past
40:06three decades,
40:08the two boys
40:08had grown up
40:09with the
40:09world watching
40:10their every
40:10move.
40:12But even
40:12when the
40:13most intimate
40:13moments of
40:14their childhood
40:14were played
40:15out in
40:15public,
40:16at least
40:17they always
40:18had each
40:18other.
40:19And on
40:20the morning
40:20of the
40:20wedding,
40:21as they
40:21returned to
40:22the very
40:22place they'd
40:23said goodbye
40:23to their
40:24mother over
40:25a decade
40:25before,
40:26it finally
40:27felt as
40:28though the
40:28two of
40:28them had
40:29something to
40:29smile about.
40:31It looked
40:31like a
40:32moment of
40:32shared
40:33celebration.
40:34The
40:34public had
40:34seen
40:35everything the
40:36brothers had
40:36gone through
40:37and we
40:38the public
40:38had been
40:39through it
40:39with them.
40:40Finally,
40:41someone was
40:42getting some
40:43much-deserved
40:43happiness.
40:45And with
40:46just over
40:4624 million
40:47people watching
40:48as they
40:49waited for
40:49the bride
40:50to arrive,
40:51Harry had
40:51left nothing
40:52to chance.
40:53One lovely
40:54little detail
40:55was apparently
40:56Harry had an
40:57extra little
40:57pocket sewn
40:58inside his
40:59uniform tunic
41:00to put the
41:01rings so that
41:02he wouldn't
41:02lose them.
41:03Harry's
41:04anxiety around
41:05the rings
41:06is just
41:06so him.
41:08And at
41:08the same
41:08time,
41:09it shows
41:09his desperation
41:10to not
41:11let the
41:11side down
41:12because his
41:13brother was
41:13terrified that
41:14he was going
41:14to act out
41:15at the
41:16wedding.
41:17Harry was
41:17dedicated to
41:18the idea that
41:19he was going
41:19to do things
41:20right and
41:20proper.
41:21At the time
41:22of the
41:22wedding,
41:23it was widely
41:24assumed that
41:25Harry was
41:25William's
41:26best man.
41:27But Harry
41:28has since
41:28revealed that
41:29wasn't the
41:29case.
41:30It seems
41:31William had
41:32chosen two
41:32best men who
41:33were both
41:34close friends
41:34and Harry
41:35was instead
41:36given the
41:36role of
41:37compere.
41:38The reason
41:39seems to
41:39have been
41:40William's
41:40nervousness
41:41at the
41:41thought of
41:42exactly what
41:43his brother
41:43might say
41:44in a best
41:45man's
41:45speech.
41:46And William's
41:47fears may
41:47well have
41:47been justified
41:48when at the
41:49reception at
41:50Buckingham Palace
41:51Harry did
41:52pick up the
41:53microphone to
41:54read out some
41:54of the letters
41:55sent to the
41:55happy couple
41:56by the public.
41:57And there
41:58was one
41:58thoughtful gift
41:59in particular
42:00which had
42:01caught his
42:01eye.
42:02One letter
42:03that Harry
42:04read came
42:05from an
42:05American fan
42:06who'd said
42:06that he wanted
42:07to make
42:07something out
42:08of ermine
42:08for the
42:09royal couple.
42:10Unfortunately
42:10he could only
42:11find two
42:12stoats so
42:13it wasn't
42:13enough to
42:14make the
42:15cape that
42:15he imagined.
42:16It was only
42:17enough to
42:18make a
42:19thong.
42:20So with
42:20the two
42:21stoats that
42:21he presumably
42:22trapped and
42:24skinned he
42:26crafted his
42:27very own
42:28gift royal
42:29thong.
42:31And Harry
42:32had it with
42:33him and
42:33he pulled
42:34it out
42:34to show
42:34everyone
42:35I am
42:36100% sure
42:37that despite
42:38the loveliness
42:39of thought
42:39behind this
42:40gift it is
42:41not framed
42:42above the
42:42dining table
42:43at Buckingham
42:44Palace.
42:45And Kate
42:45Middleton
42:46the beautiful
42:47the fragrant
42:48the gracious
42:48has not
42:49modelled
42:50the two
42:50stoat thong.
42:51After a
42:53wedding that
42:54had made
42:54the whole
42:55world smile
42:55Harry shared
42:56a carriage
42:57with some
42:57of the
42:57page boys
42:58and bridesmaids.
43:00Amidst the
43:00celebrations
43:01there was a
43:02sense that
43:02this royal
43:03prince knew
43:03only too
43:04well that
43:05this day
43:05marked a
43:06milestone in
43:07his relationship
43:07with his
43:08brother.
43:09I had a
43:10place in
43:10the horse
43:11guards
43:11approach road
43:13for the
43:13wedding of
43:14William and
43:15Kate and
43:16I remember
43:16seeing Harry
43:17come past
43:17in the
43:18carriage
43:18with the
43:18bridesmaids
43:19and he
43:20looked pretty
43:21sad I
43:21thought.
43:22I took a
43:22photograph
43:22and it
43:23does show
43:23that and
43:24he said
43:24that he
43:25felt that
43:25he was
43:25saying
43:26goodbye
43:26to
43:27William and
43:27Kate not
43:28just for
43:28the wedding
43:29but actually
43:30I suppose
43:30one door
43:31was closing
43:31and another
43:32door was
43:32opening for
43:33them but
43:33he was
43:34left behind.
43:35He felt
43:35it was the
43:35end of
43:36that close
43:36bond of
43:37brotherhood I
43:38think.
43:38When we
43:38look back
43:39this was
43:40the fab
43:40three.
43:41You know
43:41this was
43:41the sister
43:42Harry never
43:42had.
43:43I mean
43:44they were
43:44very protective
43:45towards him
43:45and it's
43:47just rather
43:47sad.
43:48This is
43:48the snapshot
43:49of a
43:50moment and
43:51we have
43:51this thought
43:52you know
43:52it's all
43:53going to
43:53change.
43:59At every
44:00royal birth
44:01wedding and
44:02death we're
44:03reminded of
44:03our own
44:04family
44:04milestones.
44:05From the
44:06marriage which
44:06marked the
44:07beginning of
44:07a new era
44:08for two
44:08princes to
44:10the death
44:10of a
44:10princess
44:11mourned
44:11by her
44:12sister.
44:13We all
44:13know how
44:13it feels
44:14when one
44:15chapter of
44:15a family
44:16story ends
44:17and the
44:17rest of
44:18the
44:18players
44:18move on.
44:20There's
44:20a wonderful
44:21quote from
44:22the 19th
44:22century historian
44:23Walter
44:23Badgett who's
44:24thought to
44:24kind of define
44:25the British
44:26monarchy and
44:26he says
44:27a family on
44:28the throne
44:28is an
44:29interesting
44:29idea.
44:31It brings
44:31down the
44:33sovereignty to
44:34the level
44:34of petty
44:35life.
44:36We're all
44:36born,
44:37we all
44:37die,
44:38if we're
44:38lucky we
44:39get married
44:39so we
44:40can relate
44:41to these
44:42events
44:42happening
44:43in the
44:43royal family.
44:47Once
44:48hailed as
44:49the fun
44:49loving
44:50rebellious
44:50Duchess
44:51of York
44:51what led
44:52to her
44:52public
44:52humiliation,
44:53brand new
44:54Fergie and
44:54the fake
44:55shake scandals
44:55at 20
44:56past nine.
44:57Next we
44:57turn our
44:58attention to
44:58her two
44:58daughters
44:59Beatrice
44:59and Eugenie
45:00and see
45:00how they're
45:01coping with
45:01so much
45:02bad press
45:02surrounding
45:03them and
45:03their family
45:04in a
45:04royal dilemma.
45:05A
45:19A
45:20A
45:21A
45:22A
45:23A
45:24A
45:25A
45:26A
45:28A
45:30A
45:32A
45:34A
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