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00:22And so, Coronation Day is upon us for the first time since 1953.
00:31A three-day People's Festival has been declared with concerts and street parties up and down the country.
00:43The former Queen is understood to be devastated and is unlikely to attend the service.
00:53Many had been unable to imagine life without Elizabeth II.
00:59But after almost 50 years on the throne, it's out with Queen Elizabeth and in with King Tony.
01:10New Britain has a new royal family.
01:13The Labour Party.
01:15God save the King!
01:17God save the King!
01:20God save the King!
01:21The King leaves the Abbey to the strains of the new national anthem.
01:26You can walk my path, you can wear my shorts, but to talk like me, I'll be an angel too.
01:42I'm singing it now, please!
01:46In Salonida!
01:50In Salonida!
02:00In Salonida!
02:03In Salonida!
02:12To an extraordinary 66% of the moment, we'll join our colleagues at the World Service.
02:17But in the meantime, on behalf of everybody at Broadcasting House, goodnight.
02:31Thank you!
02:33What's up, B-azzini?
02:37In Salonida!
02:42Next on there!
02:44Thank you!
02:44Thank you!
02:45Good!
02:49Thank you!
03:05I'd like to talk briefly about the Prime Minister, if I may.
03:08Well?
03:10Historically, I've not worried too much about Prime Minister's popularity.
03:14It tends to come and go very quickly.
03:16But I have a feeling that could be different with Mr Blair.
03:20People really do seem to love him and see him as a true son of England
03:24and a unifying national symbol in a way they used to see.
03:29Well, me.
03:30And with Mr Blair scoring higher than me, in every survey one can find,
03:36perhaps now is the time.
03:39Huh?
03:40To find out what seems to have gone wrong and how we could...
03:44I could do better.
03:47I understand the impulse.
03:49But I'm not sure it's a good idea.
03:54The Crown doesn't ask existential questions of itself.
03:58Perhaps it should.
03:59It suggests a loss of confidence.
04:02It's putting blood in the water.
04:04It's just information, Robert.
04:07I agree.
04:09And I think, finally, I'm ready to hear it.
04:25Good morning.
04:26Hi, welcome.
04:27Welcome, if you'd just like to find a seat.
04:29Anywhere you like.
04:32The focus groups you asked for, ma'am, have now been conducted.
04:36in Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, and Liverpool.
04:47The British royal family.
04:49Professional liable.
04:51More than 2,000 subjects over the age of 18
04:55were asked a series of yes or no questions about the monarchy.
04:59I consider the royal family to be an important part of British society.
05:04I'll go along with that.
05:05I think you're being quite disrespectful.
05:07Followed by some, at times, spirited debates.
05:10Please keep it simple, please.
05:12Having reviewed the data, the pollsters have now presented their findings.
05:18Asked if the royal family were out of touch with ordinary people, 69% said yes.
05:26Badly advised, 62% said yes.
05:32Asked if they were wasteful of public money, 54%.
05:3553% said yes.
05:38Asked if they lacked compassion, 53% said yes.
05:44Asked if they had failed the Princess of Wales as badly in death as in life,
05:50a sobering 66% said yes.
05:55Asked if Britain should have a smaller, more informal monarchy,
05:58like the Netherlands or Scandinavia, 54% said yes.
06:04And when asked if the monarchy should continue in its present form,
06:09the proportion that agreed was just 10%.
06:13I'd like to propose my own survey.
06:16How many of us think that polls are a daft idea in the first place?
06:20Well, here, here.
06:21I don't see why we should have to listen to these people.
06:24Because we might actually learn something.
06:26And the sample, as I understand, it is selected to represent society as a whole, isn't it?
06:30It's still a folly to subject something as enduring as the monarchy
06:34to the whims of marketing men.
06:37I do think it's significant that our low numbers come at the same time
06:41that we have a Prime Minister of conspicuous popularity.
06:45Yes.
06:47Only Winston at his height had this kind of support.
06:50Have you learned nothing in the time you've been on the throne?
06:53Prime Ministers come in on a blaze of popularity and goodwill.
06:57Leave on a stretcher a few years later with their reputations
07:01and usually their health in tatters.
07:03Yes, that's it, exactly.
07:04Well, I think this one might be different.
07:36We'll see you next time.
08:35Good evening.
08:38We hoped never to see war in Central Eastern Europe again in our lifetimes.
08:46Sadly, it has come, and it has consequences for the whole world.
08:54Tonight, NATO allies launched an offensive against Serb military targets.
09:05Slobodan Milošević is a monstrous dictator, carrying out the systematic and violent persecution of innocent civilians.
09:14He has to be stopped.
09:16We have a moral duty to ensure he does not succeed.
09:25To all of us in free countries who think this is a remote conflict, and someone else's problem, I say
09:34this.
09:35If you value your freedom, you cannot remain neutral.
09:40This is your war, too.
09:52It's encouraging that our NATO partners have come together like this against the Serbs, but, well, moral purpose is one
09:58thing.
09:59Military success is quite another.
10:02Every bombing target has to be approved by committee, which makes decisions agonizingly slow.
10:08We thought this aerial campaign would be over in days.
10:11Instead, two weeks and little or no progress has been made.
10:15The Serbs are laughing at us.
10:17I read that the problem was cloud cover.
10:21American stealth bombers need good conditions to see their targets.
10:25The most sophisticated weaponry in the world, and it can't handle the weather.
10:29Which is why we ultimately need ground troops.
10:32I proposed to President Clinton a limited invasion of 80,000 troops, which would drive Serb forces out of Kosovo
10:38and create safe havens for refugees to return.
10:41But he said most Americans can't point to Yugoslavia on a map, so why put U.S. servicemen's lives at
10:46risk?
10:47Yes.
10:48It's most frustrating.
10:50But I won't give up, morally.
10:54This is the right thing.
10:58Mr. Blair was unusually resolute today.
11:02In my experience, Prime Ministers tend to be either domestic or foreign policy focused.
11:09At this early stage, I'd say Mr. Blair falls very firmly into the latter camp.
11:14Yes.
11:15Statesman syndrome.
11:18Which am I, do you think?
11:20A domestic or foreign policy queen?
11:23Good question, ma'am.
11:25And it's not immediately obvious.
11:28The Commonwealth of Nations is such an article of faith to you, so one would be inclined to say it
11:32foreign.
11:32For you, sir.
11:35Who else off the top of their heads, for example, will be able to reel off the name of the
11:38president of Malawi?
11:41Macilli Malutzi.
11:42And the next member state to have general elections?
11:45Fiji.
11:46Their first since readmission.
11:48But despite all that, it's your interest in every part of the British Isles that I think, ultimately, makes you
11:53a domestic queen.
11:54Take today's engagement at the Women's Institute, composing the speech yourself, with, if I may say, evident enthusiasm.
12:02Of course.
12:03The uncomplaining, hard-working countrywomen of Middle England.
12:07You underestimate them at your peril.
12:10And if the sea, in ancient times, walk upon England's mountains green, and cross the wall, in the land of
12:28the sea.
12:50The women's institute movement came to Britain in 1915.
12:57Since its humble beginnings in a Welsh garden shed, our membership and our goals have reached new and remarkable heights.
13:07I've been a member of the WI for longer than I've been queen.
13:13Many of you will remember how vital we were to the war effort, from growing produce to hosting evacuees.
13:23I have fond memories of collecting rose hips, or rose hip syrup.
13:27Do you remember the rose hips?
13:29Yes.
13:30For vitamin C deficiency.
13:31Oh, that's good.
13:35There are approximately 250,000 members of the Women's Institute in the United Kingdom.
13:43Roughly, the population of Hull.
13:47Can you imagine a city run and populated entirely by the WI?
13:54It would have the tidiest streets in Britain, everything would run on time, and we would take all the men's
14:01jobs.
14:12No, I'm not, no, I'm not trying to patronize you.
14:14I'm not trying to make you look, yeah.
14:17Yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand.
14:19All right.
14:20Okay, bye-bye.
14:24And then he said, answer me this, Tony.
14:27No, please don't do the accent.
14:29How many ground troops are you all prepared to come in?
14:33So I say, look, Bill, we can talk about numbers all day.
14:38This is about the bigger picture.
14:39What if Milosevic wins?
14:41NATO's credibility is at stake.
14:43To which he said...
14:44NATO's credibility is already a busted flush.
14:47So you're allowed to do the accent.
14:49I do it better.
14:50He knows the fact you're coming to him like this means that NATO's air campaign has failed.
14:56But we still won't do what it takes, commit American ground troops.
15:00It's worried about it looking like another Vietnam with no political upside for him domestically.
15:05Well, you're never going to persuade the White House by appealing to their interests.
15:10So do what you do best.
15:14Appeal to their consciences.
15:26While we meet here in Chicago this evening, terrible things are happening in Europe.
15:36No one who has seen what has happened in Kosovo to those refugees can be in any doubt that NATO's
15:45military action is justified.
15:51But we must do more than simply make our case.
15:56We must also succeed.
15:59For that, we depend on you, the United States.
16:06You are the most powerful country in the world and the richest.
16:14You are a great nation.
16:19And it must be difficult and sometimes irritating to find yourself the recipient of every demand.
16:27To be called upon in every crisis.
16:30To be expected always and everywhere to do what needs to be done.
16:35The cry, what's it got to do with us, must be heard fairly regularly.
16:44Yet those nations which have the power, have the responsibility to use it wisely.
16:51We need you.
16:54We need America engaged.
17:00And so I say to you, never fall again for the doctrine of isolationism.
17:07Because the world truly cannot afford it.
17:11Stay, please, a country outward looking.
17:15With the vision and the imagination which is the very best of your nature.
17:20And realize, too, that in doing so, you will find in Britain a friend and an ally that will stand
17:29with you.
17:31Work with you.
17:33Fashion with you.
17:34The design of a future built on peace and prosperity for all.
17:40Which is the only dream that makes humanity worth preserving.
18:04A resounding success for the Prime Minister in America.
18:08The New York Times says the Prime Minister has a new nickname.
18:13King Tony.
18:15The Wall Street Journal has come out in emphatic support of his attempts to persuade a reluctant White House.
18:21But I think the best summary is from the Chicago Sun-Times.
18:24It claims Mr. Blair has beguiled the city with his charms.
18:28Leaving Americans pining to have him as their president instead.
18:33Goodness.
18:33I gather President Clinton is now considering ground war, which would leave Milosevic and his Serb forces with the option
18:41to either fight and face total annihilation, or else withdraw.
18:46And I suspect even they are sensible enough to choose the latter.
18:51So, the Prime Minister pulled it off.
18:54So, it seems, this is an extraordinary political feat.
19:21The Prime Minister, Your Majesty.
19:24Your Majesty.
19:28I hope you didn't slip on the way here.
19:31Ma'am.
19:32It can't be easy walking in water.
19:37Please, do sit down.
19:40So, you insisted the West no longer stand by while genocide and slaughter take place.
19:48And pulled it off without a single NATO casualty in combat.
19:52Great credit must go to the Americans.
19:54When they signaled their openness to a ground invasion, Milosevic realized the game was up.
19:59But Clinton's change of heart is in great part thanks to you.
20:03It's one thing to have popularity.
20:06It's quite another to have influence.
20:09So, I offer you my congratulations.
20:12You are, at this moment, by some margin, the most celebrated leader on the world stage, with remarkable instincts.
20:20And so, in the light of that, it's no secret that the Crown has not had the best time of
20:30it in recent years.
20:32Often, our values and those of the country have not been perfectly aligned.
20:35But you, on the other hand, since you entered number 10, you've shown an uncanny ability to read the mood
20:43of the country better than anyone.
20:47And so, I can't help but ask.
20:55What would you do to turn things around for us if you were in charge?
21:05If I were in charge of the monarchy?
21:08If you were in my shoes.
21:12If I were king?
21:15Yes.
21:20Goodness.
21:23For someone who so rarely puts a foot wrong, this seems to be a dangerous loss of judgment.
21:28She's asking for advice, Robert. She doesn't need to take it.
21:30But who is she asking?
21:32The Prime Minister.
21:33An avowed reformer and moderniser.
21:35Her chief advisor.
21:37I'm her chief advisor.
21:41Actually, constitutionally, Robert, I think you'll find he is.
21:48Can we walk through the five big changes that we want to make?
21:52Modernisation.
21:53We reduce expenditure.
21:55Everyone's doing it.
21:55It's only fair that the Queen is doing it as well.
21:58Right?
21:58Some examples.
21:58Listen to this. Royal train.
22:01£1,500 for catering per journey.
22:03This is the time to get them in line with new labour.
22:06Honestly, it's an anachronistic, unrepresentative feudal system based on a thousand years of hereditude privilege.
22:13You'd be better off trying to modernise Stonehenge.
22:16Let's do the monarchy first and then we can get round to prehistoric monuments.
22:20Aren't those two things the same?
22:23Okay, I know it's unexciting but administrative reform.
22:27We run the royals like we run the civil service.
22:29Yes.
22:30Accountability.
22:31There's nothing else that matters.
22:34It's just that.
22:34I mean, not being allowed to marry a Catholic.
22:37Pretty sure Article 12 of the Human Rights Act states that people have the right to marry whoever they want.
22:41Says the Queen's Council.
22:43Well, that's wrong too.
22:44I should be called Senior Council.
22:45I think we can spin it like this.
22:47It would look really good if it came from the palace that they're prepared to tighten the person.
22:52She knows that there has to be a change.
22:55Yes.
22:55Yes, the voters don't want to take that in the monarchy.
22:58You put a version of that in the dossier.
23:01It's all wrong, Tony.
23:04Seriously, wrong.
23:08Needs changing.
23:19I'd like to start by thanking you for giving me the opportunity to do this.
23:24I'm ashamed to say most of the time we don't think seriously about the monarchy in this country.
23:28We just subject you all to a lot of hurtful and frivolous gossip.
23:33Really?
23:33I hadn't noticed.
23:37But having consulted with my closest advisors,
23:42we do all agree that the institution is in need of some reform.
23:47That much was clear after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales,
23:50when we saw an outpouring of grief turn into a mass movement for change.
23:56So, uh, I thought we might start with something I know you're already considering.
24:03Primogeniture.
24:04Yes.
24:06Demoting eldest daughters in the line of succession,
24:09I think we can all agree, makes little sense in a modern society.
24:12As an eldest daughter myself, I don't object to that in principle.
24:16But to turn over centuries of royal legislation is no small task.
24:21You'd have to consult with the 15 other countries where I'm head of state.
24:27Where the will is there, these things can usually change quickly.
24:31Um, another area is transparency.
24:34My government will soon be introducing a Freedom of Information Act.
24:37I believe the monarchy might benefit from something similar.
24:40An annual report setting out performance, assets, salaries, total accountability.
24:46Think of the Crown as a public limited company
24:48and the people of Britain as shareholders, not subjects.
24:53I see.
24:54Well, um, it's now nearly 300 years since William III signed the Act of Settlement
25:00to secure a Protestant monarchy and...
25:03There have been growing calls for, uh, a review
25:06of some of the more anti-Catholic provisions,
25:10which surely have no place in a plural society like ours.
25:14I can understand permitting members of the royal family to marry Catholics,
25:20but for Catholics to be in the direct line of succession
25:23would open the way to a Catholic monarch.
25:26Well, of course there'll be technical issues.
25:28Slightly more than technical issues.
25:30It would be the disestablishment of the Church of England.
25:35But we have to be willing to look at the big questions.
25:38There's no use nibbling around the periphery.
25:40Should it be the monarch's role to appoint the Prime Minister?
25:43Of course.
25:44It's a government in the sovereign's name.
25:47But to be able to dissolve Parliament, to give laws royal assent,
25:51they don't in Sweden.
25:52These functions can be carried out by the Speaker of the House of Commons.
25:56Should the monarch be Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces?
25:58Again, they aren't in Sweden.
26:00They aren't in the Netherlands.
26:01Which brings me to the matter of pomp and splendour.
26:05I've been looking at some of the ceremonial offices in the royal household,
26:10and they include a hereditary grand falconer.
26:14Dear Murray, what about him?
26:17Does the job really need to depend on birth, not merit?
26:24The Queen's Herbstrewer, the washer of the Sovereign's hands?
26:28That is only once per reign, and only when I'm in residence at Holyrood House.
26:33Still, a royal barge master and 24 watermen,
26:37even though there hasn't been a royal barge since 1849.
26:41A warden of the Swans?
26:43Someone has to oversee the Swans in England's inland waterways,
26:47over which the Crown has an ancient prerogative right.
26:49But is that prerogative right?
26:52I understand that the roll dates from the 12th century
26:55as a way to claim Swans as delicacies for royal banquets.
26:58Now that the Swan has, one imagines, fallen out of the culinary repertoire,
27:02how does one justify the roll today?
27:04Kings and Queens might not be eating them anymore.
27:07Someone has to care for them.
27:09We check them for injuries.
27:12Maintain their habitat.
27:15Ring them with tags from the British Trust for Ornithology.
27:18Conservation.
27:20And that's before we get to the most anachronistic of all ceremonies,
27:24the state opening of Parliament.
27:25Do we really need ten heralds,
27:27including the Rouge Dragon Percevant
27:29and the Maltravers Herald Extraordinary?
27:33The gold stick in waiting?
27:35The silver stick in waiting?
27:36The gentleman usher of the Sword of State?
27:40I think what we're suggesting is a purge of honorifics,
27:46a bonfire of sinecures might be a useful concession.
27:52And PR victory.
28:01I obviously need to give all this careful thought.
28:04Your Majesty.
28:13So, how was it?
28:18A little frosty.
28:20I bet.
28:22Well, she's promised to give our proposals some further thought.
28:25No.
28:26Well, if she doesn't,
28:27and the people get fed up with them,
28:29she'll only have herself to blame.
28:32Britain is mature enough as a country and a democracy now
28:35to live without this nonsense.
28:40Preservation of the monarch is her life's work.
28:42She must know that they have to change in order to survive.
28:48They don't want to change, Tony.
28:51I mean, she probably thinks
28:52the only way to survive is to double down on the madness.
28:58Like the Catholic Church.
29:00Let's not bring the Church into this.
29:01Well, they modernized,
29:04and the old guard's never forgiven them for it.
29:07Why?
29:08Because they got rid of the Latin and the incense
29:10and the miracles and the mystery,
29:12and people stopped coming.
29:17This is different.
29:18Is it?
29:19The £758 million cost of the project
29:22is highly well spent.
29:34Mr. Hawkins next, please.
29:36Yes.
29:41Please, make yourself comfortable.
29:45Swans.
29:46That's it.
29:46I'm the warden of the swans.
29:49It says here your role is
29:51one of the oldest in the household.
29:53That's right, sir.
29:54We've gone through several incarnations over the years.
29:57Keeper of the King of Swans,
29:59the King Swanmaster,
30:00and now the warden of the swans.
30:07And what is your precise title?
30:10I am the Queen's Herbstrawer.
30:13The Queen's Guide to the Suns.
30:15Yeoman of the Glass and China Pantry.
30:18Could you tell us what your role involves,
30:21day by day?
30:22It's my job to supervise the glassware and earthenware
30:27across all the royal palaces.
30:28I oversee stocks.
30:31I guard against any damage and breakages.
30:35What have you got there?
30:38Laws, orders, and customs, swans.
30:41The authoritative text
30:43of what was then the keeper of the King's Swans
30:45has been guiding us for centuries,
30:48since 1482, by my reckoning,
30:50of the reign of Edward IV.
30:52I've seen the bay change in all manner of ways.
30:54Years of high tides and heavy rainfall
30:56will change sands beyond recognition.
30:59Believe me, I've seen shallow gullies
31:02turn into deep ravines.
31:04What is your official title?
31:06Astronomer Royal.
31:07Piper, the Sovereign.
31:08Lord High Admiral of the Wash, ma'am.
31:10My responsibilities also include
31:13folding all 170
31:15of the embroidered white linen napkins.
31:19Oh, that's you.
31:20Yes, ma'am.
31:21You are clever.
31:22How on earth do you do that?
31:24Few are truly mastered.
31:26The Dutch bonnet napkin fold.
31:29The swan
31:30is a pure
31:32and graceful
31:35beast.
31:37How's your 15th century
31:39calligraphy, Robert?
31:40A little rusty, Tim.
31:45Her feathers
31:46are white as snow
31:48and as brief
31:50in duration.
31:53For she signifieth
31:55the passing nature
31:56of fair things.
32:00For though we wish
32:02our splendor
32:03to be everlasting,
32:05no thing
32:07must remain
32:08of what is past.
32:17The longer it went on,
32:18the heavier my heart
32:19became.
32:21I agree.
32:22A sense of pride
32:24in the tradition.
32:28I think my favourite
32:30was the Yeoman bedhanger.
32:33Yes.
32:34Or the Lord High Admiral
32:35of the Wash.
32:45So they don't want
32:46Blackrod knocking on the door
32:48or the Lord Great Chamberlain
32:50walking backwards.
32:51They've also suggested
32:52getting rid of
32:53the cap of maintenance.
32:55Presumably
32:56on the grounds
32:57that it can only be worn
32:58by a peer of the realm.
32:59But it's so full of colour
33:01and character
33:02and a glorious sea
33:04of the millions.
33:05I think from a PR standpoint,
33:08it might be sensible
33:08to make one or two concessions.
33:10Really?
33:11Leave us less open
33:12to charges of elitism
33:13and grandiosity.
33:14But that's missing the point.
33:17The whole purpose
33:18of the state opening
33:19is to humble the monarch.
33:22The Crown's representative,
33:23Blackrod,
33:24knocks on the door
33:25of the House of Commons
33:26and is rebuffed
33:27three times.
33:28Why?
33:30Because the last time
33:31a king
33:33overstepped the mark
33:35and entered the Commons,
33:37Charles I,
33:38it led to civil war
33:39and his execution.
33:43Parliament is warning
33:44the monarch.
33:46Never forget,
33:48we're in charge.
33:49She still arrives
33:51in the Irish state coach
33:52with an escort
33:53of household cavalry
33:54and hundreds of guardsmen
33:56lining the route.
33:57It doesn't immediately feel
33:58like a lesson in humility.
34:00Are we really being lectured
34:01on humility
34:02by the Prince of Wales?
34:03We are.
34:04Well, I just don't feel
34:06there's anything wrong
34:06with running the monarchy
34:07on more rational
34:09and democratic lines.
34:11But monarchy isn't rational
34:13or democratic
34:15or logical
34:15or fair.
34:18Haven't we all learned
34:19that by now?
34:22People don't want
34:23to come to a royal palace
34:24and get what they could
34:25have at home.
34:27When they come
34:28for an investiture
34:29or a state visit,
34:31when they brush up
34:32against us,
34:33they want the magic
34:34and the mystery
34:35and the arcane
34:36and the eccentric
34:37and the symbolic
34:38and the transcendent.
34:43they want to feel like
34:45they've entered
34:45another world.
34:46That is our duty.
34:49To lift people up
34:50and transport them
34:51into another realm,
34:53not bring them down
34:53to earth
34:54and remind them
34:54of what they already have.
34:58Hear, hear.
34:59The world has been
35:01gripped as the race
35:02for the White House
35:03has boiled down
35:03to a recount
35:04in the battleground
35:05state of Florida.
35:07Many in the Labour Party
35:08had hoped for a victory
35:09for Vice President Al Gore.
35:12But in a dramatic
35:14late night ruling,
35:15the US Supreme Court
35:16voted 5-4
35:17to stop the recount,
35:19effectively handing
35:20the presidency
35:21to Texas Governor
35:22George W. Bush.
35:24Mr. Blair's closest
35:25international ally
35:26will be a man
35:26he has never spoken
35:27to or met.
35:29It couldn't have
35:29been more awkward.
35:30As you know,
35:31the Clintons were
35:31making their farewell
35:32visit to the UK
35:33and staying with us
35:34at Chequers
35:35while the ruling
35:36was being made.
35:37So, there we all
35:39were, watching CNN
35:41in the middle of the night
35:42as the election
35:43is being decided.
35:44Oh, dear.
35:44The following day,
35:45President Clinton
35:46had to deliver a speech
35:47at the University of Warwick
35:48with me giving
35:49the opening remarks.
35:50Well, I had no choice
35:52but to offer
35:53warm congratulations
35:54to President-elect Bush
35:55in front of my
35:56good friend.
35:58Will it be challenging
35:59for you
36:00to have a Republican
36:02White House?
36:03I see no reason
36:04not to be optimistic.
36:07Let's not forget,
36:09I'll be the senior
36:09partner now,
36:10so I hope to be able
36:11to influence
36:11President Bush.
36:20Majesty.
36:21Prime Minister.
36:22Prime Minister.
36:30My office sent some
36:31suggestions ahead
36:32of the state
36:32opening a parliament.
36:33I was wondering
36:33if you had a chance
36:34to look at them.
36:35Rather more than that.
36:37I discussed them
36:38with my family.
36:40Believe it or not,
36:41for my first child,
36:43it was still custom
36:44to summon the Home
36:45Secretary to witness
36:46a royal birth.
36:49my father put a stop
36:51to it with my consent,
36:52so I'm not against
36:54reform.
36:55The question is
36:56what is worth preserving
36:57and where to draw
36:57the line.
36:59We have now conducted
37:00a thorough review
37:01of all the offices
37:02in my household,
37:03and what we discovered
37:04was not indefensible
37:06extravagance or luxury,
37:07or a collection
37:08of empty Ruritanian titles,
37:10but an extraordinary
37:12array of precious
37:13expertise,
37:14skills that have been
37:16passed down
37:16for generations,
37:17often within
37:18the same families,
37:19and the vehicle
37:20for that continuity
37:22is the crown.
37:24The spell that we cast
37:26and have cast
37:27for centuries
37:27is our immutability.
37:30Tradition is our strength,
37:33respect for our forebears,
37:35and the preservation
37:37of generations
37:38of their wisdom
37:39and learned experience.
37:43modernity is not
37:44always the answer.
37:46Sometimes antiquity
37:47is, too.
37:55Wait, what?
37:55Are you ready?
37:57Are you ready?
38:02Am I just serving, ma'am?
38:04No, Robert.
38:05No, not at all.
38:09I just wanted to express
38:10my relief, ma'am.
38:12That I came to my senses.
38:15For a moment,
38:15I think we risk compromising
38:16the very things
38:17that make us distinctive.
38:20Please.
38:24Which leads me
38:25to think
38:28that it might be best
38:29if I personally
38:30were to move on.
38:33Robert.
38:34It's true, ma'am.
38:36At crucial moments,
38:37the palace
38:37has failed
38:38to read the public mood.
38:40And much of the blame
38:42rests with me.
38:43Surely not.
38:44It's a question of temperament,
38:46knowing where to be flexible.
38:49My problem is
38:50I'm an old stick.
38:51I'd rather not change
38:51anything at all.
38:53I tend to see things
38:54as binary.
38:56Either you keep things
38:58as they are,
39:00or it's closing time
39:01in the gardens of the West.
39:03But you can
39:05make alterations
39:06without tearing down
39:07the building.
39:09My deputy,
39:10Robin Janvin,
39:11is a far better place
39:12to do that.
39:13He's much more
39:14attuned
39:15and deserving
39:16of a step up.
39:17Of course,
39:18Robin will make
39:18an excellent
39:19private secretary,
39:20but he's still
39:21a young man.
39:23Is there nothing
39:24I can do
39:24to persuade you
39:25to stay?
39:27Sometimes it's helpful
39:28to offer a scalp.
39:31this way
39:33everyone benefits.
39:35The public
39:35gets sent a signal.
39:37You get better advice
39:38than I could ever
39:39possibly give.
39:42I get to play
39:43more cricket.
39:46I don't know how
39:47I'll manage.
39:48I should be utterly lost.
39:49No, ma'am,
39:50you won't.
39:51It'll be just fine.
39:52You've navigated
39:53this latest matter
39:54perfectly without my help.
40:07Every minute
40:08has been an honor, ma'am.
40:30And finally, ma'am,
40:31your visit to Brighton
40:32and Hove
40:32as one of the
40:33government's
40:33designated
40:34Millennium Cities.
40:35Yes.
40:36I have drafted
40:37a program of engagements
40:38that I hope
40:39preserves the traditional
40:41but adds a somewhat
40:42modern sensibility.
40:45On the one hand,
40:46lunch at the pavilion
40:47in tribute to your
40:48great-great-great-great-
40:50uncle,
40:50George IV.
40:51On the other,
40:52a visit to the
40:53Sussex Innovation Center
40:54to see a demonstration
40:56of an insectoid robot
40:57called Maggie.
40:59Right.
41:04One last thing
41:05you might be
41:06interested to know.
41:08The Prime Minister.
41:10Yes?
41:12Has chosen
41:13to address
41:14the Women's Institute
41:17as part of his mission
41:19to consolidate
41:19support in
41:20Middle England.
41:21Really?
41:23I wouldn't have said
41:24they were his
41:24sort of crowd.
41:26But his unerring
41:27judgment
41:28is what one
41:29has always had
41:29to admire him for.
41:31And his ability
41:32to win over
41:33seemingly
41:34anyone.
41:36I'm sure this
41:37will be no exception.
41:44is it?
41:46And in the sea
41:48in ancient times
41:52walk upon England's
41:54mountain stream
41:57and was the holy
42:01Lamb of God
42:10A modern voice
42:12for women.
42:13It is a clear
42:14and admirable
42:15statement of ideals.
42:17But what does it mean
42:19to be modern
42:20in a new Britain
42:22driven by change
42:24and innovation?
42:26Make no mistake,
42:27there are many traditions
42:28we can be proud of,
42:29but we must never cling
42:31to tradition
42:31for its own sake.
42:33In the 21st century
42:35we must ask ourselves
42:37what kind of values
42:39we want to promote.
42:41We must take
42:42what's best
42:43from the past
42:44but never be
42:45enthralled to it.
42:47Old-fashioned
42:47practices
42:48can sometimes
42:50hold progress
42:51back.
42:52I believe,
42:54and the Labour Party
42:54believes,
42:56that a new
42:57updated concept
42:59of community
42:59is needed
43:00to keep up
43:02with the fast pace
43:02of change
43:03in the modern world.
43:05I was elected
43:06leader of the Labour Party
43:07because I understood
43:08that we had
43:09a radical mission
43:10to change
43:11not just the politics
43:12of this country
43:13but the constitution
43:15of this country,
43:16the soul
43:17of this country.
43:20Radical
43:20is not a word
43:22to be frightened of,
43:23it is a word
43:24to embrace.
43:26because I fear
43:27that if we are not
43:28radical
43:29we will not
43:30succeed
43:30in our mission.
43:32Look at what we've done
43:33in the House of Lords
43:34taking
43:37taking drastic action
43:39against hereditary privilege.
43:42Thank you
43:43very much.
43:45Look,
43:46the world is changing fast.
43:49Oh, okay, right.
43:51And change is tough,
43:52we know that.
43:58It's no wonder
43:59people feel worried
44:00and wish to hold tight
44:01to the old ways.
44:03A run-in with
44:03the Women's Institute
44:04was surely not
44:05what the Prime Minister
44:06had in mind
44:06as he made his return
44:07to the political fray.
44:09The chairwoman
44:09of the WI
44:10says that she had urged
44:11Mr. Blair
44:12not to make his speech
44:13party political.
44:14Take all the forces
44:15that prevent
44:16vital change,
44:16then the very
44:18foreign traditions
44:19we seek to.
44:23I'm glad
44:24they're having
44:24a good debate.
44:34He can charm America,
44:36indeed the whole world,
44:38but comes up short
44:39with the Women's Institute.
44:41I'm getting terrible
44:42stick for it
44:43from my aides
44:43who all advise
44:44against doing it.
44:45You were political
44:46with the WI,
44:48the one thing
44:48we pride ourselves
44:49on never being.
44:50As far as criticisms go,
44:52being too political
44:53is one I think
44:54I can live with.
44:55It'd be like someone
44:56describing you
44:56as being too royal.
44:59I think I've come
45:00to realise
45:00there's no such thing
45:01as too royal.
45:04If you're doing it,
45:05do it properly.
45:06and unapologetically.
45:09And unapologetically.
45:12I understand.
45:17So?
45:19So?
45:23I'm sure you're aware
45:24the EU has just
45:26published a draft
45:27of its new
45:28Charter for Fundamental Rights
45:30ahead of the
45:31forthcoming summit
45:32in Portugal.
45:34Our hope
45:34is that it will reflect
45:36the original
45:37to summarise
45:39existing rights.
45:44You can work
45:46my power
45:49You can wear
45:50my shorts
45:52But you'll
45:54talk like me
45:56I'll be an
45:58angel too
46:01I'm singing it
46:02now please
46:03Please
46:04things
46:05can only get
46:06better
46:07Things
46:09can only get
46:10Can only get
46:12Take it all
46:14from here
46:14I know that
46:16things
46:17can only get
46:18better
46:19Things
46:21can only get
46:23Can only get
46:25Can only get
46:27When it's all
46:28Now I'm proud
46:30of you
46:31Things
46:33can only get
46:35Things
46:35can only get
46:37There's
46:37Can only get
46:42There's
46:43Now I'm proud
46:45Now I'm proud
46:47of you
47:10Things
47:18You
47:19Like
47:19C
47:24They
47:25Honey
47:30Were
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