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00:28You
00:32it's not often that queen elizabeth the second lets the world know her innermost thoughts and
00:37feelings but at a lunch today at the guild hall to celebrate 40 years on the throne
00:42she did precisely that
00:49her voice still hoarse from inhaling smoke and laboring under the weight of a cold
00:54she delivered an unprecedentedly frank expression of personal sadness and regret
01:01the stark admission of failure and a horrible year for the royal family could be seen as a plea for
01:06sympathy and forgiveness after what can only be described as a turbulent 12 months
01:12but if it was public sympathy and forgiveness her majesty was hoping for it might not be what she
01:47gets
02:13That was Abide With Me,
02:15performed by the choir of King's College, Cambridge,
02:17conducted by Stephen Cleberie,
02:19as chosen by today's guest,
02:21Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret.
02:23Why did you choose it? What is the significance of it?
02:27It's a hymn, so I would have thought the significance would have been obvious.
02:32My faith.
02:34Without faith, you might as well say you've given up, and I haven't.
02:38Faith has always informed every decision I've made.
02:42In your royal life, or your personal life as well?
02:46When you have a sister who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England
02:50and Defender of the Faith,
02:52it's sometimes a little difficult to separate the two.
02:57What is the next record?
03:09the next record.
03:46I said that's enough.
03:52I'll see you.
04:04That was an excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
04:09conducted by Andre Previn.
04:11And the significance of that?
04:15I've always had a special love for the ballet.
04:19There are some things one cannot express in words and dance is a language of its own.
04:25And, of course, I used to enjoy dancing myself. Never ballet, though.
04:29Any favorite dance partners over the years?
04:32I certainly won't be disclosing that.
04:35In any case, such exertions are best left to the young.
04:39One always has one's memories.
04:42Tell us about your next choice.
04:47Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael.
04:50You play the piano yourself, of course.
04:52Yes, I had lessons from a young age.
04:54My sister had lessons in constitutional history, and I had piano.
05:03Is music your first love?
05:07One has many first loves.
05:11When one reaches a certain age, one cannot help embarking on an audit of the heart, a review.
05:19One considers all those loves, those dreams and youthful passions, in the context of a whole life.
05:27And it's interesting to note what endures.
05:30Some that remain and become lasting loves, and some that fade and one realises were probably never true loves at
05:39all.
05:40Thankfully, music has been a constant in my life, and I expect it shall remain so.
05:46Does this final record have any special meaning for you?
05:50It does have special meaning, yes.
05:53And that is?
05:54Let's leave it at that.
05:56This is Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael.
06:10Sometimes I wonder why I spend the lonely night dreaming of a song.
06:22The melody haunts my reverie, and I am once again with you.
06:31Though I dream in vain, in my heart it will remain.
06:40My stardust melody, in the memory of the refrain.
07:13Though I dream in vain, in my heart it will remain.
07:18It will remain, my stardust melody, in the memory of love's refrain.
07:41Dear Margaret, it is possible this letter will come as a nasty intrusion rather than a pleasant surprise.
07:48I am planning a rare visit to London from the Eau de France, and found myself wondering if you had
07:53any plans to attend the reception next week at the Caledonian Club.
07:57For the crew who served on HMS Vanguard.
08:01Oh, Peter Townsend.
08:03Yes.
08:05When was the last time you heard from him?
08:07Oh, it must be 35 years ago.
08:12Isn't HMS Vanguard where you and Peter fell in love?
08:16Not sure it was love at the beginning, but of course it was love.
08:22At the very first glance.
08:24If you say so.
08:27I do.
08:28I do.
08:28The love of my life.
08:31The tour of Southern Africa.
08:32First time either of us had been abroad, so that must have been...
08:361947.
08:37Philip had just proposed.
08:39I said yes, please.
08:40Papa said not so fast and was to soften a three-month tour.
08:43I hoping you would come to your senses.
08:45A fair chance.
08:47Meanwhile, I was losing my senses on early morning rides with Papa's dashing Aquarius.
08:53Yes.
08:54His dashing married Aquarius.
08:57Peter was such a good horseman.
09:02I dare say.
09:07So, what do you imagine he wants?
09:11Must be in his late seventies now.
09:13Long married.
09:14Yes.
09:16Happily married, one hears.
09:19With children.
09:21And grandchildren.
09:29Will you go?
09:31I think I might.
09:35Why, what's it to you?
09:47No, I might...
09:52No, I don't.
09:53No, I don't leave.
10:05I don't know.
10:05Not all of these, but you don't have the dark.
10:06I don't have the dark.
10:06I don't need the dark.
10:09No, I don't need it with my turn.
10:12No, he's my turn.
10:14Only my turn.
10:15Darling.
10:20Thank you for agreeing to this.
10:22I asked him to put out some tea.
10:25Might want something a little stronger than that.
10:29I've come to talk about my marriage.
10:32The thing is, I actually had some sympathy for her regarding Wyatt.
10:37I was a bit rough around the edges.
10:40American, of course.
10:41But I've been away so much when she was here with the Navy.
10:43It's not surprising Sarah felt a bit neglected.
10:45In all things considered, Steve was actually a pretty decent bloke.
10:49Who was carrying on with your wife?
10:50Not anymore, Mummy.
10:52He's out.
10:54He's gone.
10:56Good.
10:58And there's another one now.
11:00A financial advisor, John Bryan.
11:03Oh, for heaven's sake.
11:05With more photographs to come.
11:08Of what?
11:09So do I want to know?
11:12In Saint-Tropez.
11:14Doing something unmentionable.
11:15You're right.
11:16I don't want to know.
11:17Sucking Sarah's toes, Mummy.
11:20What?
11:20I know.
11:22People tell me I put my foot in it from time to time.
11:24At least I didn't put it in someone's mouth.
11:27Can you imagine?
11:28Your actual foot?
11:30If you're that hungry, you could have just ordered a sandwich.
11:32Or some soul.
11:34Soul.
11:43It's just the sheer humiliation of it all.
11:48Which is why this time, I'm left with no option but to...
11:53Well, mention the D word.
11:56Diplomacy?
11:58Détente?
11:59Is it asking too much to say duty?
12:03Divorce, Mummy.
12:04Oh, darling.
12:06She's had enough.
12:09And I don't blame her.
12:11I blame us.
12:13What?
12:14We all knew what we were getting into when we brought Sarah into the family.
12:17Everyone was so pro.
12:20You more than anyone.
12:21Yes.
12:22She was a breath of fresh air.
12:25Modern, relatable, buckets of fun.
12:28That laugh.
12:29So infectious.
12:31Yes.
12:33But that's what we do in this family.
12:35Destroy anyone that's different.
12:37Not at the beginning, of course.
12:39First we tell ourselves how good they'll be for the system.
12:42They'll be our salvation, our secret weapon.
12:45Make us look more modern, normal, human.
12:52And we learn the same painful lessons yet again.
12:56That no one with any character, originality, spark, wit and flair
13:02has a place in the system.
13:06Dear Peter,
13:08it was a great pleasure to hear from you again
13:10and I look forward to seeing you on the 7th.
13:12I would say keep your eyes open
13:15for a diminutive 60-year-old prune
13:18but mercifully time hasn't touched me at all
13:20and I'm entirely unchanged
13:22since our last meeting in 1955.
13:44I kind of okay, but I love you.
13:50You got you.
13:52I love you.
13:54I love you, I love you.
13:54Roger Carter.
13:59Harold Armstrong Scott.
14:03Artisan.
14:06And the former Aquarii to His Majesty's King.
14:11The Royal Highness.
14:14Peter.
14:18Having danced a little too vigorously with the princesses,
14:22and join in with the festivities.
14:24I, and I expect the rest of you,
14:27will never forget the beauty of the Drakensboro Mountains,
14:32Victorian falls,
14:34endless deserted beaches,
14:37as well as the Port of Elizabeth.
14:41If there's a place to change the mystery of the Yuruf,
14:57To be with a better place,
14:59Well, there's a lot of people in the city
14:59If you want to get some friends?
15:00I can't see the perfecthyde cub.
15:14Oh, Margot, he's certainly put some colour in your cheeks.
15:20Does he have a name?
15:22Tim.
15:24Does he make you happy?
15:27Are you in love?
15:30I think I am.
15:32Does everyone disapprove?
15:34Almost certainly.
15:35Okay. Then take it. Fight for him.
15:40Ah, this song. And that's my cue to leave.
15:44Are you going so soon?
15:45Yes.
15:46Goodbye, darling.
15:47Sleep gently.
15:50This song used to be your cue to stay.
15:53I know, but I...
15:55I'm afraid I must insist.
16:05I know, but I...
17:26That was lovely.
17:28I hope we don't leave it another 40 years or meeting again.
17:33Well, as it happens, I shall be back in London soon.
17:39And there are some things I'd like to return to you.
17:43The letters.
17:46Oh.
17:46Not as a rejection.
17:50I kept them all.
17:52Reading them, it took me back to that time.
17:54And I thought, they're so precious.
17:58I'm not getting any younger.
17:59And if anything should happen, I'd hate to see them fall into the wrong hands.
18:03So I...
18:06Well, I thought better with you.
18:10That's very thoughtful of you.
18:13As it happens, I kept all your letters, too.
18:17Every one of them.
18:22Good night, Peter.
18:24Good night to your royal homies.
18:43Princess Royal, Your Majesty.
18:54My book.
18:56My book.
18:57Almost finished.
18:58So many other riveting things to read, too.
19:02Don't.
19:03Anyway.
19:07I'm here to talk about Tim.
19:10Tim?
19:12Commander Lawrence.
19:14Oh.
19:15Are you two still...
19:17We are.
19:19And I'm here to say we intend for it to be permanent.
19:23As in, till death do us part.
19:27What?
19:29You hardly know one another.
19:31Almost three years, Mummy.
19:34And the ink is barely dry on your divorce from Mark.
19:38And in the climate, we find ourselves.
19:41With so much scrutiny on the family.
19:45Are you sure it wouldn't be wise to...
19:48Wait.
19:50Wait.
19:51Just a little.
19:52Darling.
19:54I'm glad you found happiness.
19:55I know how difficult it was in the end with Mark.
19:57But of all the families, you could have been born into.
20:00Fate has endowed you with this one.
20:02With everything that goes with it.
20:03Including the fact that your mother is Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
20:07And remarriage, when the first husband is still alive, as you well know, is not only frowned upon.
20:12It is forbidden.
20:13I, of all people, hardly need reminding of the requirements of being in this family.
20:19I have dedicated myself to my role.
20:21Bent myself into shape.
20:23Placed duty above all else.
20:24Including, more often than not, my own happiness.
20:27Five engagements a day.
20:29Three hundred days a year for the past twenty-four years.
20:32Well,
20:34I cannot have all of me.
20:36And I will not give all of me.
20:40And I will marry Tim.
20:55In you go.
20:56In you go.
20:56Good girl.
20:58How was that?
21:00Fine.
21:03Let's just go.
21:05Wait.
21:05Let's go.
21:35Sometimes I wonder why I spend the lonely night
21:44Dreaming of a song and the melody haunts my reverie
21:52And I am once again with you, though I dream in vain
22:01In my heart it will remain my stardust melody
22:10Your Royal Highness, as requested, I will be accompanying you on a short ride to Crigowan Lodge tomorrow, weather permitting,
22:18Group Captain Peter Townsend.
22:24Your Royal Highness, I have been meaning to thank you for your kindness in Balmoral.
22:30You may have thought your kind act went unnoticed, camouflaged as you were in your green tartan skirt and tweed
22:36jacket.
22:38It did not.
22:41My darling Margaret, it was reckless of you to visit me in my office today.
22:46My stardust melody, the memory of love's refrains
22:54Reckless and magnificent, I do love you so.
23:13Darling Margaret, it seems the world has intruded our private Eden and wants to forbid our love.
23:23They're banishing me, sending me away like a criminal.
23:30I hate to think of you suffering, a creature made for happiness.
23:35But hold to our pact, stay true to one another in spite of everything.
23:45Margaret, I write to you with a heavy heart.
23:49I have just returned to Brussels from a year abroad around the world.
23:53A young woman named Mary Luce accompanied me on this trip as my secretary and photographer.
24:00Her companionship has been one of the few joys in my life.
24:04I have decided to ask her to marry me.
24:08I know you will feel betrayed by this decision.
24:12She has engaged in some kind of a natural way.
24:16She is the only one of the artists who is in the past.
24:19I will not give away her.
24:21I will not give away my life until I Ruth.
24:21I am the one who is the one who is przeitted by she.
24:24I am the one who is a father for her other people who are a living.
24:30She is the one who is a living who is a living who is a living تم.
24:30I am the one who is a living who is a living who is a living I and a living.
24:31I have been meaning to her.
24:33I have not seen this yet.
24:34I have known as her as her joy in her life.
24:37I have been asking her to her.
24:59Prince Harming, they're calling me now, amid endless other calumnies and lies.
25:05I know you've always tried to see both sides of the marriage, but will you now finally agree?
25:10That official separation is the only sensible course.
25:14Charles.
25:17If it were just incompatibility or infidelity, that would be one thing, but the sheer vindictiveness of that Morton book,
25:26and then the temerity to insist that she had nothing to do with it, I've done as you asked, Mummy.
25:34I've tried to make it work for 11 years, but there comes a point...
25:40I have been no stranger this year to my children's marital difficulties, but while Anne's and Andrew's problems are deeply
25:47distressing, yours are in a category of their own, because you, as future king, are in a category of your
25:52own.
25:54At my coronation, I took an oath that you will one day take at yours to maintain the laws of
26:00God, and God's law is that marriage is for life.
26:05And while it is expected for the monarch to be married and to produce an heir, being happily married is
26:10a preference rather than a requirement.
26:14You also took a solemn promise to maintain and protect the crown.
26:18Diana won't rest until she's blown the whole thing up.
26:22Is that what you want?
26:29It's funny, isn't it?
26:30For years, I've called for a more modern monarchy that reflects the world outside.
26:36But look at the rates of family breakdown out there, and then look at us.
26:40Margaret, divorced. Anne, divorced.
26:43Right.
26:44Andrew, humiliated and heading for divorce.
26:46Me, trapped and dreaming of divorce.
26:49And you talk about moral examples.
26:51If we were an ordinary family, and social services came to visit, they'd have thrown us into care and you
26:57into jail.
26:58That's enough.
27:01We've got our modern monarchy, all right.
27:04Just not in the way we hoped.
27:12It begins to look like parental failure, the gravest kind.
27:19And yet the Duke of Edinburgh and I could not have been more clear with the children about how important
27:23we consider marriage to be.
27:28I have every sympathy.
27:32My own daughter is divorced.
27:35My son is separated.
27:37All we can do is ask for God's guidance.
27:42How did it come to this?
27:46Our generation was brought up to believe that marriage was an ideal and divorce was a problem.
27:54This generation...
27:57Yes.
27:59But the prince and princess are not yet separated.
28:03There is still hope of reconciliation.
28:07And we all pray for it.
28:12We do.
28:16Daily.
28:17The whole family...
28:21The world?
28:29Well, the world.
28:32The world?
28:33A nation of the world?
28:38It is.
28:38The world really isn't.
28:41Yeah.
28:51A fire at Windsor Castle with flames and smoke are visible from the roof of the North East
28:58Wing near the Green Departments.
29:00Her Majesty is being kept informed of the operation and it's understood that she's on her way to
29:03the scene.
29:22It went up like a tinderbox.
29:24Those were the words of one observer about this blaze, which despite the efforts of the
29:28fire service, still shows no signs of being brought under control.
29:31The entire North Terrace is ravaged by flames.
29:35Fire crews are working determinedly to stop them spreading and destroying some of Britain's
29:40most priceless treasures.
29:41It's now about six hours since this fire started and much of the top left-hand side of Windsor
29:47Castle is still on fire, still burning.
29:49The destruction inside, I'm told, is absolutely enormous.
29:53Ceilings have come down, smoke damage, fire damage, water damage.
29:56Well, I was talking to one of the Queen's aides and I asked him what she felt about what
30:01had happened and what her mood about it was and he said that she's like any mother watching
30:05her own home burn down.
30:07She's obviously absolutely devastated.
30:09People are just absolutely stunned by what's happening around her.
30:14She's like, I don't know.
30:14She's like, I'm so sorry.
30:23I'm so sorry.
30:27She's like, I don't know.
30:28So, she's like, I'm so sorry.
30:37Let's go.
31:10the Rembrandt saved Rubens God saved and the Leonardo but tragically more than a
31:24hundred rooms including nine staterooms destroyed what about the Crimson drawing room
31:32dare I ask I'm surprised you remember it of course I remember it everyone had gone up to London for
31:43some ceremony or other it's the Maundy service at St. Paul's leaving us alone we spent a whole
31:52afternoon in the Crimson room locked in conversation yes whatever were we talking about everything and
32:03nothing I suppose not nothing as I remember we were excitedly making plans for our future and such
32:13certainty and conviction like those plans I'm afraid the Crimson room did not survive
32:24how sad yes I'm curious what made you write to me after all that time now life goes on forever
32:42recently I had that made clear to me by my doctor
32:49Peter I'm so sorry
32:53around the same time I heard a radio interview with you and I suppose I wanted to know
32:59if our love in the context of a whole life had been a fleeting one
33:08we're a lasting one
33:40Some labour employees say the Queen, not taxpayers, should pay for all repair work.
33:46The monarchy can't have it always a one-way system under which we, the taxpayers, pick up the bill, but
33:53they refuse it to the taxpayers themselves.
33:56Neither the building nor its contents were insured.
33:58Well, time about time.
34:00The very worst of times.
34:04Any idea how it started?
34:06A great metaphor. I mean, fire.
34:12A spotlight blew a fuse or something.
34:15In the private chapel, all very innocent.
34:19Or was it?
34:22Like one of those Agatha Christie mysteries.
34:27One can imagine multiple suspects, each with their own perfectly plausible motive to burn the place down.
34:33Who?
34:34My neighbour, for one.
34:37Diana.
34:38Frustrated after years of neglect, she decides to take the matter into her own hands.
34:44Though arson probably isn't violent enough for her, she'd prefer an atomic bomb.
34:50Hasn't she detonated that already?
34:52Andrew.
34:53The Duke of York.
34:55The Duke of York.
34:55Curious at his own mother, having led him to believe his whole life that he was irresistible and invulnerable,
35:01only to discover his principal role is to be humiliated.
35:07Me?
35:11You?
35:11You?
35:13You don't think I have reason to burn down my sister's home?
35:19Why would you do that?
35:23Because of what she denied me?
35:29Peter Townsend.
35:32What?
35:34Without sun and water, crops fail, Lilibet.
35:43Let me ask, how many times has Philip done something?
35:50Intervene when you couldn't.
35:52Be strong when you couldn't be.
35:54Be angry when you couldn't be.
35:56Be decisive when you couldn't be.
35:58How many times have you said a silent prayer of gratitude for him and thought to yourself,
36:02if I didn't have him, I'd never be able to do it.
36:04How often?
36:07Peter was my son.
36:11My water.
36:14And you denied me him.
36:16I denied you as queen, not as your sister.
36:20The conditions are irrelevant.
36:22The prohibition is what counts.
36:24A prohibition, incidentally, you are not now extending to Anne.
36:27That is different.
36:28How is it different?
36:31Anne is a royal princess with no prospect of acceding to the throne, as was I.
36:37Commander Lawrence is a palace equerry marrying scandalously above his station.
36:42Peter was a palace equerry hoping to marry scandalously above his.
36:46Anne and Commander Lawrence are in love.
36:47Peter and I were in love.
36:49In both cases, one party is a divorcee.
36:51The situation is identical in every way except for the outcome.
36:56She is being allowed to marry him.
37:01I wasn't.
37:04her story ends happening.
37:10Mine did not.
37:16And yet, even after 40 years,
37:21you cannot bring yourself to acknowledge what happened to me and the part you played in it.
37:28Oh, yeah.
37:59Oh, yeah.
38:33Thank you, Peggy.
38:35Your Majesty.
38:36Mummy, that's a surprise.
38:38I've been told you're unwell.
38:41It's just a cold.
38:42I had fever.
38:44In which case, the only sensible course is bed rest.
38:47It's a lunch to celebrate me.
38:48I can't pull out.
38:50Yes, you can.
38:51And I don't want to pull out.
38:59I've also taken a look at the speech.
39:02You know the three questions we always ask ourselves.
39:04Does it need saying?
39:06Does it need saying now?
39:08Does it need saying dining?
39:11To describe it in this way,
39:13Annus Horribilis.
39:15People will remark on it.
39:17Not just because of the theatrical deviation into Latin.
39:20What's your point?
39:21My point,
39:22since we're speaking Latin now,
39:25is tempus fugit.
39:28Time passes.
39:29People will move on and forget.
39:31Make a statement like this.
39:32No one will forget.
39:34Quite apart from the fact
39:35it's an expression of personal sentiment,
39:37the kind of which we do not make.
39:39Mummy.
39:39And it could also be interpreted
39:41as an admission of our failures,
39:44which will only encourage further attacks.
39:46It has been, by some margin,
39:48the worst year of my reign.
39:50Quite possibly my life.
39:52I'm happy for people to know.
39:54Know what?
39:55That their queen is depressed.
39:57That I am made of flesh and blood.
40:00And that perhaps we have
40:02fallen short in our duty as a family
40:04and owe them an apology.
40:07Apology?
40:10That word shouldn't be in your vocabulary.
40:14Monarchy is the only part of the Constitution
40:17with an element of the divine.
40:20When you wear the crown,
40:22you are transfigured.
40:25Apologizing, son,
40:26is not just your dignity,
40:27but God's,
40:29whose will it is that you are who you are.
40:34I'm not sure there's anything to be gained by that.
40:37Yes.
40:38There is.
40:39Her peace of mind.
40:41She's done God's will
40:43about as immaculately as any human
40:45for the past 40 years.
40:47She's earned the right to say anything she likes.
40:51And it's our job to support her.
40:54Unconditionally.
40:55Since when have you sung that tune?
40:56Since day one he sung that tune.
40:58Day one.
41:06Now, if you don't mind,
41:08we're due at the Guildhall.
41:20The Lord of the Lord of the Lord of the Lord of the Holy Company,
41:22Royal Salute.
41:38My Lord Mayor, the anniversary of any occasion is a time to reflect, but in light of the
41:48events of the last 12 months, perhaps I have more to reflect on than most. 1992 is not a year
41:59on which
41:59I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. It has turned out to be an annus horribilis.
42:10No institution is beyond reproach, and no member of it either. The high standards we
42:19in the monarchy are held to by the public must be the same benchmark to which we hold ourselves
42:27personally. If we can't admit the errors of our past, what hope for reconciliation can
42:39there be?
42:43Today, I'd like to pay tribute, if I may, to my family. Throughout the four decades I have
42:53been on the throne. They have quite literally been my sun and water for all the sacrifices
43:03they have made. Indeed, to all of you here whose prayers and well wishes have been a source
43:12of strength to me, this last 40 years, I say thank you.
43:20Please be outstanding.
43:23One, two, three, four, five, six, eight.
43:48Alice Horribilis.
43:49Well, it has been, for all of you. And I can see much of that has been my fault.
43:54For the record, no one blames you.
43:58On the contrary, everyone blames me all of the time. And you're right to.
44:03This system of which the Sovereign is the principal beneficiary is horribly hard on the rest of you.
44:10You too.
44:11But that's the job. Let's face it.
44:15Thank you. Come and have lunch here tomorrow.
44:19We could get a little bit tipsy. Make light of it all.
44:23The fire. The job. The children. Peter Townsend.
44:29I'd love to. But sadly, I'm going to Carlisle to open a business park.
44:34Then Penrith. Oh. The Scots Guard Association.
44:39Then Kirby Stephen in Cumbria to visit the factory of heredities.
44:44Then I'll have to get sloshed on my own. With rum.
44:48Rum? You're not drinking rum like some pirate.
44:53No. Rum. My dog.
45:01Oh. That's funny. I'm here with brandy and sherry.
45:09What does that say about us?
45:14Good night, Lilibet. I do love you.
45:22I love you too. Very much.
45:28God, that was middle class. Promise me we'll never do that again.
45:31Never.
45:33Good night. Good night.
45:44Sometimes I wonder...
45:48By the way.
45:48We're going to have a good boy.