The Reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 3rd of 5 -- Lifting the Veil [30min]

As the Queen approaches her 80th birthday, Anthony Howard looks back at key episodes that have marked her reign. In 1969, the monarchy decided to allow the cameras in on the domestic life of the Royals. The result was the Royal Family Film, shown on British television and around the world. The risk was that by lifting the veil and portraying the family as much like any other, people might be tempted to question whether the monarchy was anything special. There was another danger too -- if Royal privacy was no longer regarded as sacrosanct, then it would be harder to protect the family from further intrusions by the media.