A peek behind the cameras: The Queen says home movies are ‘intimate’

From cherished childhood memories to precious moments with her beloved Prince Philip, a new Platinum Jubilee documentary promises to offer an intimate look at the Queen’s private life. 

Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen, which airs on May 29, features never-before-seen footage and photos of Her Majesty, including home videos of a young Princess Elizabeth frolicking in the loch at Balmoral. 

One never-before-seen image captures the princess admiring her engagement ring shortly after Prince Philip’s proposal in 1946. Another candid shot sees the couple relaxing in the grounds of Balmoral with Princess Margaret.

Elsewhere, King George VI is seen playing pranks on his daughters in a video that could be of almost any family in the world. 

The BBC was granted unprecedented access to the reels by the Queen to make the documentary. 

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Proud grandmother: Princess Elizabeth links arms with her grandmother, Queen Mary, in one Royal Family home movie. Queen Mary, the wife of King George V, enjoyed a close relationship with her granddaughter until her death in March 1953

Look at me! Some of the footage was shot on board HMS Vanguard, the vessel which took the Royal Family to South Africa in 1947. Above, a playful Princess Elizabeth, then aged 20, giggles as she tries on a pair of sunglasses for the camera

Proud father: Some of the most touching moments are between George VI and his daughters. Above, George, then the Duke of York, gets down on his knees to play with Princess Elizabeth in the garden of their home in Piccadilly in 1930

Blushing bride-to-be! The documentary also features never-before-seen images of Her Majesty, including this one of her admiring her engagement ring shortly after Prince Philip’s proposal at Balmoral in 1946

Say cheese! Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen reveals a carefree young princess, pictured, before she became the monarch

Close bond: The home movies also capture the Queen’s close relationship with her sister Margaret, pictured together in 1947 

The Royal Family have filmed each other since the 1920s but hundreds of these home-made recordings have been held privately by the Royal Collection in the vaults of the British Film Institute for decades. 

Now they will be shared with the public, giving viewers a fresh insight into the life of the Queen as she celebrates her historic 70 years on the throne. 

Unlike conventional documentaries featuring interviews and narration, this Jubilee special relies largely on the Queen’s own voice and words, alongside newsreel audio. 

The filmmakers listened to over 300 of the Queen’s speeches, spanning over eight decades.

‘Cameras have always been a part of our lives,’ the Queen says in a voiceover. ‘I think there’s a difference to watching a home movie when you know who it is on the other side of the lens, holding the camera. It adds to a sense of intimacy.’ 

One clip shows a carefree young Princess Elizabeth paddling in a loch and playing with her corgi at Balmoral. 

Much-missed: One black-and-white shot shows Elizabeth with her uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent, who died in 1942 

Here I come! The home movies also capture the free-spirited side of King George VI, pictured in Balmoral in August 1939

Taking a tumble! One clip shows the young Elizabeth at the Royal Lodge in Windsor in 1940, where she frolics in matching dresses with Princess Margaret – and a corgi – and falls backwards on a chair in an apparent prank by George VI  

Dancing queens! Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth at the Royal Lodge Windsor in 1940, with a pet corgi next to them

In her element: Princess Elizabeth, dressed in a kilt and blouse, takes a dog out for a walk in the grounds at Balmoral in 1946

The future Queen, then aged 12, skims stones, runs around with Princess Margaret and looks completely care free during a summer break in 1938.

Photos show the Princesses playing on the shores of Loch Muick and the Glas-allt-Shiel waterfall with her father George VI strolling with the family’s Labrador.

Balmoral is very close to the Queen’s heart, with her naming her newest corgi ‘Muick’ (pronounced Mick) after the loch on the Scottish estate.

Another clip shows George VI smiling alongside his daughters Elizabeth and Margaret on HMS Vanguard, the vessel which took the Royal Family to South Africa in 1947.

The princesses, both wearing pretty tea dresses with cardigans, chat happily with their father as the camera rolls. 

Running around the marshes, paddling in the loch and playing with her corgi, these photos of a carefree young Princess Elizabeth look a world away from the Queen that’s become so well-known today

In unseen footage released by Buckingham Palace and the BBC ahead of her Jubilee next week, the royal, then aged 12, skims stones, runs around with Princess Margaret and looks completely care free during a summer break to Balmoral in 1938

Photos show the Princesses playing on the shores of Loch Muick and the Glas-allt-Shiel waterfall with her father George VI strolling with the family’s Labrador

As these pictures show, the young Queen feels completely at home at Balmoral, her summer home in Scotland.

Balmoral is very close to the Queen’s heart, with her naming her newest corgi ‘Muick’ (pronounced Mick) after the loch on the Scottish estate

The documentary traces the Queen’s journey from earliest childhood, being pushed in a pram as a baby by her mother, to her Coronation at the age of just 27 in 1953, following the death of her father George VI in 1952. Pictured in 1938

Loch Muick is said to be one of The Queen’s favourite places on the Balmoral estate and she named her corgi after the lake

Elsewhere Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, is seen soaking up the sun. A jovial George VI, dapper in his sailor whites, strides across the deck before staring into the lens. 

His close relationship with his eldest daughter is glimpsed in an impromptu game of throw and catch.

Royal Navy seamen busy themselves as the camera pans to them, showing how they kept the vessel shipshape for their VIP passengers.

Elizabeth looks young and carefree in the video, smiling beneath the broad blue sky. 

The footage is set to speeches given by Her Majesty: her 1996 Christmas broadcast in which she discusses the importance of building relations with other countries, and her address at the Guildhall on June 11th, 1947 a couple of months after returning from Africa.

The documentary traces the Queen’s journey from earliest childhood, being pushed in a pram as a baby by her mother, to her Coroation at the age of just 27 in 1953, following the death of her father George VI in 1952.

Beaming alongside her father and sister, this is the young Princess Elizabeth enjoying a trip on the high seas. The shots are taken from a private home movie captured on HMS Vanguard, the vessel which took the Royal Family to South Africa in 1947

A jovial George VI, dapper in his sailor whites, strides across the deck before staring into the lens, pictured. Elsewhere Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, is seen soaking up the sun

George VI’s close relationship with his eldest daughter is glimpsed in an impromptu game of throw and catch, pictured

The Royal Family have filmed each other since the 1920s but hundreds of these home-made recordings have been held privately by the Royal Collection in the vaults of the British Film Institute for decades. Now they will be shared with the public, giving viewers a fresh insight into the life of the Queen as she celebrates her historic 70 years on the throne

Soaking up the sun! Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, relaxes on deck on the family’s journey to South Africa in 1947

The documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of The Queen’s upbringing and reveals the warmth of her relationship with her parents. 

One clip shows the young Elizabeth at the Royal Lodge in Windsor in 1940, where she frolics in matching dresses with Princess Margaret – and a corgi – and falls backwards on a chair in an apparent prank by George VI.

It captures the first extended visit of Prince Philip to Balmoral in 1946 while the couple’s engagement was still not public – a beaming Princess Elizabeth showing the camera her engagement ring. 

It also shows Princess Elizabeth as a young mother, with The King and Queen as fond grandparents to Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

Other rare moments include her grandfather George V (known to The Queen as ‘Grandpa England’) sailing with the Queen Mother off the Isle of Wight in 1931, footage of Princess Elizabeth with her uncle Prince George, the Duke of Kent, who tragically died in a plane crash in 1942 while on active service – and a poignant glimpse of the Royal Family at Balmoral in 1951, King George VI’s last visit there.

Princess Elizabeth in South Africa in March 1947 during a three day break from official duties at Royal Natal National Park

The Queen when she was just 20 years old on a visit to South Africa in 1947