Unseen royal home movie shows the young Princess Elizabeth playing at Balmoral

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.

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

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.

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

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

The shots are taken from a private home movie captured on at the Estate.

It will be broadcast on the BBC – which was granted unprecedented access to the reels by the Queen – in its Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen documentary, which airs on May 29. 

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. 

In a new preview clip released ahead of this weekend’s documentary, George VI is seen smiling alongside his daughters Elizabeth and Margaret. 

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

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

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

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. 

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

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

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

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

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 Coronation at the age of just 27 in 1953, following the death of her father George VI in 1952.

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.

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

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

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.

Unlike conventional documentaries featuring interviews and narration, Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen relies largely on The Queen’s own voice and words, alongside newsreel audio. 

The filmmakers listened to over three hundred of The Queen’s speeches, spanning over eight decades. 

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

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

The videos show sisters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in a more relaxed manner while on a break in South Africa

The videos show sisters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in a more relaxed manner while on a break in South Africa 

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