Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work

2007 British television documentary series

Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work

Region 2 DVD cover

Genre| Documentary film
Written by| Robert Hardman
Directed by| Matt Reid
Narrated by| Tim Pigott-Smith
Composer| Samuel Sim
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of episodes| 5
Production
Producer| Matt Reid
Production company| RDF Television
Original release
Network| BBC One
Release| 26 November (2007-11-26) –
23 December 2007 (2007-12-23)

Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work (also known as A Year with the Queen) is a fly on the wall documentary TV series made by the BBC and RDF Media which follows the British Royal Family over the course of a year.

## Episodes

[edit]

### The State Visit

[edit]

The Queen prepares for a state visit to the United States, marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. Before leaving for the US, the Queen has a photo session with Annie Leibovitz and holds a reception at Buckingham Palace for prominent American expatriates.

In Washington, DC, the White House and the British Embassy are also getting ready for the visit, with President George W. Bush preparing to host a white-tie banquet, which would turn out to be the only one of his presidency.

### Headquarters

[edit]

A state banquet is held at Buckingham Palace for the President of Ghana, John Kufuor. The Queen takes part in her annual birthday parade and an investiture ceremony where Steven Gerrard and Penelope Keith are among those to receive an honour.

The episode also looks at the day-to-day workings of the Monarchy's headquarters, Buckingham Palace, including an interview with the Queen's ladies-in-waiting as they sort through the royal postbag.

### Head of State

[edit]

Just a few weeks before he resigns, Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie spend the weekend with the Royal Family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Back in London, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (and future Prime Minister), Gordon Brown, briefs the Queen in advance of his budget speech.

The palace prepares for the State Opening of Parliament, as the Royal coachmen repair and clean their 100-year-old uniforms and the crown jewels are taken from the Tower of London to the palace. In Estonia, British Ambassador Nigel Haywood is getting ready for the Queen's first ever tour of the Baltic states.

### The Queen and Us

[edit]

The Queen presides over the annual Royal Garden Party, for which every invitation is written by hand and checked by the 'Garden Party Ladies'. One of the guests at the Garden Party is Pearl Mitchell from Northern Ireland, who nervously prepares to meet the Queen.

Following the Garden Party, the Queen visits a Hindu Temple and has a feast of Kashmiri delicacies. In Northumberland, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall have tea with an organic farming family. Meanwhile, The Duke of Edinburgh travels to the official opening of the Emirates Stadium, but not all goes to plan.

### Inside the Firm

[edit]

The Prince of Wales, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York and The Earl of Wessex talk about their work as part of the Royal Family. Prince William makes coffee and breakfast for residents at a London inner-city hostel and Prince Harry attends a strategy meeting for Sentebale. At the palace, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Alan Reid, releases details of the Royal Family's annual expenses to the press.

At the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family attend Prince William's passing out parade.

## Reception

[edit]

Martin Marks of The New York Times wrote, "Sure makes for some brilliant telly."[1]

## Controversy

[edit]

The promotion for the documentary caused a controversy in 2007 when the BBC showed a group of journalists a trailer of the series including some shots that were edited in non-chronological order making it erroneously appear that Queen Elizabeth II had stormed out of a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz after being asked to remove her 'crown'.[2] On 11 July 2007, the controller of BBC One, Peter Fincham, told journalists at the BBC1 new season launch that the trailer showed the Queen "losing it a bit and walking out in a huff".[3] However, the clip which appeared to show the Queen abruptly leaving in an agitated mood was actually of her entering the shoot. The next day, the BBC issued a statement which pointed out the error and formally apologised to the Queen.[4] Both Fincham and the Chief Creative Officer of RDF Media, Stephen Lambert, resigned as a result of the controversy.[3]

## See also

[edit]

* Elizabeth R: A Year in the Life of the Queen (1992 documentary)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Marks, Martin (17 November 2008). "Required Viewing | 'Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work'". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
2. ^ BBC Queen Trailer on YouTube
3. ^ a b "How the Queen clip drama unfolded". BBC News. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
4. ^ "BBC statement: Trailer for A Year with the Queen" (Press release). BBC. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2010.

## External links

[edit]

* Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work at BBC Online
* Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work at IMDb
* PBS - Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work
* BBC History

* v
* t
* e

Elizabeth II

Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms (1952–2022)

Realms|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Australia
* The Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Canada
* Ceylon
* Fiji
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Grenada
* Guyana
* Jamaica
* Kenya
* Malawi
* Malta
* Mauritius
* New Zealand
* Nigeria
* Pakistan
* Papua New Guinea
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Sierra Leone
* Solomon Islands
* South Africa
* Tanganyika
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Tuvalu
* Uganda
* United Kingdom

Titles and
honours|

* Head of the Commonwealth
* Defender of the Faith
* Supreme Governor of the Church of England
* Head of the British Armed Forces
* Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces
* Head of the Armed Forces (New Zealand)
* Lord of Mann
* Duke of Normandy
* Royal Family Order
* Elizabeth Cross
* Elizabeth Emblem
* Queen's Official Birthday
* Flags

Family|

* Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (husband)
* Charles III (son)
* Anne, Princess Royal (daughter)
* Prince Andrew, Duke of York (son)
* Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (son)
* George VI (father)
* Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (mother)
* Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (sister)
* Mountbatten-Windsor family

Early life|

* Christmas pantomimes
* 21st birthday speech
* Wedding
* Wedding dress
* Wedding cake

Accession and
coronation|

* Proclamation of accession
* Coronation
* Guests
* Participants in the procession
* Coronation chicken
* Coronation gown
* Medal
* Honours
* Award
* The Queen's Beasts
* Coronation Arches
* Orb and Sceptre
* "O taste and see"
* Treetops Hotel
* MacCormick v Lord Advocate

Reign|

* Household
* Personality and image
* Prime ministers
* Pillar Box War
* Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence
* Queen of Rhodesia
* Lithgow Plot
* 1975 Australian constitutional crisis
* Palace letters
* Marcus Sarjeant incident
* Christopher John Lewis incident
* Michael Fagan incident
* 1987 Fijian coups d'état
* 1992 Windsor Castle fire
* Annus horribilis
* Handover of Hong Kong
* Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
* 1999 Australian republic referendum
* Perth Agreement
* State Opening of Parliament
* 2021
* 2022

Jubilees|

| Silver Jubilee|

* Events
* Medal
* Honours
* Jubilee Gardens
* Jubilee line
* Jubilee Walkway
* Rosa 'Silver Jubilee'

|

Ruby Jubilee|

* Queen's Anniversary Prizes

Golden Jubilee|

* Prom at the Palace
* Party at the Palace
* Medal
* Honours
* The Odyssey
* 2002 royal tour of Canada

Diamond Jubilee|

* Pageant
* Armed Forces Parade and Muster
* Thames Pageant
* Gloriana
* Spirit of Chartwell
* Concert
* Gibraltar Flotilla
* Medal
* Honours

Sapphire Jubilee|

Sapphire Jubilee Snowflake Brooch

Platinum Jubilee|

* Medal
* Beacons
* Elizabeth line
* Platinum Party at the Palace
* Pageant
* Platinum Jubilee Celebration: A Gallop Through History
* Trooping the Colour
* National Service of Thanksgiving
* Platinum Pudding
* The Queen's Green Canopy
* Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours
* The Bahamas Platinum Jubilee Sailing Regatta
* The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Concert
* Big Jubilee Read
* "Queenhood"
* Queen's Platinum Jubilee Gardens

Commonwealth
tours|

* Aden Colony
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Australia
* official openings
* Canada
* Ceylon
* Jamaica
* New Zealand
* Saint Lucia
* Sierra Leone

| Ships used|

* HMS Vanguard (23)
* SS Gothic (1947)
* HMY Britannia

|

State visits|

| Outgoing|

* State visit to Spain
* State visit to Russia
* State visit to Ireland

|

Incoming|

* Juan Carlos I
* Pope Benedict XVI
* President Michael D. Higgins
* President Xi Jinping

Broadcasts|

* Christmas messages
* Special addresses

Depictions|

| Books|

* The Little Princesses (1950)
* The BFG (1982)
* The Queen and I (1992)
* Queen Camilla (2006)
* The Uncommon Reader (2007)
* Winnie-the-Pooh Meets the Queen (2016)

|

Documentaries|

* Royal Journey (1951)
* A Queen Is Crowned (1953)
* Royal New Zealand Journey (1954)
* The Queen in Australia (1954)
* The Royal Tour of the Caribbean (1966)
* Royal Family (1969)
* Elizabeth R: A Year in the Life of the Queen (1992)
* Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work (2007)
* The Diamond Queen (2012)
* Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute (2016)
* The Coronation (2018)
* Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts (2022)
* Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen (2022)
* The Cowboy and the Queen (2023)

Fictionalised film
and television
depictions|

* Spitting Image (1984–96); (2020–21)
* The BFG (1989)
* A Question of Attribution (1992)
* Willi und die Windzors (1996)
* Her Majesty (2001)
* The Queen (2006)
* South Park: The Snuke (2007)
* The Queen (2009 TV serial)
* Happy and Glorious (2012)
* A Royal Night Out (2015)
* Minions (2015)
* The BFG (2016)
* The Crown (2016–23)
* The Queen's Corgi (2019)
* 2020 alternative Christmas message
* The Prince (2021)

Plays|

* A Question of Attribution (1988)
* The Audience (2013)
* Handbagged (2013)

Portraits|

* Herbert James Gunn (1950)
* Herbert James Gunn (1953–56)
* William Dargie (1954)
* Pietro Annigoni (1955, 1969 and 1972)
* Andy Warhol (1985)
* Richard Stone (1992)
* Justin Mortimer (1997)
* Rolf Harris (2005)
* Ralph Heimans (2012)
* Damien Hirst (2014)
* Henry Ward (2016)
* Ai-Da (2022)

Stamps|

* Wilding series
* Canadian domestic rate stamp
* Castle series
* Country definitives
* Machin series (list)

Statues|

* Windsor
* Winnipeg
* Lagos
* Toronto
* York Minster
* Oakham
* Antrim
* Newcastle-under-Lyme
* Andover
* London (planned)

Songs|

* "God Save the Queen" (Sex Pistols song)
* "Her Majesty"

Animals|

| Corgis|

* Dookie
* Susan

|

Horses|

* Aureole
* Burmese
* Carrozza
* Dunfermline
* Estimate
* Height of Fashion
* Highclere
* Pall Mall
* Winston

Death|

* Reactions
* Queue for the lying-in-state
* State funeral
* Operation London Bridge
* Guests
* "Like as the hart"
* "Who shall separate us?"
* "Sleep, Dearie, Sleep"
* Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day
* Honours

Related|

* Jewels
* Namesakes
* Ships christened
* Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust
* Sagana Lodge
* Villa Guardamangia
* Dorgi
* Children's Party at the Palace
* The Queen's Birthday Party
* Jeannette Charles
* Rosa 'Queen Elizabeth'
* Queen Elizabeth cake

* ← George VI
* Charles III →

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