SARAH VINE’S My TV Week: A five star feast of revelatory royal secrets
THE TRUE CROWN: IN THE HOUSE OF WINDSOR
ITVX
Given everything that has been said and written about the royal family in recent years (not least by some of its own members), it’s hard to imagine how much a documentary could add.
The travails of the world’s most famous family have been laid bare in every imaginable format, from Oprah to The Crown.
But this stylish production not only manages to bring a new perspective with rare and never-before-seen footage, but also offers first-hand testimonials from an impressive roll call from contributors.
From the former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, who stood by Princess Margaret’s side when she died (“Here is a woman who longed for love, and the love of her life was forbidden to her”), to the woman whom the Duke of Windsor in his final days in exile at the Villa Windsor, Paris, is bolstered by insider revelations that offer new insights into the characters in this never-ending royal soap opera.
Given this Saturday’s coronation, there is a certain symmetry in the opening episode in which a young Prince Charles, aged 20 in 1969, is paraded through the streets of Caernarfon before a disappointing crowd to be crowned Prince of Wales by his mother.
Footage of Wallis Simpson with the Queen on the only occasion Her Majesty visited her uncle in Paris, shortly before his death, is included in The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor
Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones, later Lord Snowdon, or “Tony” as interior designer Nicky Haslam, interviewed here, refers to him
In the opening episode, a young Prince Charles, aged 20 in 1969, is paraded through the streets of Caernarfon in front of a disappointing crowd to be crowned Prince of Wales by his mother.
As William Heseltine, the Queen’s former Private Secretary and now a cheerful 93, explains, ‘The mood was not one of general consent.’ Indeed, Welsh nationalists had placed four bombs, one of which went off during the parade within earshot of the prince.
No wonder the Queen went to bed the next day with nervous exhaustion – the only time she ever did.
No wonder Margaret turned out like this. Snowdon used to throw lit matches at her during dinner
Elsewhere in Britain things were not much happier. The 1970s ushered in a period of skyrocketing inflation, power shortages and strikes – familiar themes today.
Strange that two of the most pivotal moments in King Charles’s life, his investiture as Prince of Wales and now the coronation, coincided with so much turmoil.
But that’s what this documentary achieves with great success: it takes the focus back from recent years, dominated by Prince Andrew’s troubles, the death of the Queen and, of course, Prince Harry’s ongoing crisis, and offers a much broader perspective on the events.
And there are many parallels to today: a young Prince Charles secretly visiting his exiled uncle and struck by “the air of regret,” the French staff dressed as foot soldiers of Buckingham Palace, the red box with donkey ears and its gold embossing ‘ The king’.
This week Sarah Vine (pictured) looked at the travails of the world’s most famous family
Footage of Wallis Simpson with the Queen on the only occasion Her Majesty visited her uncle in Paris shortly before his death. He then begged her to title his wife; she refused.
It was a reminder of how steely the Queen could be, especially when the crown’s reputation was at stake.
She had an unerring ability to distinguish between the royal family and the institution itself, never allowing the former to compromise the latter. That was why she was so successful as a monarch, but it cost many of her loved ones money.
No wonder Margaret turned out like this. Snowdon used to throw lit matches at her during dinner
Not just her own two children, Charles and Anne, neither of whom were allowed to marry whomever they wanted (at least not the first time) because duty and protocol forbade it; but also, and perhaps most poignantly, her sister Margaret.
The reasons why she couldn’t marry the love of her life, group captain Peter Townsend, are complex; but the fact remains that she didn’t. Instead, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, later Lord Snowdon, or “Tony” as interior designer Nicky Haslam, interviewed here, refers to him.
If we are to believe the wonderfully waspish Haslam, ‘Tony’ was a hideous, cruel man. As they walked down the aisle, his mistress was preparing for the birth of his child, and according to Margaret’s great friend Lady Glenconner – also interviewed at length here – he left hateful notes for her.
One read, “You look like a Jewish manicurist and I hate you.” Haslam tells another story about him throwing lit matches at her while eating. Poor Margaret. No wonder she ended up the way she did.
Elsewhere, there are unflattering clues to Prince Andrew’s character from a former diplomat who witnessed his pomposity firsthand, a great interview with Michael Fagan, who broke into the Queen’s bedroom, and insights from the former bodyguard from Princess Anne, Jim Beaton, describing her reaction. to a would-be kidnapper who asked her to get out of her car: “Not damn likely.”
But perhaps my favorite is Sir Mike Jackson, former Chief of the Army, who remembers trying to get an audience with the Queen around noon because she rang a bell after half an hour and said, “Time for a sherry, I think.’