A BBC documentary featuring never-before-seen footage of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II taken from her personal archive will include clips of the monarch beaming at her engagement ring — months before the announcement was made public.
The queen granted the BBC unprecedented access to hundreds of home-made recordings shot by her, her parents and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in honour of her platinum jubilee.
The home movies, which had been held privately by the Royal Collection in the vaults of the British Film Institute, capture the queen’s life from being pushed in a pram by her mother to her coronation in 1953.
The 75-minute documentary, titled Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen, to be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on May 29, captures the first extended visit of Prince Philip to Balmoral in 1946, while the couple’s engagement was still not public.
It depicts a beaming Princess Elizabeth showing the camera her engagement ring.
The queen was a young princess when she first met naval cadet Prince Philip of Greece in 1939, during a visit to the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth where he was studying.
Prince Philip, who was 18, was introduced to Elizabeth, 13, at the house of the captain of the college.
The pair began writing to each other and Prince Philip was invited to spend the Christmas of 1943 with the royal family at Windsor.
It has previously been suggested the couple became unofficially engaged in the summer of 1946 while they were staying at Balmoral, but the official announcement was delayed until after Princess Elizabeth reached the age of 21 and returned from a royal tour of South Africa the following year.
the BBC’s commissioning editor for history
The couple wed in November 1947 and were married for 73 years before the Duke of Edinburgh died last April, merely a few months before his 100th birthday.
The BBC documentary depicts rare moments including footage of Princess Elizabeth with her uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent, who died in a plane crash in 1942 while on active service, and the King’s last visit to Balmoral in 1951.
It will also show the queen as a young mother with the king and queen fond grandparents to Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
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Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, prior to his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, saluting as he resumes his attendance at the Royal Naval Officers School in 1947. Getty Images -
Philip Mountbatten, prior to his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, batting at the nets during cricket practice while in the Royal Navy in 1947. Getty Images -
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace shortly before their wedding in 1947. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, on their wedding day in 1947. Getty Images -
Crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace on the wedding day. Getty Images -
Members of the British royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. Getty Images -
The marriage register of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, bearing the signatures of Philip and Elizabeth, the King and Queen and members of the Royal Family. Getty Images -
Princess Elizabeth, King George VI, Princess Margaret Rose, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip walking through streets on their way to wedding of Patricia Mountbatten to Baron Brabour. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth talking to Prince Philip (second right), the Duke of Edinburgh, at the Royal Horse Show at Windsor, England. Getty Images -
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, circa 1952. Getty Images -
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with their baby daughter Princess Anne following her christening, at Buckingham Palace in 1950. Getty Images -
US President Eisenhower (centre) with the British Royal family: Prince Philip, Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Captain John Eisenhower, at Balmoral Castle in 1959. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and their three children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, and Prince Andrew in Balmoral on September 8, 1960. -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip leave Manchester by train in 1961. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip presenting the Jules Rimet trophy to the England captain, Bobby Moore, after the teams World Cup final victory over West Germany in 1966. Getty Images -
Prince Charles wearing a crown and robes after a ceremony where he was invested as the Prince of Wales, with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Caernarvon Castle, Wales, in 1969. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip during the Royal Progress trip via boat down the River Thames to mark the Silver Jubilee in 1977. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh entertain Sheikh Zayed on board the Royal Yacht Britannia during their State Visit in 1979. Anwar Hussein/Getty Images -
Pope John Paul II with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip during a Royal Tour of Italy in 1980. Getty Images -
The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981. Behind them are Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Getty Images -
Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after their marriage ceremony in 1981. Getty Images -
Princess Diana holds her son Prince William in her arms in Buckingham Palace with Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. The Prince was christened in 1982. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip appear with The Queen Mother during celebrations to mark her 101st in 2001. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip ride in the Golden State Carriage at the head of a parade from Buckingham Palace to St Paul's Cathedral celebrating the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth smiles at the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace as Prince Harry, Prince William, Princess Anne and Prince Philip look on after attending the Trooping of the Colour in 2003. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh arrive at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2008, in Ascot, England. Getty Images -
The Sultan of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, presents Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with a gold musical Faberge style egg as Prince Philip watches on at the royal palace in Oman. -
Queen Elizabeth II holding the hand of her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as she arrives to address to the House of Lords, during the State Opening of Parliament in Westminster. EPA -
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (L) and her husband Prince Philip (R) stand next to the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan during a Ceremonial Welcome in the town of Windsor, west of London, on April 30, 2013. AFP -
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II speaks to Prince Philip on the Queen's Stand during the Epsom Derby Day on Saturday, 2014. EPA -
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh look at their homemade wedding anniversary card, given to them by their great grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle ahead of their 73rd wedding anniversary. Getty Images
BBC Studios reviewed more than 400 reels of film, discovering lost newsreel and behind-the-scenes recordings of state events, believed to have been privately commissioned by the royal family.
Filmmakers listened to more than 300 of the queen’s speeches, spanning more than eight decades, to make the documentary, which is narrated by the queen’s own voice and words alongside newsreel audio.
Simon Young, the BBC’s commissioning editor for history, said: “We are honoured that the queen has entrusted the BBC with such unprecedented access to her personal film collection.
“This documentary is an extraordinary glimpse into a deeply personal side of the royal family that is rarely seen, and it’s wonderful to be able to share it with the nation as we mark her platinum jubilee.”
Claire Popplewell, creative director for BBC Studios Productions, said: “As programme-makers who have previously worked closely with the royal household on ceremonial and celebratory broadcast events and programmes, the production team were under no illusion quite how special having access to this very personal archive was.
“Being able to draw upon the self-recorded history of a young Princess Elizabeth and her wider family — and allowing the queen to tell us her own story — is the very heart of this film.”
Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on May 29
