CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century: Captured in an unseen ten-second clip, Queen Elizabeth’s very essence

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth: Her Story, Our Century (BBC1)

Evaluation:

There was one word repeated by almost everyone: ‘Duty’. Former US President Barack Obama described the late Queen’s ‘combination of a sense of duty and a profoundly human kindness and thoughtfulness’.

Describing how she studied a particular clip of Her Majesty getting out of the car as she prepared to play the monarch on screen, Dame Helen Mirren said: ‘He naturally had a sense of self-control and duty.’

The current Queen Camilla put it very emphatically: ‘I think duty trumps all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with such a sense of duty.’

Camilla may have unintentionally revealed more than she intended. One of the takeaways from his comment is that neither King Charles nor his heir, Prince William, are as good as II in terms of devotion to duty. He can’t compete with Elizabeth.

But that’s hardly a criticism. And I think we can all agree that Prince Harry isn’t as committed to his royal role.

Queen Elizabeth II scoured the palace archives for home cinema clips. Elizabeth: Her Story, Our Century explores a scattering of never-before-seen moments.

Some of these belonged to his childhood; almost certainly his father VI. She was filmed by George – laughing with his pony ‘Lilibet’, a bird on his shoulder, or adopting an air of mock seriousness as he danced with his younger sister Margaret.

We also caught rare glimpses of their private lives from the 1969 Royal Family documentary, which has not been repeated on television for almost 50 years. Gyles Brandreth shrewdly commented: ‘This was the beginning of them being seen as celebrities.’

The Queen on her coronation day in 1953. A never-before-seen ten-second clip featured in the program was shot on the day he ascended to the throne.

Speaking on the programme, Helen Mirren said the late Queen ‘had a natural sense of self-control and duty’

Sir David Attenborough, born a few weeks after Her Majesty, recalled seeing her for the first time in 1947. He was a naval officer and she was a new bride: ‘There was a formal dinner one evening and Prince Philip brought this beautiful princess on his arm. ‘I was standing there as she walked past with a beaming smile.’

Perhaps the most impressive part was the less than ten seconds of color footage the Duke of Edinburgh shot of his young wife on the day she became Queen.

Shot in a dark room in Kenya, 25-year-old Elizabeth sat with half her face in shadow. She wore three strands of pearls around her neck, a pearl earring in each ear, and a blue jacket that intensified the surprising blue of her eyes.

His lips were parted in that smile that the English smile after tears: ‘There! This is ridiculous. Crying won’t help, right?’ He had learned earlier that day that his father had died.

He ascended to the throne after his death. But the pain on her face was due to her personal loss, and when she turned, she looked directly into the lens with a lovingly pleading look – she clearly adored her husband and wanted his support. It was all written there, as short as a breath.