Queen camilla's reign: a royal hagiography that misses the point entirely

I momentarily thought Elizabeth II had returned when I saw another headline about ‘the queen’ attending a Scouts event. Forty-five seconds later, the realization hit: it was Queen Camilla. This BBC documentary, aiming to celebrate the late monarch’s century, is a remarkably shallow and uncritical presentation of British history, largely rehashing material readily available in The Crown.

A celebration built on the familiar

The film, marking what would have been Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday, promises a ‘century of change’ for Britain – the empire’s decline, the rise of celebrity, the Blitz, the 2012 Olympics. Yet, it largely settles for a series of archive clips and talking-head commentary, including Barack Obama, Helen Mirren, David Attenborough, and a surprisingly verbose Gyles Brandreth. The production quickly glosses over the more challenging aspects of the crown’s legacy, opting for a comfortable, almost apologetic narrative.

Buried histories and pointless interjections

The documentary is riddled with distracting, burgundy holding cards – “At the heart of our story, one extraordinary life” – that ultimately add nothing to the viewing experience. Much of the hour is spent revisiting already well-documented historical events, often presented with a startling lack of nuance. Brandreth, for instance, solemnly warns about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson as if addressing a frozen audience from the 1930s. Jill Scott’s declaration that the queen was ‘Britain’s manager’ during the pandemic feels remarkably out of place, a statement likely to be met with considerable skepticism.

A selective remembrance

The section on the Aberfan disaster is briefly touching, alongside a fleeting acknowledgment of the queen’s repeated missteps regarding Diana’s death. However, these moments are swiftly dismissed. The exploration of the empire’s impact is similarly superficial, reducing complex narratives to mere pronouncements of ‘fraught’ transitions and ‘some violence’. A visit to Ghana is presented with a showcase of the queen’s dancing, conveniently omitting the fraught history underlying the encounter. There's a palpable desire to avoid uncomfortable truths, a reluctance to delve into the darker corners of the monarchy’s past.

A missed opportunity

The film’s reliance on familiar territory – rehashing events viewed by millions in The Crown – feels like a colossal missed opportunity. It’s a hagiography, plain and simple, designed to please royalists and ultimately, to sanitize a complicated history. Fortunately, only critics are left to dissect its shortcomings. Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century is available on BBC One and iPlayer – a testament to the BBC’s willingness to prioritize a palatable narrative over genuine historical insight.