Banned Royal Documentary Has Been Leaked To The Public
The 1969 documentary The Royal Family was meant to give the public a rare look behind the royal curtain, but the film didn’t get the enthusiastic response the family had hoped for. Time hasn’t softened audiences' reactions, either: In early 2021, the documentary that was essentially banned by the Queen was briefly leaked, and those lucky enough to catch a glimpse were just as appalled at what they saw as the public was 50 years ago.
Royal Documentary
Of all the great and enduring mysteries in this world, it sounds silly to count one of them as the 1969 documentary The Royal Family. But to the millions of people who watched the film when it first aired, the biggest mystery of all was this: Who in the world thought this would be a good idea?
Candid Camera
The least mysterious part of the documentary was why the Queen ended up banning it. Everyone knew why she put the doc under lock and key, and it’s not just because of the public's harsh reaction. Looking back, the documentary caught the family in some pretty unflattering situations.
A Different Time
The idea of a documentary about the British royal family may not seem very provocative in today’s uber-connected world, but in the ‘60s, the royals weren’t the smiling people we see every day on Instagram. In fact, the royals weren’t seen much at all.
Behind Closed Doors
Back then, the British royal family was seen at celebrity engagements, on national holidays, and in paparazzi photos. No one really knew what the inside of Buckingham palace looked like, or what the Queen ate for breakfast, or what Prince Charles and his siblings did for fun. But the documentary promised to change that.
