Description: Royal reality in a landmark series produced for the BBC.
For the first time ever, cameras go behind the scenes at Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world and home to Queen Elizabeth since childhood. The result is an intimate glimpse of castle life above and below stairs over the course of a year that includes a historic state banquet and the wedding of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Meet some of the 300 people who live and work in the castle’s 900 rooms: the Queen’s housekeeper, grooms, fendersmiths, and military knights, to name just a few. Accompany HRH Prince Philip, the ranger of Windsor’s 15,000-acre Great Park, as he tours the grounds and speaks candidly about the ups and downs of running this amazing public space.
Bonus Footage! Includes over two hours not seen on the PBS broadcast, including exclusive new footage of the wedding of Charles and Camilla.
Amazon.com: Fans of England's royal family will eat up this amazing yearlong documentary series on the inner workings of Windsor Castle, the official residence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The series, originally broadcast on BBC (and picked up in the States by PBS), invites viewers inside the most intimate areas of the castle, as intricate, well-choreographed preparations are undergone for occasions large (a state dinner for French President Jacques Chirac; the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles) and small (the queen's return for her usual weekend stay). The gee-whiz details seem never-ending: we meet the team of fendersmiths who tend solely to the castle's "300 or 400" fireplaces; we visit the vast Royal Collection, where the royal librarian oversees a 300,000-piece collection of books, drawings and prints--from which she and her staff hand-select appropriate pieces to display during the visit of the French head of state; we watch dozens of chefs, furniture wranglers, and etiquette experts plan and execute the truly breathtaking state dinner. The nearly 1,000-year-old castle suffered severe fire damage in 1992 (caused by a light bulb, not an error by one of the fendersmiths), so much of the private quarters has been renovated to a new level of splendor, personally overseen by Prince Philip, who points out that it was his suggestion that the rebuilt chapel feature a new stained-glass window including images of firefighters helping save the castle. Other segments feature Prince Philip giving a tour of the vast grounds and park around the castle, and other occasions during the year, including Christmas, and some footage of the wedding of Charles and Camilla. The access the filmmakers were granted makes the series compulsively watchable; who wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall inside one of the world's most storied structures? --A.T. Hurley
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Fascinating.....and the British can keep 'em!!
I bought this as I am both fascinated and repelled by the British monarchy. The pomp and ceremony are quite interesting and way over the top (Christmas caroling to the queen's horses in the royal stables!). ... Read More
Rating: - Fascinating Inside Look at the Royals
As an American, I never gave much thought to the British Royal Family and their ongoing soap opera. The insane outpouring of grief by the British public after the death of Princess Diana left me bewildered. ... Read More
Rating: - Well Oiled Machine
It was facinating to see all of the support staff that makes the Monarchy run like a well oiled machine. We're always seeing pictures of the Royal family, but how many people have seen the chap who winds the ... Read More
Rating: - Unappreciative Queen
Bravo to the stars of this documentary, the staff of Windsor Castle. They cheerfully work under the haughty, condescending, unappreciative eye of the Queen-- a woman who looks down her nose at everyone with an ... Read More
Rating: - Love it !
EXCELENT!
I give it five stars. This is the best documentary about english royal home and different events at Windsor Castle and it's surroundings.
- Fascinating.....and the British can keep 'em!!