It turns out that her Royal Highness personally intervened to banish a fly-on-the-wall documentary from ever resurfacing, following its broadcast 1969.
Despite giving permission for her family to be followed by cameras for 18 months, she decided that some of the more intimate revelations within the film – for example, the royals storing their breakfast cereals in Tupperware containers – were far too intrusive, and such candid insights could horrify the general public.
Apparently, the original 38 hours of footage, which is said to include domestic scenes such as the Duke of Edinburgh frying sausages at a Balmoral barbecue whilst Prince Charles prepares a salad, are now firmly locked away in the Royal Archives.
Despite the film achieving its goal of strengthening public support, the Queen and her advisors decided that ‘being too normal was as dangerous as being too different’ and so it’s under strict instruction to never be shared with the public again. Shame.
However, there is some hope that we’ll be treated to some more of the film in the future, with Buckingham Palace releasing selected snippets to commemorate special events, such as the Diamond Jubilee and Prince Phillip’s ninetieth birthday.