Queen reveals private footage from her younger years that show 'fun behind formality'

26 May 2022, 22:35 | Updated: 26 May 2022, 22:41

Sweet footage from "behind the formality" has been released showing moments from the Queen's life when she was away from being engaged in pomp and ceremony.

Ahead of her Jubilee weekend celebrating 70 years on the throne, viewers can see her being pushed around in a pram by her mother right up to her coronation in 1953 at the age of 27.

The homemade recordings include footage shot by herself, her parents and Prince Philip. They were kept privately by the Royal Collection in vaults owned by the British Film Institute.

In poignant moments, she calls her grandfather, George V, "Grandpa England", while another clip sees her with her uncle, Prince George, the Duke of Kent, who died in a plane crash in 1942.

BBC unveils unseen footage of the Queen in documentary

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The film, called Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen, features a personal message from the monarch to go with the BBC documentary.

She says: "Cameras have always been a part of our lives.

"I think there's a difference to watching a home-movie when you know who it is on the other side of the lens, holding the camera. It adds to the sense of intimacy.

"Like many families, my parents wanted to keep a record of our precious moments together. And when it was our turn with our own family, we did the same."

"I always enjoyed capturing family moments.

"Private photos can often show the fun behind the formality.

"I expect just about every family has a collection of photographs or films that were once regularly looked at to recall precious moments but which, over time, are replaced by newer images and more recent memories.

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"You always hope that future generations will find them interesting, and perhaps be surprised that you too were young once."

The 96-year-old monarch is the main narrator of the 75-minute documentary, which was made after 400 reels of film were pored over.

Rediscovered newsreels and behind-the-scenes recordings of state events, thought to have been privately commissioned by the royal family, were looked over.

A young Elizabeth is seen dancing with Princess Margaret in matching blue dresses as corgis look on, and as infants they crawl and play in the garden with their father, King George VI.

Clips filmed by the Queen and Philip on their first solo tour, to Canada in 1951, show their downtime, with the late Duke of Edinburgh joking around in clips.

A young Prince Charles and Princess Anne are also included, playing with parents and grandparents, the then King and Queen.

The final scene shows a Queen being pictured after coronation, with Philip looking on at her.