Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  July is done and then August will arrive.  August is when I do my recommendations for the school year.  I will admit that this was nice to get out as many royal documentaries as I possibly could.  It was my treat for not doing as many royal documentaries as I could when I started the blog, laugh out loud. This may be a shorter review in comparison to my others but I will do my best.  Anyway, this documentary I am going to look at is a biography of Queen Silvia of Sweden.  This documentary has a runtime of 45:06 minutes.  This is part of a celebrity-exclusive interview series.

Silvia, Queen of Sweden has ruled alongside her King Carl Gustav of Sweden for decades.  The Swedish Royal Family retains its popularity with Queen Silvia the most popular member of the family.  Even an American Magazine ranks her among the most powerful women in the world.  However, she does not see it that way, in fact, she sees her role as being a helper.  She also sees herself as a champion of children and speaks out on the exploitation of children.

The interview with the word “power” and how Silvia avoids using that word because she feels like she is more of a helper.   The talk shifts to the politics and how she does pay attention to politics but never speaks public about political causes.  She prefers talking about her social interest.  Queen Silvia and the interviewer talk about women’s issues and the issue about immigration.  Queen Silvia has grown up a woman between two worlds having living in both Germany and Brazil.

The interview then shifts to Queen Silvia’s work with children and how she champions children and childhood.  There is a clip of her attending a classroom as well as attending a cultural event.  When she started championing children, it shocked Swedish society.  She started speaking out in 1992 after certain events in Sweden that sent shockwaves throughout Swedish society.  She organized the first conference on the exploitation of children.  She talks about human trafficking as well as child trafficking and how governments are getting on board to prevent it from happening.

She reflects on her half Brazilian and half German heritage and how she hopes that she can unify all her roots together.  She believes she brings a different perspective to her role as Queen and she continues to discover new things about Swedes.  Then she talks about the mentorship program she oversees and talsk about the impact that it has on young girls.

It took a while, but she got to talk about meeting her husband.  They had met at the Munich Olympic Games and she took four years to decide to marry him.  She reflects on that she will do her best to be Queen.  There was a nice little section about the wedding and the engagement.  Then there are clips that show the family and the Nobel Prizes.  To learn more about Queen Silvia, continue to watch the rest of the interview.

This was a very softly volume documentary, so you will have to turn it up.  I had to turn it up when I watched it.  This is very unlike other documentaries I have done because it was interview of a person and not the story of the person.  I was hoping this would have been along the lines of the documentaries that I did on Queen Mathilde, Queen Maxima, and Queen Letizia but I was left disappointed.  It was very slow going and very few clips of Queen Silvia’s actual work.  I would not recommend showing this to a history class nor would I use this for research purposes.
 

Hello, I hope summer is going well for you and that it continues to go well.  I am continuing the royal blogs for summer and then in August I will switch gears and work through recommendations.  Today’s documentary is going to be about Monaco and Japan and their royal families.  Oh wow, it is part of the Royal Families for the World Series.  It also looks like the RoyalWorld Channel put two episodes together.  It also just I remembered when I checked out it out from the library.  It has a run time of 50:05.

Both Monaco and Japan are two royal families with an extraordinary history.  The house of Grimaldi looks over the principality of Monaco.  It was once a quiet principality until the marriage between Prince Rainier and movie star Grace Kelly shot the country to the front of the international stage. The Japanese royal family is a family steeped in history.  For most of its history, the Japanese royal family was kept secret.  However, Akihito, the former emperor of Japan slowly started to reveal a more public face of the monarchy.  So what is the story of these two royal families?

The story begins with Grace Kelly.  She was a glamorous movie star who seemed to be destined to marry a prince.  She married an eligible bachelor prince, the prince of the second smallest country of the world: Monaco.  Monaco is a land of luxury and wealth and the citizens enjoy tax-free living.  However, it is a land defined by the 1950 wedding of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier.  The family they raised was recorded by the press and it proved to be a high drama family.

The Grimaldi family ruled Monaco for over 700 years.  It was a fortress nation that was seized by a monk.  He would establish the Grimaldi Line.  It would really rise into prominence with the accession of Prince Rainier.  Grace Kelly was a highly successful American actress.  She would marry into the Grimaldi family and would take her place as Monaco’s First Lady.  How would Grace cope with the changes she had in her life?  How would Monaco would change under Grace and Rainer?  What about the family they would raise?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more about Monaco.

In the second episode, the documentary explores the Japanese Imperial Family.  It is a place where the Imperial Family is the head of Shintoism and was thought to have been descended from a goddess.  It is a family that has been shrouded in secrecy for decades and is a stark contrast to the royal family of Monaco.  Not much is known about the Imperial Family outside of Japan.  That veil of secrecy is being lifted.  Both Akihito and Naruhito married commoners and this seems to have this veil lifting.  The Imperial family lives on an Island in the center of Tokyo.  It is a place that is both historical and shrouded in secrecy. 

The previous emperor was raised by courtiers in isolation from the world, however his son Akihito was raised very differently.  He would have access to the outside world and this would continue with Akihito’s son Naruhito.  Naruhito would become the first Japanese ruler to study abroad.  When he became Crown Prince, he would have to look for a bride and this would have been a challenge for the Crown Prince.  There was a long list of rules for the future empress to follow.  Eventually, he would select Owada Masako and she was a very different sort of girl.  Her father was a diplomat and the family was on the move.  She even lived in America for a time.  This is the one episode that I remembered from checking out of the library.  To learn more about the Japanese imperial family continue to watch the rest of the documentary.

First things first, this is an older documentary series about the royal families.  Although the description was timestamped, the documentary was not.  I wish it was time-stamped.  The narrator was very good.  This is a good start to learn more about both royal families.   I use this for research purposes and I would show this to a history class.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  I hope summer continues to go well for you.  I am working through royal documentaries because it is summer and it is a light topic.  Today, I am going to do a documentary on German Nobility from Julia Melchior.  This is a German-produced documentary that has English translations.  This is a documentary about the Salm-Salm family.    It is called the Princes of Salm-Salm.  The run time for this documentary is 43:24.

In a fairytale-like castle in western Munsterland, the Salm-Salm family resides.  Prince Carl Philipp, the Prince zu Salm-Salm welcomes Julia Melchior to his castle.  The castle is moated in the municipality of Isselburg.  It is halfway between Cologne and Amsterdam.  It was once a fortified castle that was transformed into the home of the Salm-Salm family.  They took on the responsibility of the region and when the prince turned 80, the entire municipality turned up to the party.  So what is the history of the Salm-Salm family?

The story begins with an air tour of the castle where Prince Carl Philipp and Princess Elisabeth before meeting the Prince.  Salm-Salm comes from the two salmon on the princely house’s family crest.  The family manages thousands of acres on which is a hotel, golf course, and wildlife park.  Julia and Prince Carl Philipp landing a helicopter on the lawn of the castle.  Then the talk shifts to his growing up during World War II.  After the war, the Castle was nearly a ruin and it took fifty years to rebuild the castle.  It is a castle that has hosted other royalty as well as archivists.  The castle has a valuable art collection.

Prince Carl Philipp works together with his son Prince Nicholas Emanuel to run the family business.  Carl Philipp brings in the historical prospective and he talks about the history of the family as well as the castle with Julia.  He points out the artwork and points out a cabinet.  It was said that Emperor Joseph I made it.  He also talks about the tradition of the princes being rulers and how they ruled from his bed.  This was a very interesting section, and Carl Philipp is another gentleman I could sit and listen to talk about history.

The castle needs to be run like a business in order to help with its upkeep.  The fairytale castle is a perfect setting for filming.  There are other avenues of revenue such as farming and forestry.  The tour of the castle continues with Prince Carl-Philipp.  He continues to point out various points of furniture and artwork in the palace.  He points out a game table that was the earliest example of backgammon.  Prince Carl Philipp recalls his childhood and what parts of the castle he was not allowed in.  It was funny to hear about how he had to eat under the table in the dining room.

Prince Carl Philipp was raised very traditionally way, where he only saw his parents several times a day.  However, his parents laid the foundation for keeping up with the history of the castle.  Prince Nicholas Emmanuel continues this love of history and studies the archives as well.  Then there was an interesting section on the failed Mexican Empire and how the Princes of Salm-Salm had their place in that history.  The niece of Abraham Lincoln intervened and saved the life of the Prince of Salm-Salm, which was a surprising fact.  There was an interesting souvenir brought back: the bullet that had shown Emperor Maximillian.  Julia and Emmanuel go into the archives of the Salm-Salm Family which was a very well done section.  So how else has the house of Salm-Salm impacted history?  What other treasures are found in the castle?  What else does Julia learn about the castle?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more!

It would have been nice to have this documentary timestamped that way you can pull out clips for lectures.  I could foresee pulling out the section about the execution of Emperor Maximillian for a lecture. I rather enjoyed Prince Carl Philipp’s storytelling.  I would show this to a history class and a geography class.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  Today, I am going to do another royal documentary.  This time we are going to learn about the royal families of the Balkans.  Yeah, I know it has been a month full of royal documentaries, but it is summer so I want to keep things light.  This is a German-produced documentary with English-translated subtitles.  The run time for this documentary is 52:03.  The documentary is called The Royals from the Balkans.

At one time, there were royal families that ruled the countries of the Balkans area.  They were ousted by the communists, however they are now enjoying a resurgence.  Externally these families act as representatives of their states.  Internally they are a moral and neutral institution.  The story begins with Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha who ruled Bulgaria.  The story then talks about Montenegro’s heir apparent, Nicholas the Crown Prince of Montenegro.  The story concludes with the story of Prince Michael I of Romania and his daughter Crown Princess Margarita.

Unlike what the description says, the story of the Balkan Royals introduces Crown Princess Margarita of Romania first.  She is the current head of the Romanian Royal family and oversees a variety of projects through her charitable endeavors.  Then the documentary introduces Crown Prince Nicholas of Montenegro.  He had grown up in France and would return to Montenegro as a pretender Crown Prince.  Finally, King Simeon would go into politics when he returned to Bulgaria.  He was a man who wanted to serve his people even though the monarchy was to remain neutral.

The story continues with King Simeon.  There is a celebration of King Simeon’s 80th Birthday.  The celebrations kicked off at an Orthodox church, and the Bulgarian Royal Family was tied to the Orthodox Church.  This gathering has brought together several other royals both current and ex-royals.  The Bulgarian nation, in celebration of King Simeon

Then the story shifts to France and to Crown Prince Nicholas of Montenegro.  He has grown up in France, far from Montenegro.  He is an architect and he continues to work.  He has divided his time between Montenegro and France and he is a man who does not plan to retire.  There was a quick overview of the history of Montenegro and the political situation that led to the establishment of the empire.  This section was a bit sad that he does not stay in Montenegro full time, unlike the other royals mentioned in the documentary who stay in their homelands. 

The documentary then goes to Romania to learn more about King Michael of Romania, where Crown Princess Margarita oversees preparations for the celebration of King Michael’s coronation.  Since 2014, King Michael has withdrawn from public life and so it is Crown Princess Margarita who oversees things.  King Michael was put on the Romanian throne at a young age.  It would have been a challenging time for the young boy.  Romania was put under a regency, however Michael’s father was put back on the throne because the regency was not going well.  Unfortunately, Romania was caught up in World War II on the side of the Germans.  Michael was nineteen when he took over the throne.  His mother returned to Romania and she would become King Michael’s closest confident.  In this section, I was almost wondering if they would show a picture of him and the Duke of Edinburgh.  I was very happy to see King Michael talk about his experience as king in an older recorded video even though he could not participate in the documentary.

So what else is discovered about the Bulgarian, Montenegrin, and Romanian Royal families?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more!

I was reminded of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the photo with all the monarchs.  Front and center next to Queen Elizabeth were King Michael and King Simeon, even though they were deposed monarchs.  I felt like this documentary could have been divided into chapters and I felt like the Serbian royal family could have been added.  That said, this was a very well done documentary and I would love to hear more from King Simeon.  I would show this documentary to a history class or even mine it for clips for a lecture.  I would also use this for research purposes.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  July continues to march on and soon we will be in August.  August is the time when I put out my recommendations for the upcoming school year.  I am continuing with the royal documentaries.  This time I am looking at one of the noble houses of Europe.  This is a German-produced documentary with English translations.  It is the house of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.  The run time for this documentary is 44:00.

The Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg family are the largest private forest owners in Germany.  They own 13,000 hectares of forest land.  Black storks, kingfishers, deer, bison, as well as wild cattle make this forest their home.  Forestry is still the livelihood of this princely family and they live in Berleburg Castle.  They have occupied this castle for 800 years and they reflect on this 800 years of history.  Prince Richard and Prince Gustav take a tour of the estate.

With a gift of a goldfish, Prince Richard and Prince Gustav take the presenter Julia on a tour of the forest.  Prince Richard married Princess Benedikte of Denmark and together they manage one of Germany’s largest forest properties.  Richard and Gustav set off with Julia, to put in a day’s work.  Prince Richard points out the sites along the way.  Anyway, both father and son are extremely close and together they work to preserve the forest.  There is a joke between the pair during this documentary.

Richard talks about his life with Princess Benedikte.  She continues to represent her sister Queen Margarethe.  She had represented the Queen during the wedding of Princess Beatrix.  It was there that Richard and Benedikte met.  Eventually, the pair would get married and they would marry in Denmark.  This marriage would have increased tourism to Berleburg as a result of people’s curiosity about the couple.  Even though the Princess provides glamour to the occasion, Prince Richard is very down to earth.  He recalls meeting Anne-Marie and Constantine over a crab dinner. 

The documentary shifts from family stories to the castle.  A lot of the castle is used privately, however there are public spaces.  Julia, the narrator goes on a tour of the history of the castle as well as the family.  Gustav talks about the family get-togethers in the castle and the challenges that it brought.  The castle has seen many hunting weekends.  Then the talk shifts back to the family.  Princess Alexandra participates in the documentary.  Princess Benedikte was a stickler for etiquette and the German cousins were nervous about visiting.

The castle has undergone renovations.  Richard’s grandmother transformed the castle.  Then Princess Nathalie talks about the stables and dressage.  This was a jumpy part of the documentary, going back and forth between the castle and the family. It felt really disjointed so perhaps there should have been more talk about the family first and then talk about the castle.  Then the documentary goes back to a tour of the castle and the objects in the castle. 

The documentary shifts to the forest and how the castle makes money for its upkeep.  The family has been living off the profits of the forest for three hundred years.  The foresters who work for the family talk about their jobs and how they manage the forest.  Then it shifts to the animals in the forest and Richard brought in American bison to the forest.  The animals are carefully managed but the government tries to step into things. 

What else does the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg family do at the castle?  What other stories does Prince Richard tell?  Where else on the estate do Richard and Gustave go?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out!

I rather like the silly stories that came out of this documentary.  There were points when it was disjointed so if these sections were rearranged it would have flowed better.  Richard was very funny and I almost wish I could have seen him in more documentaries.  I bet he had some very good stories about the Danish royal family.  Overall, this was a very well-done documentary.  This would be a good documentary for an earth science class or even a conservation class, and I would use this for research purposes.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  I am going to continue with royal documentaries as July continues to march on.  I guess I am getting out of years of not doing royal documentaries for this blog.  The only other time I did so many royal blogs was when Queen Elizabeth II passed away.  One of the participants in the documentary is Queen Margarethe II of Denmark.  This is a documentary about Queen Margarethe II and her passion for art and design.  The run time for this documentary is 59:43.  It is called Her Majesty’s Time Off.

In 2020, Queen Margarethe II of Denmark celebrated her 80th Birthday.  This is a documentary that looks at the Queen behind the scenes.  It looks at her interests beyond the crown.  She enjoys being creative, as well as art history and general history.  Queen Margarethe is an active artist.  When she paints or draws she is in her little world.  She talks about her passion for art and the story the art conveys.  It has been a hobby since her childhood. 

The story begins with the Queen at her desk working on her needlework. It is something that is hers and hers alone.  Her creative pursuits allow her to be herself.  For a time she did not believe that this was a talent that needed to be cultivated, however, she realized that she needed to express herself through art.  The story continues with the Tivoli Ballet, and the Queen is taking part in the meeting.  The ballet wanted to do Peter Pan, however some challenges came along.  Bottomline the troop is not feeling the story so they talk about other options.   The ballet is going to be doing the Snow Queen.

The Queen enjoys bright colors and this was a funny section showing her painting some fruit.  She made a funny face as if she did not enjoy painting dull colors.  She surrounds herself with art and reflects on her life with Prince Henrik.  He had created a sculpture that he gave to her for her birthday.  Queen Margarethe seems very reflective during this section. 
The story continues with her designing costumes for the ballet.  She has a meeting with the ballet company to discuss the costumes.  On top of costume designing Queen Margarethe is doing the backgrounds for the ballet.  She also has other avenues of creativity and so that was explored.  She enjoys doing decoupage on top of needlework and painting.  This is clearly an artist at work.

Queen Margarethe reflects on growing up as an artist and reminisces about how she and her family dressed up in fancy dress.  It was always something that she enjoyed doing with her sisters and many photographs survive of the royal princesses in fancy dress.  Even goes through the old pieces that she painted over the years.  As a child, she drew and painted before taking a break from it only to return to it again.  She likes painting in a natural style and does not like abstract painting. 

The story continues with her work on the ballet and Queen Margarethe reflecting on her life in the art world.  What changes to they have to make for the ballet?  Will the ballet be performed in time?  To learn more about Queen Margarethe continue to watch the rest of the documentary.

This is an extraordinary documentary about Queen Margarethe II and her love of art and creativity.  I need another royal documentary about art with both King Charles II and Queen Margarethe II narrating it.  Queen Margarethe strikes me as a very interesting person, who has a variety of interests.  Honestly, it is hard to see how she finds the time for her art pursuit.  It was cool to see her ideas coming to life for the ballet.  The background with the river was beautifully done and very imaginative.  It is also interesting to see how the costumes come together keeping in mind that they are being danced in.  This was a very well-done documentary.  It was translated into English as well, which was very good.  I would use this for research purposes and I would show this to an art class.

I am going to continue my journey into the Queens of Europe.  It is funny, I was actively trying to avoid doing too many royal documentaries but now I am doing a whole slew of them for July.  Oh well, it is summer and royalty is one of those lighter topics.  This documentary is about Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.  The run time for this documentary is 43:54.

Maxima is the first lady of the Netherlands as well as the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance.  She is an economist Queen, and works to ensure that poor people not only have access to financial services, but better consumer protection and more financial literacy.  She meets with people all over the world to push the issue forward.  However, who is the real Maxima behind her economist mind?

The documentary begins in Bangladesh in 2019.  In the middle of monsoon season, Queen Maxima makes her way as part of her role as UN Special Advocate.  She is doing a catch-up on a previous visit in regard to the financial services that were being provided for the poor.  She catches up with a woman who has benefited from this microfinance program.  Then the documentary shifts to the glamorous side of the royal duties.  There is a nice little section on when King Willem-Alexander was invested with the Order of Garter.

The documentary then shifts to the duties of the King and there is a discussion on the duties of the consort.  So who decides what Maxima can do?  A lot of that is done “off the record” and she is also a member of the Council of State.  However, her number one job is to support the King in his duties as head of state.  She is a woman who knows when to step back.  Every Monday they go to meetings to plot out their projects and plan appointments.  Since she was crown princess, Maxima has had a personal advisor who is a secret weapon to the Queen.  She is also served by several ladies in waiting to help sort out invitations she receives.

The People of the Netherlands expect their Queen to be useful.  No two days are the same, which makes things interesting for Queen Maxima.  In 2013, Willem Alexander became King, and he was the first king in over a hundred years in Dutch History.  Even though she can become quite busy as a queen, she makes time for her three daughters.  Family time is important for the family and try to keep things as normal for the girls as much as possible.  However, Princess Amalia knows that she will become head of state and she will have to get use to the spotlight.

Every year the king’s birthday is celebrated in different parts of the Netherlands.  This is an area where Queen Maxima shines with her common touch.  They are a very devoted couple and respect each other.  The Dutch expect to see their queen and king working and they are paid a salary.  Any deals that are made along the way, Maxima understand because of her background in economics.  A lady in waiting and an army officer look after the queen and make sure things go smoothly.

The documentary then talks about Maxima’s background and childhood in Argentina.  She had many friends who she still keeps in touch with.  She had come from a large family and had developed a strong passion for economics.  Eventually, she would set off for New York and quickly made friends.  She would eventually meet Crown Prince Willem Alexander and the rest they say is history.  So what challenges would the pair face to make it to the altar?  Tune into the rest of the documentary to learn more.

I will have to say I am glad that this series timestamped the section of this documentary.  I was surprised at how much this was about Maxima because the other documentaries go to the history of the royal families sooner.  I wondered how they would have handled how Maxima’s father was involved in the military junta in Argentina and they did it well.  Over all this was a very good documentary on Queen Maxima.  This would be something that I would show to a history class and would use for research purposes.

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this.  I hope this day is finding you very well.  Anyway, I will continue our tour of European Royalty by looking at a documentary on Mathilde, the Queen of the Belgians and the Belgian royal family.  I am not sure what the documentary filmmakers were thinking about calling this series because it really does go beyond the ladies in question.  The viewer gets a history of the royal family.  The run time for this documentary is 43:30.

Queen Mathilde was a studied psychologist and advocate for mental health and child welfare.  As queen she took up the cause of cyberbullying.  She is also an advocate for the Sustainable Goals of the United Stations.  She wants to be close to the Belgian people and who wants to take the time to make a difference in the world.  She was born amongst the Belgian aristocracy and became the first Belgian-born concert in the history of Belgium.  So who is she really?

The story of Queen Mathilde begins in the royal palace in Brussels in the Queen’s office.  Queen Mathilde is signing birthday cards for citizens who are turning 100 years old.  Nobody is allowed to disturb her as she goes about this task, not even the King.  Queen Mathilde has been the first lady of the Belgian nation since 2013.  Queen Mathilde throws herself into her work and even oversees the preparations for state banquets.  This is a job that a Queen has to do a lot of on-the-job learning.

Although King Philippe is number one, Queen Mathilde has her own agenda and one of those items on her agenda is anti-bullying.  When the Queen speaks, people know that it is something special and so are more apt to listen.  In general, the Belgian royal family does not speak unless allowed to by the government.  Queen Mathilde participates in the talks at the World Economic Forum.  Since 2016, she has been a UN Advocate and knows the 2030 Agenda well.

The story transitions into a short history of the Belgian Royal family, this is a nice section because Mathilde takes the lead in this section.  She talks about the ancestry of the Belgian royal family.  She points out a painting done by King Leopold had done, which was very nice to see.  She talks about how the talent for painting has passed through the generations.  I wonder if King Phillipe and King Charles exchange painting tips.

Anyway, Matilda was born in the Ardennes region of Belgium.  She would have been familiar with the battles that took place during the Ardennes Offensive.  Then the documentary shifts to the history of Belgium and its place during World War I.  The Belgian King did everything he could to stop Germany from marching into France through Belgium.  King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth believed strongly in Belgium's neutrality and they wrote to the German Emperor in German to ask him to respect Belgium's neutrality.  However, the Germans would invade and march into Belgium.  King Albert and his soldiers fled the city to the Belgian coast.  Queen Elizabeth sent her children to England and remained behind with Albert.  They were a couple devoted to each other.  Queen Elisabeth would become a war nurse, which was not thought of well.  However, many aristocratic ladies would become nurses.  Queen Elisabeth is still held in high regard in Belgium.

Crown Princess Elisabeth holds this queen’s name and is in training to become the first Queen of Belgium.  This was a short section before it talks about Queen Mathilde’s busy schedule.  Her family is important and she makes time for her children.  She encourages the love of music in her children and takes everyone out for concerts.  She oversees the Queen Elisabeth Competitions, a music competition hosted in Belgium.  To learn more about Queen Mathilde continue to watch the rest of the documentary.

This is another excellent documentary and a good start on learning about Queen Mathilde as well as Belgium.  I liked how Mathilde participated in the documentary too and I think I could listen to her talk about history.  I would recommend showing this to a history class as well as use it for research purposes.

Hello, I hope that you are doing well today.  All of a sudden July has become a month of royal documentaries.  I guess it cannot be helped, after all, I have been very good at not going overboard on royal documentaries, because I enjoy royal watching.  I guess you are in for a whole lot of royal documentaries for the summer.  Today’s documentary is on Queen Letizia of Spain.  The run time for this documentary is 43:29.  It is part of the Profession: Queen series.

For years Letizia Ortiz was known as a presenter of a major news program.  However, behind the scenes, she was secretly dating Prince Felipe of Spain.  When they got married it would have marked a new way of life for her.  Letizia wants to be a queen of the 21st century and focuses her energy on a variety of causes.  Among the causes that she champions include education, health, and women’s rights.  She goes to many meetings, takes many trips, and performs many speeches which are carefully prepared at her desk.  So who is Queen Letizia?

The Zarzuela Palace is on the outskirts of Madrid and it serves as the offices for the Spanish Royal family.  Our story begins here where Queen Letizia called a meeting, where preparations are underway for a working trip to Mozambique.  It is a working trip where she will meet aid workers and visit hospitals.  Her skills as a journalist are handy because she has learned how to ask question and to listen.

The Spanish Royal Families are one of the oldest families in the world and although their powers are limited nowadays, the Spanish government still rolls out the red carpet for the royals.  The documentary touches on a state visit and then the documentary transitions into how hard Letizia worked to perform her duties.  King Felipe has trained all his life to become King and Letizia had learn on the job.  She took her time and worked hard to learn.

Then there is a glimpse into the private life of the Queen and King and behind they are a normal family.  The kids go to school while the parents go into the office.  Queen Letizia is careful to toe the line but she does speak out when it calls for speaking out.  The documentary then shows her visiting her old high school and this was a visit that she wanted to go as naturally as possible.

Letizia grew up in the middle class and had a good education.  She worked hard to become a journalist.  She was even on the radio and she used to weekly radio places.  Her parents were in the radio industry.  She would eventually get a job with CNN and she would win prizes.  She was willing to travel and was completely independent.  This was a very nice section on her career.  Although she was familiar with the Spanish public and behind the scenes, nobody knew what was going on.  She was secretly dating Prince Felipe and for the first time, a commoner had married an heir to the Spanish throne.

However, becoming a member of the Spanish royal family had its challenges.  The media she worked for now turned against her.  Letizia does not belong to the Spanish aristocracy or any other European royal family.  She was often compared to her mother-in-law, Queen Sophia.  It took a very long time for Sophia to gain the admiration of the Spanish people and when she did it was unshakeable.  As a result, this led to unfair comparisons that Letizia had to face.  So how does Letizia manage the changes as Queen?  What about the history of the Spanish Royal family in general?  To learn more about Letizia and the Spanish royal family continue to watch the rest of the episode.

This was very well-done documentary, not only on Letizia but also the rest of the Spanish royal family.  The filmmakers highlighted Letizia’s work as well as the Leonor’s training to become queen.  This was a good introduction to the Spanish Royal Family and it is nice to go beyond the British Royal Family.  I would recommend showing this documentary to a history classroom and it would be good for research purposes. 

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening.  I hope that this day is going well for you.  Summer continues to press and I hope that you are enjoying some adventures.  I will do the second episode of the royal jewels documentary, a documentary that I never thought I would see again.  This focuses on the jewels of the wider European royals, however many of these royal families do not exist.  The runtime for this documentary is 58:48.

This is the story of the Romanov family.  For three hundred years they ruled Russia and were toppled and executed by the Bolsheviks.  They were one of the richest royal families in the world and they had a vast amount of jewels.  When the Bolsheviks took over, many jewels were seized, while others were secretly smuggled out.  This is the story of the jewels that remained and how they ended up in the British Royal Family.

The Romanov family was one of the most unique families in history.  The story begins with the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II.  As part of the coronation he gifted the grand duchesses a coronation gift of a diamond brooch.  Only one of those brooches exists because it had made its way into the Danish Family.  Over the decades, the Russian Royal family had acquired gems of the highest qualities and they crafted them into spectacular pieces.  The documentary then talks about Faberge and the spectacular ball that was hosted at the Winter Palace.  Michael of Greece makes an appearance in this section delighting the viewer with his talk about the Faberge Eggs.

Then the documentary transitions to the grandest of Grand Duchesses Maria Vladimirova.  She was a Princess of Mecklenburg who landed a Russian Grand Duke.  She would commission many tiaras from French jewelers.  She was a magpie and she loved showing off her jewels.  I like this section too because it introduces Prince Michael of Kent, and he is a very good story teller. 

Bolin was a popular jewelry designer amongst the Romanov Women and this designer may have created the Vladimir Tiara that was worn by Queen Elizabeth II.  Then there is a discussion on the Romanov Family Bridal set, which the Grand Duchesses would have worn when they got married.  Eventually, Nicholas and his wife Alexandra left St. Petersburg for the safety of the countryside.  This left the Grand Duchess Maria in charge of society and she would intrigue against the Tsar.  She takes part in official events and wants to impose her will on everyone.

However, there was one family richer than the Romanovs and that would the Yusupov Family.  They had more jewels and more land in comparison to the Romanovs.  It was all down to Felix Yusupov and he was a very handsome man.  He was a man about town and would test the limits of societal rules.  One time he went to the opera dressed as a woman.  Eventually, he would marry Princess Irene, the niece of the Tsar.  It would have been considered a good match and they were happily married.  The jewels of the Yusupov family were spectacular and were a unique collection.

The Russian Royal family would come to an end.  The family was scattered and many jewels were left behind.  One brave ma would dare to smuggle the jewels out of Russia for Grand Duchess Maria.  Others were seized by revolutionaries.  The family of Nicholas II hid their jewels in the clothing of the family and these would have protected the girls from being executed.  These jewels would have eventually disappeared or have been stolen.  Prince Michael says “No one knows where.”  To learn more about the Russian jewels and their fate continue to watch the rest of the episode.

The downside of the documentary was that the speakers were not identified, so there were a couple of people I did not know.  That would have been nice to have included the documentary participants' names.  This was a very good documentary.  I like Prince Michael of Kent and Prince Michael of Greece’s participation in this documentary.  This would be a good documentary to show to an art history class as well as for a history fun day.