Queen Elizabeth II and Britain's Leaders

Good morning, I am still working on rearranging blogs for the foreseeable future to share documentaries on Queen Elizabeth II.  I know I probably could just continue in October with Nations at War, but I am going to do a fall edition of 31-Days of Time Team.  I do not want to interrupt that so Nations at War will be finished off in January.  I will check out the DW Channel and look at a documentary they produced about Queen Elizabeth.  This documentary is called Queen Elizabeth II and Britain’s Leaders.  The run time for this documentary is 42:52.

Once a week, the British Prime Ministers are bound to meet the Queen.  Details of these meetings have not been revealed.  The Queen has met fourteen Prime Ministers during her reign.  Even though she was at the heart of political life in England, the Queen followed a policy of silence.  She never spoke about her politics or gave a politically charged opinion.  This documentary talks about her relationship with the Prime Ministers.

The first Prime Minister she met was Winston Channel.  She was friends with Harold Wilson.  She witnessed the first female Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher.  In the 1990’s she had to deal with Tony Blair.  Neither Boris Johnson nor David Cameron was born when she had her first audience in 1952.  Even though they are the leaders of Politics in Britain, the Prime Minister still has to bow the knee to someone higher than them.  During these meetings, the Queen merely sat back and listen, sometimes asking questions of the Prime Minister.  The Queen was well prepared for the meetings with the Prime Minister.

During her youth, she spent many happy years in the countryside.  One of the secrets to the Queen’s success as queen, she was never meant to be queen.  She had a sense of duty and reverence for the monarchy, learned at her grandfather’s knee.  When he died and was succeeded by Edward VIII, her world was turned upside down.  When Edward VIII abdicated, he was succeeded by his brother, Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George.  Suddenly the young princess was next in line for the throne. 

During World War II, she witnessed the closeness of the King to his people and at twenty-one announce that she was going to devote her life to the service to the people.  When her father died, duty called and she became Queen.  She was coronated sixteen months after her father’s death, however, she worked behind the scenes to prepare for her coronation.  Her first meeting as Queen was with Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  He had known her all his life and he had a deep respect for the Queen.  He had decades of experience over the Queen.  Even though they were friends, they both had differences in opinion.  Churchill wanted to keep the empire together by force, but Elizabeth thought it would be better to travel.  She would travel to keep in touch with the Empire, which Churchill turned his nose at.

It took years for Elizabeth to settle down into being Queen.  She opens Parliament in grand ceremonies, reading the speech the Prime Minister wrote.  She makes forty-three state visits in the early years of her reign.  She is the most important diplomat and ambassador.  Additionally, she is a Queen who is witnessing many changes in cultural and political life.  The modern age was in full swing and the Queen would be required to navigate these changes.  To learn more about the Prime Ministers the Queen has met during her seventy years on the throne, continue to watch this documentary.

Wow, wow, wow, this is a well-done documentary about the Queen and the Prime Ministers.  This would be a documentary I would show in the classroom.