No monarch in history has reigned longer,
travelled further,
or met so many of the world's people
as the Queen.
INAUDIBLE
Turn around the other way, because that's where the camera is!
For seven decades, the Queen has criss-crossed the globe,
by land, sea and air...
Then I flew home by Concorde, which was the only way
I could get home in time to open Parliament in London.
..bringing together what she calls her "family of nations" -
..the Commonwealth.
And now the Queen is passing the baton to the younger generations.
Nice to see you. How are you? Welcome.
In this historic year...
..we've enjoyed privileged access
to the Queen...
I mean, it's unbelievable, isn't it?
..and all her family, too.
It's so nice to see it again.
This is my first time seeing the veil... Wow!
..like this! And what did it feel like, putting it on?
It was a pretty magical day. I bet it was.
Yeah, really special. Very special.
We'll see them welcoming the world at home...
Have you bumped into the Queen yet? No. Not yet?
If you suddenly bump into her in the corridor,
don't panic. I know you will. We all do!
..and flying the flag abroad.
Are the lovely ladies wearing your creations? Yes!
With access to the Queen's private home movies...
SHE CHUCKLES
..we've seen how she's inspired one generation...
What do you say when you walk up to a complete stranger?
I think you learn by experience!
Very nice to meet you, you look fabulous!
..and encouraged the next.
You'll make me blush! Stop!
And we've captured the excitement
as a new Commonwealth journey begins.
53 countries, as well - my goodness!
It'll keep us busy!
This is the British royal family
on the global stage
and the story of how our queen
has come to be seen by millions...
..as Queen Of The World.
Buckingham Palace, royal headquarters.
All is quiet...
..for, in the Regency Room,
the Queen is preparing to record her annual Christmas message.
It's very low.
Today we celebrate Christmas,
which itself is sometimes described as a festival of the home.
Families travel long distances to be together...
The Queen's message won't just be broadcast in Britain -
it can be heard across the Commonwealth,
by 2.4 billion people in six continents -
a third of the world's population.
So really, the idea of home reaches... But today,
it's the local wildlife which is tuning in.
MAN: Excuse, me, is it possible I can just ask...
Because there were some bird noises outside,
is it possible just to, um...
redo... it from the top?
From the top of the second page?
From the very start. From the very start.
So you want the whole thing again?
If possible. I know it's...
Thank you.
In 2018, I will open my home to a different type of family -
the leaders of the 52 nations in the Commonwealth -
as they gather in the UK for a summit.
The Commonwealth has an inspiring way of bringing people together.
Should be down there.
At the start of the Queen's reign,
there were eight countries in the Commonwealth.
With Gambia re-joining this year,
there are now 53.
There are...
generations in the Commonwealth
who've never known anybody else
as their kind of Head of State.
That's quite a remarkable position to be in.
Today, the Queen has invited a group of young professionals
from the Caribbean to join the royal household.
They're rising stars in the hospitality industry
and have been selected for the work placement of a lifetime -
six weeks training with the household staff
at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
Our Caribbean scholars
are eight fabulous, fabulous young people.
This very much was an attempt to reach out
and see what more we can do to involve the Caribbean realms,
particularly in the royal household.
So it's very, very special.
Claudine Jeffery has come from the Commonwealth island of Antigua.
It's a fun place to work.
I say it's an adventure every day
because every day there's always something different.
You never find that you're doing the same thing,
so that's really amazing, cos I love a challenge
and I don't like to be bored!
I followed the Queen for a while,
and I remember watching her on TV and she was giving a scholarship to
a young man from my country
and I was like, "Well, I wonder
"if I'm ever going to get that opportunity?" And then...
You know, to find myself in Buckingham Palace,
it's... you know, beyond my wildest imaginations.
They are the embodiment, a microcosm of something much, much bigger.
And of course, the Queen, being the head of the Commonwealth,
is something she cares passionately about.
Today, Claudine and her colleagues
are receiving some tips on royal etiquette.
What do you do if you're a girl, woman?
You'd curtsey, which is just like... that.
Bob... No, no... Yes, yes!
I thought for a minute Jared had...
Cos I tend to start doing this, you know, if I'm not careful!
That's quite right. And if you're a chap,
just chin on chest... Like that.
Chin on chest.
No, no, no! No!
Jared! No!
No bowing! None of this...
LAUGHTER
None of that!
So are you happy?
The trainees are now ready for their first royal encounter.
Hello, Sir. Thank you.
Your Royal Highness. First, I'd like to present Claudine Jeffery
from Antigua and Barbuda. Very nice to meet you.
How long have you been here now?
Two weeks, going on three weeks.
And you're all of you here all the way through till...
Ascot, is that right? Yes.
Are you all staying here, as well? Yes. Have you got nice rooms?
Yes, very comfortable. You're not all bunged in one room together?
No, we're not! You're not! No!
Parties every night. Parties every night?
Oh, dear!
LAUGHTER
Well, you guys are spending way more time in Buckingham Palace
than I ever have.
LAUGHTER
And you've only been here for two weeks! I can assure you.
Have you bumped into the Queen yet?
No. Not yet? Not as yet.
If you suddenly bump into her in the corridor, don't panic.
I know you will! We all do!
I'm going to cherish today for ever!
The Queen has appointed Prince Harry
as her Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.
CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK
With his new wife the Duchess of Sussex,
he's come to Commonwealth HQ in London.
I just got here, so we'll have the same questions.
They're here to meet young people from around the Commonwealth.
And have you all just connected for the first time this past...?
Yes. Yes?
60% of the Commonwealth's 2.4 billion citizens are under 30.
INAUDIBLE
There's a lot of pressure on him
in his role, being the youngest child
which I actually am, as well.
I understand it's always kind of that pressure that comes
from being the youngest child - people still look at you
and you have to do something, and I think it's amazing
how he's taken on that responsibility.
Meghan Markle...
is the daughter of a black man.
And she's entered the royal family.
That gives me pride.
She is going to become a symbol of hope and encouragement
to many young women across the Commonwealth.
And I'm inspired.
I mean,
there's some serious movement that's taking place in this country,
and she's a big part of it, I believe.
The Duchess of Sussex has already made a powerfully symbolic gesture.
On the day of her wedding, and to the surprise of her husband-to-be,
she had Commonwealth flowers woven into the fabric of her veil.
Today, Buckingham Palace has just received a special delivery.
Here in the South Drawing Room,
the most famous dress in the world is being unwrapped
and arranged for display
by conservators from the Royal Collection.
It's a very privileged position, to be able to handle
and look after these objects with my team.
It's fairly unique as well, I would say.
Conservation is one of those jobs in which
you're suddenly called upon to do
extraordinary things and it's always an adventure,
especially when it's a dress as beautiful as this.
Never before has it been seen in such intimate detail.
The dress and veil will be the star attractions
in a new royal exhibition.
Hopefully, it'll bring back some wonderful memories.
But before all this goes on public display,
a special reunion is about to take place.
Hello!
How are you? Very well, thank you. Fantastic.
Is it as beautiful as you remember?
My goodness! It's amazing, isn't it?
In Buckingham Palace,
conservators for the Royal Collection
are preparing the world's most famous wedding dress
for a very special reunion.
How are you?
Very well, thank you.
Fantastic.
Is it as beautiful as you remember? My goodness!
It's amazing, isn't it?
This is the first time the Duchess of Sussex
has seen her dress since the wedding day.
Wow.
Beautiful. Somewhere in here, there's a piece of...
Did you see it?
The piece of blue fabric that's stitched inside. No!
It's my something blue, fabric from my...
I hope it's still in there! We'll have to look at that.
It's fabric from the dress that I wore on our first date.
Oh, that's about the most romantic thing I've heard.
Absolutely astonishing, all the embroidery all the way around
and the way it compares to your simple design on the dress as well.
Thank you. Has it been fun working on this?
So much fun. It's just been a dream, actually. Oh, great!
So much fun. It's just been a dream, Quite exciting!
I think probably every girl's dream, but... It's nice to see it again,
it's beautiful.
The silk veil is 16 feet long
and the elaborate floral decoration
took 500 hours to embroider.
Each flower represents one of the 53 nations of the Commonwealth.
I'm sure they told you the thinking behind, for me, including some sort
of representation of all 53 of the Commonwealth countries,
which was key, and I'd originally
said to Clare Waight Keller, the designer,
"How can we incorporate that? Would it be the State flower,
"country flower of each place?"
It was her idea to do wild flowers,
which I think ended up being a really beautiful way to embody
the feeling of it. Yeah, I love it, particularly
the way they worked up in three dimensions
and you've got these beautiful embroidered threads... Australian.
Wattle. Yes, the wattle.
And no specific flower repeats itself,
I know that was part of how they put everything together.
But I hope when people come, they can find their flower.
Spend hours looking at it!
Actually, it's true, because Australia, India... I mean,
there are so many different, beautiful features there,
but I think also, with Harry's role
as Youth Ambassador for the Commonwealth,
as Youth Ambassador it was so important for us to have
the spirit of inclusivity in our wedding.
It's a very touching gesture, to have them with you.
It was an important day for all those countries.
I stuck in a couple of flowers
that were important to me, as well, personally,
but there is a California poppy in there, which has nothing to do
with the Commonwealth... Something to do with you, though!
Yes! So it is... It's ours. Very much so.
And the composition feels very natural,
which I think is important. Oh, thank you. Yes, well,
that was all their craftsmanship. They did a beautiful job.
And you see how some of it's raised, as well?
Yes. The applique that she put on there so it had some dimension
was really special, because when it caught the light,
you could see it was such fine detail.
But because of how much texture was in it, it really...
How long did you spend organising this composition with Clare?
Was it very much kind of...? Do you know,
we had two or three meetings, talking about sketches
and different ideas of how this could really come to life.
We knew we wanted it to be really delicate, but then at that point,
I just said, "I trust her implicitly with what she did"
and I didn't see it really, until...
the morning of! So...
Wow! This is my first time seeing the veil like this.
And what did it feel like, putting it on and wearing it...?
It was a pretty magical day.
I bet it was. Very special. Really special.
MUSIC: 'Eternal Song Of Light Divine' by Elin Manahan Thomas
It is Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy...
An exquisitely cut, minimal and traditional dress
with a splendid veil...
APPLAUSE
WILD CHEERING
It was important for me, especially now, being a part
of the royal family,
to have all 53 of the Commonwealth countries incorporated,
and I knew that it would be a fun surprise as well,
for my now husband, who didn't know, um...
And he was really over the moon to find out
that I would make this choice for our day together
and I think the other members of the family had a similar reaction,
and just appreciation for the fact that we understand how important
this is for us and the role that we play.
And the work that we're going to continue to do
within the Commonwealth countries, so...
Yeah, it was good news all around, I think.
So I hope people liked it as much as I liked helping to create it.
Few will have been more touched to see it than the Queen herself,
for this was a poignant echo of the gown she wore on her Coronation Day.
MUSIC: 'Zadok The Priest' by Handel
This film, from the royal family's private archive,
captures the excitement on a day
that was more than a year in the planning.
The Coronation Gown was the work of the Queen's favourite designer,
Norman Hartnell.
His first sketches featured floral patterns of the home nations,
but the Queen had another idea.
She wanted the flowers of the Commonwealth -
then just eight nations -
woven into the fabric.
Symbols are a powerful part of monarchy.
This was the Queen's way of putting the Commonwealth
at the heart of her coronation.
When you think how young the Queen was
when suddenly my grandfather died,
to be required to take on such an enormous task...
TRUMPETS PLAY
..to have met that challenge the way she did was truly remarkable.
It appeared effortless, but it...
It jolly well isn't.
APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
The Queen's commitment to the Commonwealth
was a legacy left to her by her father, King George VI,
who had created a free association of equal nations
out of the old British Empire.
At the age of just 21,
the young princess had made a promise.
If we all go forward together,
with an unwavering faith,
a high courage and a quiet heart,
we shall be able to make of this ancient Commonwealth,
which we all love so dearly,
an even grander thing.
Just months after her coronation,
the Queen left her young family behind
to set out on an epic Commonwealth tour.
Her Majesty came to land in Jamaica.
From the winter of far-away England,
she flew in over the blue Caribbean.
With Prince Philip at her side,
the Queen travelled 40,000 miles in six months.
Circling the globe, this extraordinary trip is still
the single longest journey ever undertaken by a reigning monarch.
Now she was the Queen of all Australia, magnificent her poise
Now she was the Queen of all and dignity and splendour.
This was indeed a moment in the history of the British Commonwealth.
The history of the Commonwealth
and the connections, you find it everywhere.
It is a most extraordinary group of countries.
And the Queen's first real overseas trip
was of course designed to introduce herself and my father
to the Commonwealth.
She was a young woman,
leader, at a time in history
when there weren't any young women leading.
Her skill was so profound
that many people forgot
that she was a young woman.
She was just The Queen.
And if you ask anyone in the world who is The Queen,
there is actually only one,
and that's Queen Elizabeth II.
For the past four weeks,
Buckingham Palace has been home to a group of young professionals
from the Caribbean. Can lift it with one hand!
They've been selected for an exclusive training scheme
with the royal household.
Today, a group of them are cooking in the royal kitchens.
We need to cut the smoked salmon out, to go on the lemon blini,
we need to make the watercress panna cotta.
Jared is a chef from the Bahamas.
He's preparing his favourite Caribbean dish
as a treat for the household staff.
I don't think my Gran, when she taught me how to make this rice,
that she ever thought that I'd be serving it in Buckingham Palace!
So... I'm quite proud of that.
Every day this week, we, the Caribbean scholars,
are going to feature one or two main dishes from the Caribbean
to give them a little idea of what we eat at home
and give them that little experience as well.
Delicious!
It's a change from, I guess what they're used to!
From fish and chips!
It's been terrific to have the scholars here.
A number of the Caribbean dishes
were particularly well received.
The Callaloo soup was
an absolute sensation
and I had email after email telling me that
it must now feature more regularly!
With their time in the royal household coming to a close,
they are finally getting to meet the boss.
I'm feeling good, I'm feeling quite fine, actually.
They say dreams do come true, so here we are!
I'm living and I'm going to meet the Queen in a few minutes, so...
I'm living and I'm going to meet THEY SPEAK OVER EACH OTHER
So this is my lucky charm.
It's red. I got it for my birthday because red is my favourite colour.
My co-workers surprised me with this red charm,
so I wear it wherever I go, because...
I feel like it brings me great blessings upon my way.
Oh, she's here.
And our first Commonwealth scholar
is Claudine Jeffery from Antigua. Good afternoon.
Antigua? Yes, Ma'am. From Antigua and Barbuda.
Mm-hm. Oh, right.
So, what are you doing at home? Are you...? I'm in housekeeping.
I work at Jumby Bay Resort. Oh, do you?
I am their housekeeping residential supervisor.
'It was really amazing, I was not nervous
and it was really a proud moment
'that I was able to talk about my country
'that I was able to talk about 'and my resort
'as well as to incorporate what I've been doing here,
'so it's a humble experience, like I said.'
And it's truly an honour
to finally meet Her Majesty the Queen of England.
It's a dream come true.
Part time at Sandy Bay Resort. Do you?
In the eyes of the world,
there's no-one quite like The Queen.
She's the first sovereign to circumnavigate the world.
It's an achievement that owes much to one of the most famous ships
in maritime history -
the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Zanzibar, the royal yacht has arrived.
This is Antarctica,
the cold underside of the world.
During her service, Britannia would sail more than a million miles
on royal duty.
Like the Commonwealth itself,
Britannia began with the Queen's father.
Over the mother of parliaments, high over Big Ben,
the flag is low as the news spreads.
The royal yacht was commissioned for King George VI
in 1952...
but he never lived to see it.
One of the young queen's first duties was to launch the new ship.
This colour film has never been seen before. It was discovered
by Robin, Countess of Onslow, who had a special role that day.
Everyone was so excited... Oops, there I come.
All I was required to do was to walk up and curtsey
and present her with the flowers.
But she definitely had an aura of sadness and it was picked up
in the press, I think, that she looked...
slightly forlorn
and a slight figure, yet she was young, she was what, 26?
She'd just lost her father and had a tremendous...
burden upon her as a result.
I name this ship Britannia.
CROWD CHEERS
I wish success to her
and to all who sail in her.
When the Queen said, "I name this ship",
none of us knew what the name was going to be in the crowd
and the cheer was such that we didn't hear "Britannia".
Some had thought it was going to be called Princess Anne,
some that it was going to be called The Royal Prince.
But Britannia was a very popular name
and the word very quickly spread around.
And the excitement in the crowd was enormous, the noise
when she got in the water.
All the ships in the Clyde were tooting their horns
and the cheering went on for a very long time indeed.
The noise was indescribable to me as a 15-year-old.
CHEERING AND TOOTING
A floating palace, a travelling embassy.
For the royal family,
Britannia would become a home away from home.
Bu the Queen was not the first of her family to sail in Britannia.
An exciting adventure begins for Britain's
Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
SHE CHUCKLES
Very good memories,
that trip.
The royal children had been apart from their parents
for six months while the Queen and Prince Philip
had been on their Commonwealth Tour.
It's the first time the young prince and princess
It's the first time the young prince have embarked on a real ship.
They were soon to be reunited for the final leg of the journey.
The journey out and the sea nannies that we had
to stop us from launching ourselves over the side
were very good memories.
Royal yachtsman Ellis Norrell
was there on the children's maiden voyage.
The children, they loved it.
They came down to our mess deck for tea,
they wanted to know how lads got into their hammocks.
Charles shook this lad who'd been asleep
and he picked him up, "Don't you ever do that again".
He picked him up by the scruff of the neck! He said,
"Don't you do that again or you'll never live to be king!"
And put him down!
The Queen was an early home movie enthusiast.
This cine film is from the royal family's private archives.
We were kept very busy. There were lots of things to do.
All sorts of places to go and things,
lots of scrubbing and polishing!
That was always part of our role.
And I think Britannia by then had seemed like home, so we were fine,
cos we knew where we were.
Um, it was the Queen and the Duke
who took a little while to settle in.
On board Britannia, the Queen could host world leaders and dignitaries
wherever she went.
Then I flew home by Concorde, which was the only way I could get home
in time to open Parliament in London.
How very nice to see you.
And the royal yachtsmen made sure things ran smoothly.
Sometimes, if they were rushing - either they had to go ashore
or there was the next engagement- if the Queen had finished,
you had to clear the plates away,
regardless of whether they'd finished or not.
Sorry! It's got to go.
Day to day, obviously a menu would be issued to the Queen,
she would get it normally with her breakfast
and then she'd cross out if she didn't want something
then write in herself what she wanted.
We used to normally get it back about half past nine
then there'd be a frantic running round, "She's changed the menu!"
Trying to find the food! Trying to find all the food downstairs!
Behind those two doors were the screens of a cinema
and the screen would come down here.
She didn't like cowboy films, so...
I mean, quite modern movies at the time.
I remember being responsible for bringing Dr No on board, which
I think was one of the great Sean Connery and Ursula Andress films.
Behind the glass door there, the Rolls-Royce.
In the very early days,
it was a huge problem getting it out of here, as you can see.
But one of Britannia's great strengths was her draught -
her depth below the waterline.
Her designers had reduced it so she could enter shallow ports.
Now, the Queen could reach the remotest parts of the Commonwealth
that had never enjoyed a royal visit before.
The royal yacht went to some really lovely places.
Galapagos, Pitcairn, Easter Island.
Places that are... off the tourist track.
Then we were in the Pacific Islands. Tahiti and...
I don't know if you've heard of a place called Palmerston Island.
Tonga, Ellis Island, Easter Island.
The Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea.
And they're all fantastic places.
Places, when I joined the Navy, I never thought I'd ever get to.
Wherever Britannia went, she made a big impression.
Sierra Leone stands expectant
sails up the estuary
as the Royal Yacht Britannia sails up the estuary
to Freetown.
She didn't come by plane, did she, obviously, she came on a ship.
Fashion designer Euphemia Sydney-Davies
is originally from Sierra Leone.
Tonight, she's been invited to Buckingham Palace,
but first, her mother Irene
is sharing her memories
of the Queen's visit.
Oh, there she is!
Her royal progress enthusiastically cheered all along the route.
We were in that crowd.
We were given flags
and we were told to line the streets.
It was like she was coming from far away, because we were in Freetown,
never travelled before,
and someone was coming all the way from England.
So I remember, we had to learn some songs for the Queen's visit.
I don't know if you want me to sing them! Yes!
# Welcome to our glorious queen
# Welcome to Queen Elizabeth
# Queen fine, beauty shine
♪ Look way Prince Philip correct. ♪
In other words, it was saying the Queen welcome,
the Queen is so beautiful,
and as for Prince Philip,
he is spotless, physically spotless.
That was the song! And some of us, we are hoping when we got older,
we'll have somebody as good looking as Prince Philip!
EUPHEMIA LAUGHS
Yeah, yes!
The war started and I saw no future for her
and so I decided I must get out of here,
I didn't see any future, so we left.
Together, they travelled through three Commonwealth countries
before seeking refuge in Britain.
Back home, we have the saying,
we want our children to go higher than us.
So for me, she's gone higher.
Tonight, the Queen has opened up Buckingham Palace
for a Commonwealth fashion show.
Well, it was lovely to see the palace looking slightly different,
because we had these fantastic mannequins
dressed in these extraordinary, different styles.
Euphemia has been selected to take part.
For the first time, she'll showcase her work
alongside some of the biggest names in fashion.
I can't believe...!
There's our piece.
I'm representing Sierra Leone,
and I wanted to be authentic to Sierra Leone
and put something out there that is made in Sierra Leone.
I'm thrilled. And it's here in Buckingham Palace!
The Queen has asked the younger generation
to welcome the fashion world to the palace.
I hope they like what we've done.
With so many fabulous creations on display,
Euphemia hopes her work will catch the royal eye
and the attention of the fashion world, too.
It's so fine. It is gorgeous. Beautiful colours.
Oh, fantastic. Where are you from? I'm from Sierra Leone.
Vogue's Anna Wintour looks impressed.
I am honoured to meet you! I'm honoured to meet you as well,
by the way. I follow you on Instagram. You do? Oh, right!
And so does Savile Row designer
Ozwald Boateng.
I am incredibly proud to represent Sierra Leone.
Leaving as a young refugee, I always knew that I wanted to
do something for my nation.
And it doesn't get bigger than this.
It really doesn't.
Very nice to meet you. So which one's your design?
This is... Wow.
Congratulations. Thank you so much!
You look fabulous! So do you. I made it.
I was hemming it an hour before we got the taxi!
BACKGROUND CHATTER DROWNS DIALOGUE
I think she liked it. I think she did.
Because she took her time
and she wanted to know how the process was done
and she wanted to know how long it takes to weave and...
and she wanted to know how long Amazing. What an honour.
Thank you. Well done!
Whoo!
The Commonwealth includes nations great and small,
rich and poor,
with one symbolic head holding it together.
It's a family of nations
with a family at its heart.
Australia, India - I mean, there are so many different,
beautiful features there.
And no specific flower repeats itself.
The Australian wattle...
The Papua New Guinea orchid.
There were just eight members when the Queen came to the throne,
including the largest of them all.
So there's Canada. Yes.
The bunchberry is from Canada.
Nowhere outside Britain has enjoyed as many royal visits as Canada.
The Queen has toured Canada 25 times.
She's visited every province and every territory.
And in 1970, it was here that she introduced her children
to the ways of a royal tour.
For one stage of the journey across the frozen Arctic,
Prince Charles took the controls.
Prince Charles was 21 when he and Princess Anne
accompanied the Queen and Prince Philip to Canada.
We always assumed that they were cheering us!
Number one! And you were not expected to be in the front line
in that sense, this was in theory, back up and help spread the load.
Take up some of the slack and...
because of those very issues,
that there were so many people to try and meet...
For us, it was learning how to do that
and you have to learn quite quickly.
You know, what do you say when you walk up to a complete stranger?
I think you learn by experience, but...!
Well, it was hard work.
Er, much harder than you think.
I suppose Canada was a lot of travelling, too.
It's the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation.
On behalf of the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall
have come to Ottawa for the celebrations.
GUARD CALLS OUT ORDER
Rideau Hall is the royal family's official residence in Canada.
After a long day of travelling,
there's nothing better than going into a bed
that doesn't feel like a hotel bed.
That's what you're trying to do -
make it feel like they're in their own bedroom.
And they are!
Master of the household Christine
is responsible for overseeing every aspect of the visit.
There are special sheets that are used for members of the royal family
and they're kept aside and brought out on only those special occasions
when they're here.
It takes over an hour to iron one sheet, correct? Yeah.
The official welcome needs rehearsing
and Christine makes sure she has a contingency plan.
Or three.
Perhaps what we could do to be really nice,
because it's Canada Day, have His Excellency here,
His Royal Highness, Her Royal Highness,
and her Excellency. So we show this welcoming element.
Or...
Let's just think this through together.
INAUDIBLE Yes.
Because they need to be on the right side through the doors.
So that's Plan A.
But what if it's raining?
So Plan B basically is...
People are all inside,
we bring them out at the last moment,
we do all of this part,
then we invite the GD to speak,
after the speech, they open the doors, the band is inside
the doors, open, musical fanfare, fantastic.
And if the rain is torrential...
If it's Plan C, it'll be completely in the ball room -
perhaps we should go see that together.
If it's pouring... If it's like this morning, we'd do the reverse.
Um... Any questions?
The ceremonial guard receives the word.
The prince and the duchess have arrived.
The weather holds and Christine's Plan A
rolls smoothly into action.
BAND PLAYS
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hosting the festivities.
I was lucky to have grown up while my father was Prime Minister
and therefore had a few occasions
to meet the Queen and members
of the royal family while I was just a kid.
There was hundreds of thousands of people already there
and I think having the Royals
as part of Canada 150 is a recognition
of the past. There is a need for continuity and service
and that's sort of something that for me, the royal family embodies.
Back up, please. Back up.
The walkabout has become an essential part of a royal tour -
a chance to meet the Canadian people.
Back up. Back up.
On earlier tours, the public were lucky
to get a fleeting glimpse of the royal family
as they drove by.
Then, in the 1970s, the Queen decided to shake things up.
She wanted to say hello to the crowds,
and the walkabout was born.
We never shook hands,
but the theory was that you couldn't shake hands with everybody,
so don't start. So I kind of stick with that,
so don't start. So I kind of um, but I notice others don't!
It's not for me to say that it's wrong,
but I think the initial concept was that
it was patently absurd to start shaking hands.
And it seems to me that it's become a shaking hands exercise
rather than a walkabout, if you see what I mean.
So it has changed.
I'm glad I'm not starting now,
cos at least you had people to talk to!
Now you don't, really.
Phones are bad enough, but the iPads,
you can't even see their heads!
Now you're not talking to them.
And I do get slightly... I either don't bother or just say,
"Look, if you want to ask me something, I suggest
"you put that down!"
It is weird,
that people don't believe that they've experienced the event
unless they've taken a photograph.
And usually when you're standing immediately in front of them.
CROWD CHEERS
Bonne fete, Canada.
Happy birthday, Canada!
The prince's tour is coming to a close.
On board their Canadian Air Force jet,
the pilots prepare to take the royal couple back to London.
So this flag, it's the prince's Royal Standard,
and what we do is, right before the prince arrives,
uh, Perry here will crack his window...
I'm just going to crack it like that.
It's going to come back a little bit.
I have a little cup holder down there that I stick that into.
Then I basically hold it out the window.
So it's kind of a little special part of the trip.
As one royal tour ends, another is never far away.
At Buckingham Palace, the newest member of the royal family
is looking ahead to her very first Commonwealth tour.
As her dress and veil go on public display,
the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
will head out on tour to Australia,
New Zealand and the Pacific.
We're going to Australia so soon for our tour, so... exciting.
Yes, the Australian wattle. Yes.
When people come, they can find their flower!
Spend hours looking at it!
It's true, because you have Australia, India...
I mean, there's so many different, beautiful features there, but...
You know, it's such an exciting time for us, especially with Harrys' role
as Youth Ambassador for the Commonwealth and the travel
that we intend to do to do work,
specifically in all those different territories,
which is why it was so important to have some sort of...
example of that present with us on the day.
53 countries as well, my goodness. It'll keep us busy!
CHEERING
65 years after embarking on her epic Commonwealth Tour...
..the Queen is passing the baton
to a new generation.