A Banned Royal Documentary Has Finally Been Leaked To The Public

The 1969 documentary Royal Family gave the public a fascinating and extremely rare look behind the royal curtain. But after an incredible 350 million people tuned in to watch it, the doc changed the public's relationship with the royals forever. That's why, in 1977, Queen Elizabeth II effectively banned Royal Family from ever again being broadcast. Yet people have only grown more obsessed with the monarchy — there was even a new film about Princess Diana called The Princess released in summer 2022 — and with finding out what was in that banned documentary. Well, now Royal Family has finally been leaked — and we can see why the royals didn't want the public to see it.

Royal Family

The idea of a documentary about the British royal family may not seem very provocative in today’s uber-connected world. And certainly not in an era where we have films such as The Princess and TV series such as The Crown. But in the 1960s, the royals weren’t the smiling people we see every day on Instagram. In fact, the royals weren’t seen much at all.

Candid camera

Back then, the British monarchy was seen almost exclusively at official royal engagements and tours. No one really knew what the inside of Buckingham palace looked like, or what the Queen ate for breakfast, or what Prince Charles and his siblings did for fun. There was a strict line between the Queen's public and private lives and no one dared cross it. Until that is, the Queen commissioned this documentary.

A new prince

The inspiration for the film came about because Charles was finally going to get the ceremony that officially acknowledged him as the Prince of Wales. It was seemingly a way to celebrate the occasion... even though the event was broadcast live to the nation in 1969. And while it was in some ways in keeping with royal tradition, the documentary actually marked a significant step for the monarchy.

Behind closed doors

You might know that King George V — who reigned from 1910 to 1936 — also used a form of entertainment to remain in the public consciousness. It's actually believed that his broadcasts over the radio allowed him to remain a popular ruler during and after the First World War. And the royals' only continued to use the media to promote their official duties — but what Elizabeth did was significantly different.