:00:04. > :00:09.This year, the Queen is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee. And millions
:00:09. > :00:17.of us have joined the party. This week she's been in the Midlands.
:00:17. > :00:21.And yet again, the crowds have turned out in force. What is it
:00:21. > :00:25.that inspires such devotion? Why does the Queen holds such a special
:00:25. > :00:29.places so many people's hearts? To find out I'm going to be touring my
:00:29. > :00:36.home turf, the West Midlands, visiting the places she's been. And
:00:36. > :00:42.meeting the people whose lives she's touched. Quite honestly, it
:00:42. > :00:46.was one of the best days of my life. I remember thinking by the time I
:00:46. > :00:50.come back down this road late on, I will have met the Queen. And I'll
:00:50. > :01:00.be having my own brush with royalty. I'll be finding out what this
:01:00. > :01:26.
:01:26. > :01:30.enduring monarch means to you and When it comes to a initial research,
:01:30. > :01:36.this is a pretty good place to start, the archives of the BBC in
:01:36. > :01:42.Birmingham. There are local newsreels here dating back as far
:01:42. > :01:50.as the 1970s. The Queen appears on them time and time again, making
:01:50. > :01:53.dozens of visits to the region. There have been some huge changes
:01:53. > :01:58.in the West Midlands during my lifetime and the Queen has
:01:58. > :02:02.witnessed the Mall. She seems to like to pop in every now and again
:02:02. > :02:06.and see that we are doing all right. She's shared in our Midlands story,
:02:06. > :02:15.the highs, and sometimes, the lows. And it's the people and places from
:02:15. > :02:19.these films, which I'm going to be visiting.
:02:19. > :02:29.Our story begins 60 years ago, so what better way to get around on my
:02:29. > :02:35.
:02:35. > :02:40.If ever a car epitomise the new Elizabethan age, it was a Morris
:02:40. > :02:45.Minor. It referred -- it first rolled off the production lines in
:02:45. > :02:50.the 1940s. By the time of the coronation, it was the car to be
:02:50. > :02:53.seen in. The coronation was a time of celebration. But it might not
:02:53. > :03:01.have felt like there was much else to be cheerful about in '50s
:03:01. > :03:09.Britain. They were lean times. And there was
:03:09. > :03:13.still plenty of work to do to rebuild our bomb-scarred cities.
:03:13. > :03:17.The Midlands suffered particularly badly at the hands of the Germans.
:03:17. > :03:27.It was the gradual rebuilding that brought the Queen Stuart to
:03:27. > :03:29.
:03:29. > :03:33.Coventry. -- here to Coventry. An infamous German bombing raid in
:03:33. > :03:43.1940 had devastated Coventry. Large parts of the city had been reduced
:03:43. > :03:43.
:03:43. > :03:46.to rubble, including its gothic cathedral. The ruins of the
:03:46. > :03:49.cathedral have been left standing as a permanent and painful reminder
:03:49. > :03:59.of the suffering that Coventry endured. They say so much about the
:03:59. > :04:03.city itself. When the Queen came here in 1956, it was to mark the
:04:03. > :04:11.start of a fresh chapter, as work began on a new cathedral right next
:04:11. > :04:19.door to the old. Six years later she was back for
:04:19. > :04:26.its consecration, and local amateur filmmaker David Arnold was there.
:04:26. > :04:31.It was a very big occasion, very big occasion. A new cathedral. And
:04:31. > :04:34.I just wanted to come and take the record of it. We have the record.
:04:34. > :04:42.It has been transposed onto one of these modern things. We have all
:04:42. > :04:50.these wonderful people. This goes on for ages. So many people. And
:04:50. > :04:54.then all of a sudden, she just pops up like that! It was really quite
:04:54. > :05:00.difficult. Bear in mind this camera is a wind-up camera. It has no
:05:00. > :05:03.batteries. The film's only lasted four minutes. I cannot remember
:05:03. > :05:08.specifically what happened there but I was probably having to wind
:05:08. > :05:12.it up. I bet you were sweating a little bit! It always seems to
:05:12. > :05:22.happen at the most crucial points. By very glad I got her at all. She
:05:22. > :05:22.
:05:22. > :05:27.was young, very attractive, bright yellow! She always stands out.
:05:27. > :05:33.important you think it was that the Queen came to this event? Apart
:05:33. > :05:39.from London, I think Coventry had the worst time during the war. And
:05:39. > :05:43.I think the Queen was here to represent the country and this was
:05:43. > :05:48.an opportunity to say, we are up and we are going, we are in
:05:48. > :05:57.business. I think it was very important. The modern new cathedral
:05:57. > :06:01.was Coventry looking to the future. And in this, the city wasn't alone.
:06:01. > :06:06.Across the Midlands the gloom of the '50s was lifting, giving way to
:06:06. > :06:16.a new optimism.. In Birmingham reconstruction was advancing at an
:06:16. > :06:17.
:06:17. > :06:21.furious pace, as the city launched itself into a new era.
:06:21. > :06:27.There were grand infrastructure projects. And buildings like the
:06:27. > :06:31.rotunda change in the Birmingham skyline. -- changing. As for the
:06:31. > :06:34.Queen, she shared in the adventure. She was here to open the Bullring,
:06:34. > :06:41.Europe's largest shopping centre. So too the new inner ring road,
:06:41. > :06:44.named the Queensway after her. And then the NEC. The opening of this
:06:44. > :06:51.centre is the beginning of a new enterprise for the future
:06:51. > :06:54.prosperity of our country. But what did she really make of Brum? As a
:06:54. > :07:00.prominent city councillor, Freda Cocks met her many times, including
:07:00. > :07:04.as Lord Mayor. She always enjoyed coming to Birmingham. The only
:07:05. > :07:10.thing she did not like with the tall blocks of flats. She said,
:07:11. > :07:19.don't forget, you're not only building buildings for the city,
:07:19. > :07:21.you're building them for people. And that is what is so important.
:07:21. > :07:25.Tower blocks aside, the Queen was impressed by the city's
:07:25. > :07:30.transformation. But she was no stranger to change herself. For
:07:30. > :07:35.centuries, a royal visit meant the monarch cocooned inside a coach or
:07:35. > :07:39.car. But this Queen had other ideas. The walkabout, often unplanned and
:07:39. > :07:47.unscripted, but always to the delight of the crowds. And to her
:07:47. > :07:52.ardent fans like Henley James. you within reach and you could
:07:53. > :07:56.stretch your arm to her, she would shake at hand. Unfortunately, I was
:07:56. > :08:00.too far back. I did not get to shake her hand. I do not think I
:08:00. > :08:05.would have washed my hand for the rest of my life! This was the
:08:05. > :08:15.reason why everybody talks about her. She is always in touch with
:08:15. > :08:24.
:08:24. > :08:30.people. But along with the good times, there's also been the bad.
:08:30. > :08:36.was on patrol with another officer and we got the call to search the
:08:36. > :08:40.rotunda for a bomb. We went in with other officers, just about to get
:08:40. > :08:43.in the lift added went off underneath us. In November 1974,
:08:43. > :08:47.the IRA bombed two pubs in Birmingham, killing 21 people and
:08:47. > :08:52.injuring many more. The emergency services faced horrendous scenes
:08:52. > :09:01.and we're uniting some of those involved for the first time. Among
:09:01. > :09:07.them, policewoman Margaret Adams and fireman Dave Pithie.
:09:07. > :09:11.Those images must bring back an awful lot of memories. What is your
:09:11. > :09:16.abiding memory of that night? basically. The thing that struck be
:09:16. > :09:24.more than anything, and I made the point at the time, was the number
:09:24. > :09:34.of young men who had been in the tavern, not rushing out, but
:09:34. > :09:35.
:09:35. > :09:38.helping everybody else to come out. It was community spirit. Terry
:09:38. > :09:45.Curley was in charge of a taxi firm which helped to ferry the wounded
:09:45. > :09:51.to the hospital. It was a shocking night. It was a credit to all
:09:51. > :09:54.concerned, how well it was dealt with. And recognition for their
:09:54. > :10:03.actions went far beyond the city. When the Queen made an official
:10:03. > :10:13.visit a few months later, meeting them was her top priority. There is
:10:13. > :10:13.
:10:14. > :10:19.me! She seemed quite, almost, shiny when she talked. It certainly made
:10:19. > :10:23.everyone feel proud. The whole taxi trade. It is not often they get
:10:23. > :10:29.good publicity. Did you feel that helped to lift the mood of the
:10:29. > :10:34.city? It did because it was an awful time afterwards, really,
:10:34. > :10:41.particularly for Irish people living in Birmingham. It was a
:10:41. > :10:50.wonderful time when she came. Everybody was excited about it.
:10:50. > :11:00.did lift everybody's spirits. And quite honestly, it was one of the
:11:00. > :11:00.
:11:00. > :11:03.best days of your life, in actual The 1970s was a turbulent decade in
:11:03. > :11:13.other ways too, blighted by rising unemployment and growing political
:11:13. > :11:14.
:11:14. > :11:17.and social tensions. Punk arrived. And by the time of the Silver
:11:17. > :11:26.Jubilee in 1977, the Sex Pistols' anti-monarchy single God Save The
:11:26. > :11:32.Queen was striking a chord with plenty of discontented youths. I
:11:32. > :11:39.would like to see my -- say my memories are of street parties and
:11:39. > :11:46.commemorative mugs, but the truth is I was a 15-year-old boy. My
:11:47. > :11:50.memories were of music, football and a girl called Juliet. But it
:11:50. > :11:52.turned out I was in the minority. Hard times didn't seem to have
:11:52. > :11:57.dented the public's patriotic spirit, and the jubilee was
:11:57. > :12:02.celebrated with gusto. We were in a celebratory mood. This was
:12:02. > :12:07.something that you anticipated but never knew you would have seen in
:12:07. > :12:09.your lifetime. And when it happened, it was marvellous. When the Queen
:12:09. > :12:12.made a whirlwind tour of the midlands, thousands lined the
:12:12. > :12:22.streets. And for one Rolls Royce mechanic in Wolverhampton, the day
:12:22. > :12:44.
:12:44. > :12:52.But it was no joke. And was down to Fred to get the royal Rolls back on
:12:52. > :12:56.the road. At the back of your mind, you were thinking, if you could not
:12:56. > :13:01.do anything about it, you would look a right plant! When we
:13:01. > :13:06.determine the problem and got the car to run, because the fuse had
:13:06. > :13:10.blown on the few stumps, it started up and there was a raw and Hu Andy
:13:10. > :13:14.Clapp and I thought great. And then it stopped again. It wasn't long
:13:14. > :13:22.though before Fred had it fixed. And he was soon rewarded with a
:13:22. > :13:29.letter from the palace. Your assistance meant the tour went
:13:29. > :13:33.ahead. We are grateful. I shall treasure it. It will always be with
:13:33. > :13:36.me. It is one of those never to be repeated opportunities. And it
:13:36. > :13:42.could have been any one in the garage that when that day but I was
:13:42. > :13:45.the only one that did not get a lunch! I was good to go. She'd
:13:45. > :13:49.always vowed to be a servant of the people and the Silver Jubilee
:13:49. > :13:52.celebrations suggested the Queen's common touch was working. And as
:13:52. > :13:57.head of the Anglican Church too, she was finding ways to get closer
:13:57. > :14:01.to her subjects. Every Easter she honours people who have served
:14:01. > :14:11.their communities at the royal Maundy service. It used to always
:14:11. > :14:12.
:14:12. > :14:15.to be held in London, but not any more. The Queen decided it would
:14:15. > :14:20.make more sense for the service to visit different cathedrals in the
:14:20. > :14:24.country, one rather than always taking place in London. This would
:14:24. > :14:28.mean two things. The recipients would be able to be chosen from a
:14:28. > :14:33.different part of the country, other people would come to benefit
:14:33. > :14:37.from this honour. And secondly, more people from other parts of the
:14:37. > :14:42.country would then be able to see the service and command see it as
:14:42. > :14:45.members of the Kent -- congregation. The Royal Maundy service was first
:14:45. > :14:50.held in the West Midlands in Tewkesbury in 1971, before Hereford
:14:50. > :14:53.five years later. And in the '80s Worcester, Lichfield and Birmingham
:14:53. > :14:58.all had the honour. But for Paul Leddington-Wright, one year in
:14:58. > :15:01.particular stands out. It's his job to organise the event - a post
:15:01. > :15:10.previously held by his father Peter. And in the '90s, the service came
:15:10. > :15:14.to home soil. It in 1995, I was the organist and Director of Music at
:15:14. > :15:20.Coventry Cathedral. That you happen to be my father's last year a
:15:20. > :15:27.secretary. The Queen always decides whether the service goes. She is
:15:27. > :15:31.trying to visit all the cathedrals in the country. But in 1995,
:15:31. > :15:34.because it was my father's last year and also I was the organist at
:15:34. > :15:44.the cathedral, the Queen did agree that it -- she would visit Coventry
:15:44. > :15:45.
:15:45. > :15:50.in that year. It was a rather nice touch. By then much had changed in
:15:50. > :15:53.the Midlands since the Queens early visits. Some of the dreams of the
:15:53. > :15:57.post war years had turned sour, like at Birmingham's castle vale
:15:57. > :16:00.estate. When she visited in 1998 it was to back a new regeneration
:16:00. > :16:10.scheme. At this community radio station they're still talking about
:16:10. > :16:12.
:16:12. > :16:16.It was a fantastic occasion, it was one that lifted local spirits,
:16:16. > :16:22.because Castle Vale had come through a very difficult period.
:16:22. > :16:26.They were spending a lot of money on regeneration of the area.
:16:26. > :16:33.you manage to get her to come to the studio or do anything for you?
:16:33. > :16:37.She could not come to the studio, but the Prince's Trust at God
:16:37. > :16:43.Buckingham Palace to get the Queen to record a message that we would
:16:43. > :16:48.have exclusive rights to broadcast, which is unprecedented even today.
:16:48. > :16:53.I need to hear the message now. This is what she said. Today, I
:16:54. > :16:56.have been able to see how in Castle Vale, the Prince's Trust has helped
:16:56. > :17:01.encourage the talents and achievements of young people
:17:01. > :17:05.through community and business projects, including this local
:17:05. > :17:13.radio station. I wish all those involved in the work of the
:17:13. > :17:22.Prince's Trust and pass or fail continuing success. Get you very
:17:22. > :17:28.much. That's a take. Was that an little laugh? The Arroyo giggle. I
:17:28. > :17:34.rather cheekily said, that is a take, to the Queen and she laughed.
:17:35. > :17:44.That is wonderful. She was the most glamourous person we ever had to do
:17:45. > :17:50.
:17:50. > :17:52.that. But then things got even more surreal ,thanks to one of the
:17:52. > :18:02.stations' young staff members Andrew Hendricks. Also known as DJ
:18:02. > :18:04.
:18:04. > :18:14.Sweetvibes. He had hands the letters are sculpted onto the back
:18:14. > :18:18.of his head. When she saw it, at the press may have done. For a
:18:18. > :18:28.radio station like us that was just trying to find its way, it was
:18:28. > :18:29.
:18:29. > :18:32.fantastic. The radio station wasn't her only appointment that day.
:18:32. > :18:35.There was also the opening of Birmingham's brand new children's
:18:35. > :18:38.hospital - named after Princess Diana, who'd been killed in a car
:18:38. > :18:41.crash the year before. Nick Plotnek remembers the occasion well. My son
:18:41. > :18:45.Robert was quite ill at the time and he had had a problem with one
:18:45. > :18:51.of his heart bales. The Queen came to open a hospital and everybody
:18:51. > :18:57.was looking forward to it. After a long wait, there she was. She
:18:57. > :19:03.appeared with Prince Philip in intensive care. My first impression
:19:03. > :19:07.was how friendly she was. She is not very tall, but a great presence
:19:07. > :19:10.and a great personality. Sadly Robert didn't survive his illness.
:19:10. > :19:18.But a photograph of his meeting with the Queen remained at his
:19:18. > :19:25.beside until he died. He had a lot of operations in his life and it
:19:25. > :19:30.was too much for him. They're all here for as long as where air and
:19:30. > :19:33.as one of the highlights in his life was to make the Queen.
:19:33. > :19:36.emotional encounter no doubt. And as I head to Staffordshire, it's to
:19:36. > :19:39.find out about another one. This time linked with the Queen's role
:19:39. > :19:42.as head of the Armed Forces, which have recently become increasingly
:19:42. > :19:52.involved in conflicts around the world. Those who've lost their
:19:52. > :19:56.lives in these wars are honoured here at the Armed Forces memorial.
:19:56. > :20:02.Until 2007, there was no dedicate memorial for those who had given
:20:02. > :20:06.their lives in service of there country since the Second World War.
:20:06. > :20:11.This was very upsetting for their families, so when this memorial was
:20:11. > :20:14.completed, it was quite a milestone. One of those delighted by its
:20:14. > :20:23.creation is Maureen Norton, whose brother Terence Griffin was killed
:20:23. > :20:29.by an IRA bomb. This place is very important to you. Can you tell us
:20:29. > :20:35.what happened to your brother? lost his life on the motorway Black
:20:35. > :20:42.coach bomb on 4th February 1974 after spending his last weekend
:20:42. > :20:52.with us because family. He brought his friend Tom. He caught the coach
:20:52. > :20:52.
:20:52. > :20:58.from Manchester to Catterick and a bomb had been placed on the coach.
:20:58. > :21:04.12 people lost their lives, two of them little boys. They where is he?
:21:04. > :21:12.To Ms's name is the third one down from the top. His name is just
:21:12. > :21:19.below his friend's name. Who would have thought when he stepped on
:21:19. > :21:23.that coach, that we would end up here looking at his name? If they
:21:23. > :21:28.had not been a rail strike that day, he would not have been on that
:21:28. > :21:33.coach. Five years ago the Queen was here to witness the Armed Forces
:21:34. > :21:39.memorial's official dedication. And Maureen got to meet her. It was a
:21:39. > :21:45.really lovely experience and she came over very warmly. I felt as
:21:45. > :21:51.though she had empathy for what me and my family had gone through. It
:21:51. > :21:54.might have been because she had lost Lord Mountbatten. The Queen's
:21:54. > :21:57.cousin had also been killed by the IRA a few years after Maureen's
:21:57. > :22:06.brother. And her presence at the dedication ceremony struck a chord
:22:06. > :22:10.with the public. Her presence make the event nationally credible and
:22:10. > :22:17.important. It cannot be underestimated. Up until then, it
:22:17. > :22:27.had been open on a low-key basis. Instantly, the visitor numbers went
:22:27. > :22:30.up to over 300,000. There are many sides to the Queens's role in
:22:30. > :22:33.public life. From head of the church and the Armed Forces to
:22:33. > :22:37.patron of the arts. And that's what's brought me here to the
:22:37. > :22:47.picturesque Warwickshire town of Stratford-upon-Avon. Otherwise
:22:47. > :22:49.
:22:49. > :22:55.known as the home of Shakespeare. He cannot visit Stratford without
:22:55. > :23:00.coming here, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which has recently had a
:23:00. > :23:04.makeover. The shiny new auditorium has been designed to bring
:23:04. > :23:09.audiences closer than ever to the action. When its royal patron
:23:10. > :23:13.officially opened it last year, it was a big day for all the staff.
:23:13. > :23:17.But behind the scenes there was one guy who I reckon had the toughest
:23:17. > :23:20.job of all. Head chef Nick Furnell is used to cooking for the great
:23:20. > :23:30.and good, but finding out the Queen was coming for lunch was enough to
:23:30. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:35.rattle even him. Utter horror to start with the Camorra then a real
:23:35. > :23:42.sense of pride in privilege. You're doing something important and it
:23:42. > :23:46.has to be right. Food fit for the Queen has got to be pretty special.
:23:46. > :23:48.But the good bit is that Nick's agreed to make it again - for me.
:23:48. > :23:56.Dorset sole with salmon mousse, with spring cabbage and a
:23:56. > :24:04.hollandaise sauce. Once you got over the initial shock, and you had
:24:05. > :24:10.to choose a menu, how do you research something like that?
:24:10. > :24:15.took some trials, which are sent to their palace and you get the back.
:24:15. > :24:22.Did they reject anything? We sent across four dishes and that is a
:24:22. > :24:28.dish they chose in the end. When you did hers, how many did you do
:24:28. > :24:35.to get the best one? We did format. We had the Duke as well, so we had
:24:35. > :24:45.another couple. The Duke must always get the second best one?
:24:45. > :24:47.
:24:47. > :24:57.should imagine so. That looks fantastic. I am looking for a tip.
:24:57. > :24:59.
:24:59. > :25:07.A bit of everything together. is really, really good. Did she
:25:07. > :25:13.finished it? She ate the majority of it. As soon as she stops eating,
:25:13. > :25:20.everyone else stops. I don't think I would do that. I am certainly not
:25:20. > :25:25.stopping now. That really is fantastic. Did she leave a tip?
:25:25. > :25:29.Know. My journey is nearly at an end. But I have one last vital
:25:29. > :25:32.engagement on my royal tour. And it's the most important one of the
:25:32. > :25:35.lot - an appointment with the Queen herself. As part of her Jubilee
:25:35. > :25:44.tour, she's coming to RAF Cosford in Shropshire, where a crowd of
:25:44. > :25:47.around 35,000 people is gathering to greet her. And I'm joining them.
:25:47. > :25:51.Throughout this programme, we had been meeting people who have had
:25:51. > :25:57.brushes with the Queen, unique experiences they will never forget,
:25:57. > :26:01.but for most of the public, this is the closest they will get, standing
:26:01. > :26:10.in a crowd, waving one of these. Ahead of the Queen's arrival,
:26:10. > :26:16.excitement is building. What do you hope to get out of today? I want my
:26:16. > :26:21.boys to see the Queen. I have bought 12 pink roses and hopefully
:26:21. > :26:28.they will be able to give them to her. We have come to see the event,
:26:28. > :26:34.it is a special occasion. You wanted to see the Queen. Would you
:26:34. > :26:40.take a wave or a smile? Anything, just being here. Many of the people
:26:40. > :26:46.we have next have sent that the Queen it seems to have a special
:26:46. > :26:52.connection with people. People are looking for a smile on a wave or or
:26:52. > :26:57.the most special of all, the She's expected to arrive any second. And
:26:57. > :27:02.soon the royal helicopter is spotted on the horizon. The
:27:02. > :27:12.helicopter is finally here. People are very excited by this. Until you
:27:12. > :27:18.
:27:18. > :27:21.see it,, you cannot believe it. But if there were any lingering doubts,
:27:21. > :27:25.the sight of the royal cavalcade swiftly puts them to rest. I've
:27:25. > :27:28.been given a privileged spot with the press so I can get a closer
:27:28. > :27:31.look. Even so, on first pass I barely get a glimpse. But after a
:27:31. > :27:41.quick look around the museum here, the Queen emerges on foot. And I
:27:41. > :27:44.
:27:44. > :27:49.have a real chance to soak up the atmosphere - and it's magical. I
:27:49. > :27:55.did not think I would be at all excited, I was worried it would be
:27:55. > :27:59.a damp squib. But I find myself clapping as she went past. I do not
:27:59. > :28:03.know where that came from. To see someone you have seen so many times,
:28:03. > :28:09.to see them in the flesh, it is really strange. And it's not just
:28:09. > :28:16.me she's made an impression on. is fabulous. She spent a lot of
:28:16. > :28:20.time talking to my daughter. She's radiant. Just an amazing person and
:28:20. > :28:23.we were all thrilled to see her. The royal visit is over. But it's