0:00:02 > 0:00:04Tonight we celebrate 60 years of the Queen's reign.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07We're at Westminster Abbey, the church which has seen
0:00:07 > 0:00:09more royal occasions than anywhere else.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Weddings, funerals, coronations, births and deaths,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17this place has seen them all over more than 1,000 years.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Welcome to National Treasures Jubilee Special.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Welcome to Westminster Abbey.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Royal church, World Heritage site
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and one of the most visited historic buildings in the UK.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Over the next hour we'll be visiting some of the abbey's secret spaces,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56talking to the people who keep it looking so beautiful
0:00:56 > 0:01:00and revisiting some extraordinary moments from its long history.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Hello, Michael, lovely to meet you.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Coming up, fashion icon, Twiggy,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10on the dos and don'ts of dressing the queen.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I was wearing skirts probably up to here then.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14EastEnder Larry Lamb
0:01:14 > 0:01:18comes face to face with the current craze for '50s nostalgia.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19The '50s was a time that people
0:01:19 > 0:01:23sort of fantasised as being that perfect time.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25And he also joins us here later.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Lucy Worsley gets a bit regal as she retraces
0:01:29 > 0:01:34Queen Victoria's 1897 Diamond Jubilee procession.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38And Michael Douglas from The One Show joins me
0:01:38 > 0:01:43on a royal road trip in search of the origins of our monarchy.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45You would sit on here and I would go,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48"Oh, by the power of Almighty God, I will be..."
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Pretend to put a crown on me.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54- I give up. - Put a crown on me. Come on.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59I don't know why I bother.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01It's fair to say that this place lends itself to superlatives,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04and that goes for the fabric of the building,
0:02:04 > 0:02:06not just its incredible history.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Most of the abbey dates back to 1245,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13when Henry III rebuilt it in grand Gothic style.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15He was mainly showing off to the French
0:02:15 > 0:02:19so of course he made sure that this was as high as possible.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23In fact, it's still the highest church in England.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25All of which means from up here in the triforium,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28one of the few spaces in the abbey not currently open to the public,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I get a glimpse of what was once called
0:02:31 > 0:02:33the best view in Europe.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37It's not too bad from down here either, Dan.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41This year we're celebrating 60 years of the Queen's reign.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45She became queen in February 1952 when her father died,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49but her coronation didn't take place until almost 18 months later,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52on 2nd June 1953.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56The ceremony was held here, like all royal coronations,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and the abbey was closed from the beginning of that year
0:02:59 > 0:03:01for the elaborate preparations.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Normally, the abbey can seat around 2,000 people,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07but they wanted enough space for 8,000.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Tonnes of steel and wood were brought in
0:03:10 > 0:03:13to build seating galleries.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15They were stacked up on top of one another,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17and it transformed the building.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19By the morning of June 2nd, everything was ready.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Everyone taking part had rehearsed
0:03:22 > 0:03:24so that the event would go flawlessly.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27CHOIR SING NATIONAL ANTHEM
0:03:30 > 0:03:33And for the very first time it was televised live
0:03:33 > 0:03:37to a fascinated nation, bringing the pomp and ceremony
0:03:37 > 0:03:40of the occasion to more than half the population.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Two people who were in the abbey on that very day
0:03:50 > 0:03:52are here to share some of their memories.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55David Bainbridge and David Overton were part of
0:03:55 > 0:03:59the 350-strong choir who sang during the ceremony.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Welcome, gentlemen, thank you for coming back.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04You were young boys when you sang here. How old are you?
0:04:04 > 0:04:07I was just 12.
0:04:07 > 0:04:0812 years old!
0:04:08 > 0:04:10- I was only ten.- Gosh!
0:04:10 > 0:04:13- Happy memories, I imagine.- Amazing.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15How did you first get involved?
0:04:15 > 0:04:19After the late king passed away, the Royal School of Church Music
0:04:19 > 0:04:22ran a series of choir festivals throughout the year,
0:04:22 > 0:04:27attended by something over 4,000 choristers from around the country.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29And the next thing I knew at Christmas time that year,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32was that I was going to be singing here in the Abbey.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And you had a lot of rehearsals away from home, spent a month away from home?
0:04:35 > 0:04:41Yes, we did. We were told that we would spend a month at Addington Palace near Croydon.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44NEWSREEL: They come from all parts of the United Kingdom and tomorrow,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48in the Abbey, they will join nearly 400 other choristers.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53And the BBC filmed it as well. What's it like when you look back at the footage?
0:04:53 > 0:04:59It was amazing. I mean, it was something very special that happened in my life, yes.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01# Long live the king!
0:05:01 > 0:05:03# Long live the king! #
0:05:03 > 0:05:07What about you, David Overton? This place more familiar to you, because you were part of the Abbey choir?
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Familiar in the sense that we sang as the Abbey choir every day
0:05:12 > 0:05:14in the choir stalls just behind us.
0:05:14 > 0:05:20But of course, for the coronation, the whole Abbey had been transformed into a different place.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Were you aware of the significance of the day?
0:05:22 > 0:05:24No.
0:05:24 > 0:05:32Frankly, for a ten-year-old boy, I was just too young, immature,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36to grasp just what a momentous occasion it was.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Were you badly behaved at any stage?
0:05:38 > 0:05:43There must have been a lot of hanging around, a lot of waiting. You must have got bored, surely?
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Not badly behaved. Good heavens! Abbey choristers?!
0:05:45 > 0:05:47SHE LAUGHS
0:05:47 > 0:05:52I do remember that when we got into the Abbey, when we got to our seats,
0:05:52 > 0:05:59we found in our cassock pockets ham sandwiches, barley sugars, and an apple.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Which were intended to sustain us for the hours of the day.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06But of course, they didn't last long, we soon polished those off!
0:06:06 > 0:06:11And I remember dropping the apple cores down the scaffolding poles!
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Oooh! You wouldn't have done that, would you?!
0:06:14 > 0:06:18No, no, no. Ours was pillow fights at Addington Palace after dark,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20it was a lot of fun.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24David Overton, give us a sense of how it feels now to have been part of that special day.
0:06:24 > 0:06:30Now, the recollections of the event, having listened to the recording,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32having seen the filming,
0:06:32 > 0:06:38becomes actually even larger than the recollection at the time.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43Those are the memories of the pageant, the music,
0:06:43 > 0:06:50the spectacle of a unique occasion which you obviously experience once in a lifetime.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54We're very pleased to have had you here. Thank you very much, David Bainbridge and David Overton.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56- My pleasure, thank you.- Thank you.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Well, the queen's coronation was the 38th to have been held here.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04But have you ever wondered why we have kings and queens in the first place?
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Michael Douglas from The One Show has, so Dan lured him out
0:07:07 > 0:07:10on another of their history road trips to fill him in.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Cue the camper van!
0:07:14 > 0:07:16So he's asked me to meet him up here somewhere.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19I don't know how I'm supposed to find him with all this fog!
0:07:19 > 0:07:22I'm just glad I'm in a van this time, because as ever,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24we're meeting at the top of a hill!
0:07:24 > 0:07:27I mean, what is it with Dan Snow and hills?
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Look at him up there!
0:07:29 > 0:07:31HE LAUGHS
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Look at him up there!
0:07:37 > 0:07:38HE GROANS
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Oh yeah! I've only got three pairs of shoes, and these ones are knackered!
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- How are you doing, buddy? - I'm all right. You all right?
0:07:45 > 0:07:47- Yeah, good.- So why am I here? Why have you brought me up here?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49This story is all about royal history, Michael.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Yeah, I've got a question for you about royal history.
0:07:52 > 0:07:53Why have we got a queen?
0:07:55 > 0:07:58That's a good question. To answer it, we've come to Edinburgh,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02which is one of the most important centres of royal power in Britain.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08For hundreds of years, our queen's ancestors used to rule Scotland from that castle over there.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11And it's still important, not least because it's got the Stone of Destiny.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15The Stone of... Has it got a sword sticking out of it or something?!
0:08:15 > 0:08:17- Different stone.- Yeah?
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Right, let's go and see the Stone of Destiny, then.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Yeah, there's a bit of a problem with that actually, Michael.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- No, it's just over there. You said it was in the castle. You said it.- Just get in the car.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34So why can't we just go and film the Stone of Destiny at the castle?
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Because the Stone of Destiny is such an important national treasure,
0:08:37 > 0:08:42it's so precious that people like us just can't come and just film it at random!
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Not even Dan Snow can just go, "Oh, I'm going to film that!"?
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Well, understandably, they needed a bit more time to arrange it.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Dan No, that's what we'll call you from now on!
0:08:51 > 0:08:55To be honest, it's OK, because we're going to a place that's just as interesting, just as important.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Because like the stone, the place we're going to is about the extraordinary tradition
0:08:59 > 0:09:02that this country has of monarchy.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Well, this is pretty impressive, is it not? This is Scone Palace, is it?
0:09:19 > 0:09:22- Exactly. Looks exactly like a palace should, as well.- It does, yeah!
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Even before Edinburgh became this important city,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27this was a major centre of royal power in Britain.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31This was a time when Britain was divided up into all these tiny little kingdoms.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- They're all over the place? - Yeah.- OK.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37All these little kings everywhere and of course, they spent a lot of time fighting each other.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41- Yeah, yeah.- Round about the 800s, you get a king up here,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43in what is today Scotland, called Kenneth McAlpin.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47King Kenneth emerges and he starts - and his descendants -
0:09:47 > 0:09:49they start to bring all these little kingdoms together.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53They create larger kingdoms, and that's how we get to where we are today.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56So what's all that got to do with the Stone of Scone, or the Scone of Destiny, or whatever?
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- I'm glad you asked, buddy. Come and look at this.- OK, OK.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02- So it's in here, is it? - No, it's there.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- That is the Stone of Scone. - What, they've left it outside?!
0:10:06 > 0:10:07- Yeah.- That's not very good, is it?!
0:10:07 > 0:10:10- Well, it's a replica.- Oh, so you've brought me to a fake stone?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Well, yes, but it's what it represents, Michael.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17This hillock here is where the ancient kings of Scotland were crowned.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20This is where they came to and they sat on the Stone of Scone,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22and had the crown placed on their heads.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Shift up. Let's have a sit.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26But it is just a stone? I mean, it's a fake stone.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30Yeah, but Michael, a crown is just a hat that lets the weather in!
0:10:30 > 0:10:35- Right? It's all about this hillock, this stone.- This fake stone.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39This... the replica, yeah. The crown, taken together,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43they create an impression of dominating royal authority
0:10:43 > 0:10:45that's very hard to mess with.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49- So, you would have been crowned here, would you? You'd sit on this thing...- Yeah.- Shift up.
0:10:49 > 0:10:56So, you would sit on here and I would go, "By the power of Almighty God, I will be..."
0:10:56 > 0:11:00- Pretend to put a crown on me. I'll hold on to the rings.- I give up.- Put a crown on me!
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Come on! King Michael! Of Scone!
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Come on!
0:11:06 > 0:11:09What are these for, anyway?
0:11:15 > 0:11:16So, I get all that, you know,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19that there was lots of kings and one thing or another.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22But how did it get to a point where there is just one
0:11:22 > 0:11:25that governs the whole of Great Britain or whatever?
0:11:25 > 0:11:30Centuries of warfare. You get these kingdoms slowly emerge, like Scotland, England.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33They slowly swallow up all these other kingdoms, and then they fight each other a lot,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and then finally, Henry VIII, you know King Henry VIII of England?
0:11:37 > 0:11:42- Yeah, yeah.- His sister marries the king of Scotland and her grandson becomes the Scottish king.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47But because he's got English blood in him as well, finally, he becomes king of England as well.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49He joins the two crowns together.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53So he's King James VI of Scotland, he becomes King James I of England.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56And he calls himself the king of Great Britain.
0:11:56 > 0:11:57So, since then, that's been it,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00- there's just been one kind of ruler or king or queen or whatever for England and Scotland?- Yeah.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Yeah. There's just been one British crown -
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- with one brief exception. - And what's that?
0:12:06 > 0:12:09- I'll tell you about it when we get back on the road.- Yeah?
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Can I watch Braveheart in there, in the truck?
0:12:11 > 0:12:15- Braveheart...is total nonsense. - All right, what about Rob Roy...?
0:12:15 > 0:12:18He didn't get to watch Braveheart, by the way. I wasn't having it.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20But despite my best efforts,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Michael was a little underwhelmed by the replica Stone of Destiny.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Of course, the real stone lived here in this abbey
0:12:27 > 0:12:34between 1296 and 1996, where it sat in the Coronation Chair.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35It's now back in Scotland -
0:12:35 > 0:12:40although it will return here next time we crown a new king or queen.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45But the chair - just as significant in terms of royal ritual - still here.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49At the moment it's tucked away behind glass in a conservation booth,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52but you can still get a good look at it.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Staggeringly, it's the oldest piece of furniture in the UK
0:12:55 > 0:12:58still used for its original purpose.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02More than 700 years old, it's older than the Crown Jewels
0:13:02 > 0:13:09and it's been used in the coronation of every English and British monarch since 1399.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Just think about that - Henry VIII, Queen Victoria
0:13:12 > 0:13:14and our own Queen -
0:13:14 > 0:13:16separated by centuries,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19but they all sat in that chair to receive the crown.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23But it hasn't had an easy life, and it's covered in scars.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Early last century, the suffragettes hung a bomb on it
0:13:26 > 0:13:28and blew off one of the posts from the top.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32In the Victorian period, conservators did a slightly ill-advised
0:13:32 > 0:13:37Changing Rooms-style makeover, and covered it in thick brown varnish.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41And before all that, it was the fashion for boys
0:13:41 > 0:13:44from Westminster School to carve their names into it.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47200-year-old graffiti, which proves that small boys
0:13:47 > 0:13:50have always liked to make their mark on things.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Most of the Abbey has stayed free from graffiti
0:13:53 > 0:13:56and untouched by the vandals of history -
0:13:56 > 0:13:59nothing more perhaps than the stunning choir stalls here,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01and they give you a pretty good indication
0:14:01 > 0:14:03of just how important music has been,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06and remains, to the services which are held here.
0:14:07 > 0:14:14# The Red Sea stayed them not at all
0:14:14 > 0:14:19# Nor depths of liquid green
0:14:19 > 0:14:24# On either hand a mighty wall... #
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Because of the height of the Abbey, which Dan mentioned,
0:14:27 > 0:14:31there are particularly beautiful acoustics.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33And over the years, composers including Handel
0:14:33 > 0:14:37and Elgar have written music just to be performed here.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41# ..And they passed through between. #
0:14:44 > 0:14:48James, thank you very much, and thank you, boys, that was absolutely stunning.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Omar, you perform, like all the choristers, about eight times a week.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Are there those special occasions you can remember?
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Erm, I think the Royal Wedding
0:14:58 > 0:15:01was the most memorable occasion we've done.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04We've also done lots of other great services,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06like the Papal visits.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Also once when Barack Obama came
0:15:08 > 0:15:11and we got to shake his hand. That was just great,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15because he's one of the most powerful people in the world.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17But I think the Royal Wedding, definitely.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Orlando, because you perform so often in the Abbey,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24do you get more nervous when visiting dignitaries or the Queen
0:15:24 > 0:15:26or the Royal Family come to listen to you?
0:15:26 > 0:15:29It's much more nerve-wracking when royalty are here.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33But that adrenaline really keeps everyone concentrating very hard,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36and so generally the services come out
0:15:36 > 0:15:37just as good if not better.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39But we try to be at the top of our game all the time.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Well, you sang beautifully. Thanks once again to you and all the Abbey choristers.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Well, as the choristers said, the Queen does show up here quite a lot
0:15:48 > 0:15:50and not just for the big occasions.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53That's partly to do with the Abbey's special status.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55It's known as a Royal Peculiar,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59which is a slightly strange term for a very unusual situation.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03It basically means that the Abbey is answerable only to the Queen.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06She appoints the Dean, who's basically in charge of the place,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09and as a result it's pretty much her church.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13And over her lifetime she's come here hundreds of times.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17To commemorate those visits, the Abbey has put together
0:16:17 > 0:16:21an exhibition of photos here in the Chapter House.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Dating back to the 13th century, this is where the Abbey's monks
0:16:24 > 0:16:27met each morning to pray and receive their orders for the day.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31And, just for today, it's also home to Victoria Murphy, a Royal correspondent.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33- Hi, Victoria.- Hi.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35What does this exhibition tell us
0:16:35 > 0:16:37about the Queen's relationship with the Abbey?
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Well, it tells us that she's been here a lot!
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Right from when she was a little girl
0:16:41 > 0:16:45right up until very recently, the Queen has a real relationship
0:16:45 > 0:16:47with this Abbey that's been built up over many, many years.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Is it just work, or do you think she has a personal connection with this building?
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Obviously she does come here for big State occasions,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57but I think it is more than that, because so many
0:16:57 > 0:16:59personal moments in her life have taken place here -
0:16:59 > 0:17:02you've had weddings, funerals,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04you've had moments of great joy and moments of great sadness -
0:17:04 > 0:17:08and she can't come here for all those personal occasions
0:17:08 > 0:17:11and not feel a personal closeness to the building itself.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13There are many amazing pictures to choose from here,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16spreading over a long life.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20What are some of your particular favourites you think shine a light on the Queen?
0:17:20 > 0:17:21I really like this one,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24because I like the fact that it's the Queen and Margaret.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25She was 11 in this picture,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and it was just before her dad's coronation.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32For the first ten years of her life she had no idea she was going to become Queen,
0:17:32 > 0:17:34and so the sense of just this young girl
0:17:34 > 0:17:38with no idea of what lies before her I think is a really nice moment.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40The other ones I like -
0:17:40 > 0:17:43it's got to be this one, her wedding day.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46I think it's such an amazing picture,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48because you can really get a sense of the nervous bride
0:17:48 > 0:17:51on her wedding day, and, you know, she was a princess,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54and her father walking her down the aisle was the King,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57but they're almost just like any other father and daughter
0:17:57 > 0:17:59on a wedding day, and I think that's what's so lovely about it,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01you can feel the nervousness in this picture,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05you can almost feel King George VI leaning in protectively towards her,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08because she is his little girl, and he's giving her away.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10On that subject, emotion.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13I sometimes think the Queen looks like she's going through the motions
0:18:13 > 0:18:16at events like this. Are there any pictures
0:18:16 > 0:18:19where you get a sense of her personality, her enjoying herself?
0:18:19 > 0:18:22I think the Queen does often look like she's enjoying herself.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24People say sometimes she looks glum
0:18:24 > 0:18:27but if you look at some pictures later on in the exhibition,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31some of the ones taken more recently, you can see she's smiling
0:18:31 > 0:18:33and you've got to be fair to her
0:18:33 > 0:18:36because a lot of the occasions she goes to, it's befitting for her
0:18:36 > 0:18:41not to be grinning away if she's at a memorial service or something.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44So looking back on these photographs, all the outfits, the events,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46what's your favourite era of the Queen's reign?
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Well, I like... My favourite pictures to look at
0:18:50 > 0:18:54are the pictures of the Queen just after she came to the throne
0:18:54 > 0:18:57when she was a young Queen in sort of the early mid-'50s
0:18:57 > 0:19:00because I think we forget she was once a young, really attractive,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02quite glamorous young sovereign
0:19:02 > 0:19:04and she was captivating people
0:19:04 > 0:19:07in the way that Kate's captivating people now.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Thanks, Victoria. You're not the only one to get nostalgic
0:19:10 > 0:19:12about the early years of the Queen's reign.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14'50s nostalgia is big business these days
0:19:14 > 0:19:17and we've sent Larry Lamb off to investigate.
0:19:21 > 0:19:221953.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25The Second World War had been over for eight years.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Britain was the third richest country in the world.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31It had a population of 50 million people
0:19:31 > 0:19:33but just 3 million cars.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36The average weekly wage was £9
0:19:36 > 0:19:38and a pint of milk would have set you back 9p.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43And I was six years old
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and a great fan of Muffin the Mule and the Flowerpot Men.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48# We want Muffin
0:19:48 > 0:19:50# Muffin the Mule... #
0:19:50 > 0:19:5560 years have passed since then, but still some people today are obsessed
0:19:55 > 0:19:57with the spirit of the good old days.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Polka-dot milk jugs, all sorts of kitsch
0:19:59 > 0:20:01or the make-do-and-mend attitude of '50s Britain.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04People look back on it with nostalgic affection.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08- # "MUSIC: "Rock Around the Clock" - When I think of '50s Britain,
0:20:08 > 0:20:09I think of Churchill
0:20:09 > 0:20:12and the invasion of rock 'n' roll.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16But there is one particular day that sticks out in my mind.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20My most vivid memory of Coronation Day was the street party we had
0:20:20 > 0:20:23with kids from all around the area sitting at great long tables,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27eating cakes and sweets and having the most amazing time.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Now, that one there, if you have a look, they've got the Vimto,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32they've all drunk it, all the children.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34It wasn't just me.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36This was a feeling shared by most of my generation.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39I've come to Cardiff to meet Rita and Dal Spinola
0:20:39 > 0:20:41to share their memories.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43I was about 14
0:20:43 > 0:20:45but we had a lovely party.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49We had jelly and blancmange, we had Carnation Milk,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52- paste sandwiches, not ham. - Paste sandwiches!- Yes.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Lovely Shippam's Paste sandwiches.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55You see cakes today
0:20:55 > 0:20:58with little coloured speckles thrown all over them.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01At the Coronation, that was the first time I ever seen them,
0:21:01 > 0:21:02- over the trifle.- Really?
0:21:02 > 0:21:05And there were races, yeah, along the street.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08That's the men's races there, running down the street.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- We had musical chairs. - Where did you get the music?
0:21:11 > 0:21:13- Piano.- You put a piano in the street?
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Yes, we always had a piano in the street.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19- My father's favourite was The Laughing Policeman.- Oh, yeah.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22He always did that and everybody was hysterical.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24- He did it? - He did The Laughing Policeman, yes.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- Wa-ha-ha!- That's it!
0:21:26 > 0:21:28# Wa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! #
0:21:28 > 0:21:32And it's not just the people who were there.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36There's a whole new generation who are in love with that era's charm
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and look back at that time fondly.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42It's the 1953 Coronation.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45It just sums up what I'm so proud of.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47It's my family there at a street party
0:21:47 > 0:21:50and people are really proud to be patriotic.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53And it's just a real feeling of unity and hope.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Angel, Rosie and Lauren are in love with all things '50s
0:21:57 > 0:22:00and they're not the only ones.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02There is a massive movement in vintage right now.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05I walked past one of the biggest department stores
0:22:05 > 0:22:07and it said, "Have a vintage summer."
0:22:07 > 0:22:11It's not just about clothing. It's not just about hairstyles, make-up.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13It's infiltrating the mainstream.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17This whole word "vintage" is very fashionable and popular right now.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- Why do you think that's happened? - Because there has been
0:22:20 > 0:22:24over sort of the '80s and the '90s, early 2000s,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27things have been a bit fast for us all
0:22:27 > 0:22:31and actually, what we're trying to say now is that,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33"Let's slow down a little bit."
0:22:33 > 0:22:36People are going back to old-fashioned values
0:22:36 > 0:22:39and the '50s was a time that people fantasise
0:22:39 > 0:22:41as being that perfect time.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45So the '50s has earned itself a reputation
0:22:45 > 0:22:47as a simpler, happier time.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Social historian and author Juliet Gardiner
0:22:50 > 0:22:52shines some light on why that is.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56It's just generally a feeling that it was a gentler kind of society,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58you know, that crime was lower,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01that people, there wasn't teenage violence,
0:23:01 > 0:23:05people could leave their front doors open, everyone was very neighbourly,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08popping in for a cup of sugar on a whim, this sort of thing.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11I think we've got that sort of picture of the '50s.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16And this is the image of the decade that we're in love with.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18But it is only a snapshot.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23I grew up in the '50s and although there are some lovely memories,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26there are also ones that I'm not so fond of.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29One of the not-so-glorious things I remember about the '50s
0:23:29 > 0:23:31was walking to school in the smog,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35so dense at times, you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39'Special filtering bunny masks
0:23:39 > 0:23:42'are the latest weapons devised to combat smog
0:23:42 > 0:23:46'which, last winter, killed 4,000 Londoners in a single week.'
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Anyone getting nostalgic about the '50s should have been with me
0:23:50 > 0:23:53back in the days when I used to have a 15-minute walk
0:23:53 > 0:23:55through these back streets to the town hall
0:23:55 > 0:23:59so I could have a bath, because we didn't have one in the house.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03The '50s brought some tough times, but don't just take my word for it.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06I think there was a sense of disappointment in the early '50s
0:24:06 > 0:24:08because of course, people thought,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11"The war's over, peace comes, life will get better."
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Life took a long time to get better.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16The early '50s were in many ways the war without the dangers.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Not only was it an era of considerable poverty
0:24:19 > 0:24:20and great overcrowding,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23very inadequate housing conditions,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26crime rose after the Second World War, not surprisingly, perhaps.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30- Did it?- Yes. Think about teenage violence. Think about teddy boys.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Teddy boys used to go around with razors. But also,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35I think it was a very tough time for women.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38It's all very well to think of mum always at home,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41always ready with tea on the table and that sort of thing,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45but I think for women, it could be a very lonely and frustrating decade.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48It was also, I think, an intolerant decade. If you think about it,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50homosexuality was still illegal,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52divorced mothers, single parents,
0:24:52 > 0:24:54they were still very much stigmatised.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Corporal punishment was still on the law books, wasn't it?
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Corporal punishment and capital punishment.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03I certainly have no desire to time-travel back to the '50s.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04And I was there.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10So how about our '50s-obsessed ladies? Do they have any desire
0:25:10 > 0:25:12to time-travel back to the good old days?
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Angel, would you rather be you now or would you rather be in the '50s?
0:25:16 > 0:25:18It's a no-brainer!
0:25:18 > 0:25:19I want to be me right now.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21And how about you, Rosie?
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Oh, absolutely, now. We have the choice to dress this way.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27We have the choice to imitate the parts of the '50s we like
0:25:27 > 0:25:29without the parts that weren't so great,
0:25:29 > 0:25:30that people don't remember so much.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33When it comes to the Jubilee,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37are you getting involved with parties and other celebrations?
0:25:37 > 0:25:40Yeah, we are. We're also doing a local street party.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42It's a role you're recreating, I suppose,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46it's something your mothers would have been very much involved in
0:25:46 > 0:25:48because presumably your mums are about my age?
0:25:48 > 0:25:50I'm 65, so are your mums about my age?
0:25:50 > 0:25:52THEY LAUGH
0:25:52 > 0:25:54A little bit younger, yeah, but she's...
0:25:54 > 0:25:58A bit younger? Your mum's a bit younger than me? Lovely.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Thank you very much. I'm glad I came today. Eh?
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Wow. They were a bit cheeky
0:26:10 > 0:26:13but you were won over by those girls, weren't you, Larry?
0:26:13 > 0:26:15- I was. Them and the cakes. - The cakes, that's what did it.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17They were quite a bunch, those ones.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Were you surprised at the '50s revival you saw?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Er, I was deeply shocked, I think,
0:26:22 > 0:26:26really, I mean, having lived through it, I can't quite figure out
0:26:26 > 0:26:29what they get so excited about but, you know,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32my memories of it were rather sort of dark and dreary, you know,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35It never... Every time we went on holiday,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37it seemed to rain all the time.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40I don't have any super-fond memories of it,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44except the Coronation party. That was about it, really.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Yeah. So it was just the parties?
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Well, there weren't a lot of parties around.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51I mean, the whole post-war austerity thing.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55I can still remember having to go to the sweet shop with the little ration card
0:26:55 > 0:26:57to get your allocation of sweets
0:26:57 > 0:26:59and they were a big deal
0:26:59 > 0:27:03so the party was a great, extraordinary thing,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06with all those cakes and jellies and blancmange and everything else,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08treats that were really something special.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12So those of us who weren't there, do you think we're looking back
0:27:12 > 0:27:15- with rose-tinted spectacles? - Those of US that were there, then!
0:27:15 > 0:27:19We are, though, aren't we? It is a bit rose-tinted, looking back at it?
0:27:19 > 0:27:22I think it's all a bit rose-tinted myself. I mean, it's easy...
0:27:22 > 0:27:25I mean, me, I'm one for kicking out the kitsch
0:27:25 > 0:27:29and in fact, they're in the kitchen getting the kitsch in. You know?
0:27:29 > 0:27:31But it's a different sort of mindset.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34It's easy to get, you get these people who are sort of
0:27:34 > 0:27:37really into Victorian era stuff, but
0:27:37 > 0:27:40I'm... I'm certainly post-'50s, myself. Although, you know,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43nice to see people enjoying themselves.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46And they were choosing the bits. They said they wouldn't go back.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49That was the thing, when I posed the question to them,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51"Given the choice, where would you be?"
0:27:51 > 0:27:53And they all very definitely went,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57"Here and now, with the choice to do whatever we want,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59"including looking fondly back at the '50s."
0:27:59 > 0:28:02- Thanks very much, Larry.- Thank you.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05All through the programme, we're marking the Queen's reign
0:28:05 > 0:28:07and it struck us, she has a claim
0:28:07 > 0:28:11to be the most photographed and recognisable person in the world.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14So we asked the fashion icon and the first supermodel Twiggy
0:28:14 > 0:28:19to investigate how the Queen gets dressed for her public.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23CHEERING
0:28:23 > 0:28:24I'm amazed by the Queen.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28For 60 years, she's maintained an image
0:28:28 > 0:28:31that somehow suited every era and every occasion
0:28:31 > 0:28:34but it can't be easy being scrutinised every day.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Over the years, I think I've been photographed
0:28:38 > 0:28:41almost as much, although I was wearing the latest fashions.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44The rules for the Queen must be very different.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47When you might be visiting a hospital one moment
0:28:47 > 0:28:51or welcoming a world leader the next, I mean,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54where do you start when it comes to getting dressed?
0:28:54 > 0:28:56And can you be fashionable?
0:28:58 > 0:29:01To find out how the Queen's style was created,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03'I need to go right back to the 1940s.'
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Hello, Michael. Lovely to meet you.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07- Good to see you.- I'm so excited.
0:29:07 > 0:29:12'Michael Pick is an expert on two of the earliest designers to the Queen,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15'Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19'He's giving me a privileged look at some beautiful sketches of clothes
0:29:19 > 0:29:21'for the young Princess Elizabeth.'
0:29:21 > 0:29:24- Oh, wow. So these are Norman Hartnell?- These are all Hartnell.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27Now this is the earlier look for the Queen,
0:29:27 > 0:29:28when she was Princess Elizabeth.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31- They are kind of fashionable, aren't they?- I think so, yes.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33So what year would this be, do you think?
0:29:33 > 0:29:36This is around 1947.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38This is so pretty. Look.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41You know, it's so on-trend and fashionable.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45"Especially designed for HRH the Princess Elizabeth."
0:29:45 > 0:29:48- Yes.- So did that mean nobody else got it?
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Nobody else got it. They were all designed for her.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54- And look at that. - And this one, after she married.
0:29:54 > 0:29:58"Specially designed for HRH."
0:29:58 > 0:30:00It's gorgeous. That's a real ballgown.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04- Absolutely right.- Gorgeous. I want that jacket.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06'Looking at these pictures, it's clear to me
0:30:06 > 0:30:09'that Princess Elizabeth, like me at her age,
0:30:09 > 0:30:11'really loved playing around with fashion.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14'But before long, things were going to change.'
0:30:14 > 0:30:17So do you think when Elizabeth,
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Princess Elizabeth, became Queen,
0:30:20 > 0:30:22that had a big influence on
0:30:22 > 0:30:25how she felt she should dress?
0:30:25 > 0:30:27I think it probably did.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30After all, she's Queen of the country, head of the Commonwealth.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32So she has to be chic...
0:30:32 > 0:30:36Yes, she's on record as having said that it's a job she has to do
0:30:36 > 0:30:39and so the clothes have to perform for her.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41You don't want something as in this picture
0:30:41 > 0:30:45- where the wind suddenly whips your skirt up.- Oh.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- And that shouldn't happen to the Queen.- No, it shouldn't.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51The dress is blowing up, you're seeing her knees,
0:30:51 > 0:30:52- and seeing her petticoat.- Indeed.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54Shouldn't happen to anybody.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56No, it shouldn't, but certainly not the Queen.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58I think this is rather good,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02where Hardy Amies has put in his comment "As short as we dared."
0:31:02 > 0:31:04- That's hysterical. - The era of the miniskirt.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08But you can actually see her knees. This is 1970. Gosh, when I think,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11- I was wearing skirts probably up to here then.- Yes.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Of course, the Queen was 44 years old there,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17so you wouldn't expect to see her in a miniskirt anyway.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19No, of course not, anyway.
0:31:19 > 0:31:20'So I'm wondering,
0:31:20 > 0:31:24'if the Queen's style was already fixed by the 1970s,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27'has it moved on now that she's 86?
0:31:27 > 0:31:31'Stewart Parvin is one of Her Majesty's current designers.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34'We're off to meet the Queen in a special 3-D projection studio
0:31:34 > 0:31:36'to take a look at some of the outfits.'
0:31:36 > 0:31:39Ah. There she is. Doesn't she look sweet?
0:31:39 > 0:31:41Designing a dress for the Queen
0:31:41 > 0:31:44means you're creating something for the world's most famous woman
0:31:44 > 0:31:47who's seen by more people on a daily basis than anyone else.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49I know, that's extraordinary.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52She also has an image in people's minds that you have to fulfil.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Like all the Queen's designers, Stewart has to work around the rules.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01The Queen always wears a two-inch heel,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04hemlines must be well below the knee
0:32:04 > 0:32:06and she always carries a handbag.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09- This was for the Queen to go to Melbourne.- Ah, hot!
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Very hot. Wonderful bright colour.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15When I called it blancmange pink, she didn't like that, but...
0:32:15 > 0:32:16But it is, a bit.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19It is a bit blancmange. It's a fantastic strong colour.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22It's really important because the Queen's very tiny
0:32:22 > 0:32:25and in that sort of block colour with the wonderful hat,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28- she's standing out.- Very important.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30She's a real focal point.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34Talking to Michael and Stewart, it's clear the rules are pretty full-on.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37I mean, the Queen can't just step out of the door wearing anything.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39Her clothes are her uniform.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44But that doesn't mean she has to be conservative with everything.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46- Freddie!- Hello.- Hello!
0:32:46 > 0:32:49- What a great pleasure. - Lovely to see you.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51'I'm really excited to meet Freddie Fox.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54'He spent 34 years designing Her Majesty's iconic hats
0:32:54 > 0:32:59'and I know he'll give me a real insight into working for the Queen.'
0:32:59 > 0:33:02What does the Queen look for in a hat?
0:33:02 > 0:33:05- It must be comfortable, first of all.- Ah. Of course.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Comfort is prime importance
0:33:08 > 0:33:10in all of her clothing.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13So what was the first hat you made for the Queen. Can you remember?
0:33:13 > 0:33:14How could I forget?
0:33:16 > 0:33:21It was the Royal tour to Chile and Argentina
0:33:21 > 0:33:23with six outfits.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26- So six hats?- Six hats.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30- Do you have a favourite hat that you made for the Queen?- Probably...
0:33:30 > 0:33:34the most...memorable for everybody
0:33:34 > 0:33:37is the silver jubilee pink one.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39- The bells?- With the bells, yes.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43It was perfect colour and, you know, turned out to be a memorable outfit.
0:33:43 > 0:33:48Freddie we members one very specific request he got from the Queen.
0:33:48 > 0:33:49There was a point when I think
0:33:49 > 0:33:52maybe I was getting a little bit carried away
0:33:52 > 0:33:54about the size of hats that I was doing,
0:33:54 > 0:33:58and the Queen said, "I want you to come downstairs with me.
0:33:58 > 0:33:59"I've had the car come around.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03"And you see, the brims, if they're long at the back,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06- "they hit..."- Oh, I see.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09- They hit on the back seat. - Of course.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13So, you know, you can't actually say, "Well, just buy a new car."
0:34:13 > 0:34:16TWIGGY LAUGHS LOUDLY
0:34:16 > 0:34:20I did watch the backs of hats after that.
0:34:20 > 0:34:21A bit.
0:34:21 > 0:34:26'Talking to Michael, Stewart and Freddie, I can tell
0:34:26 > 0:34:29'the Queen is meticulous about every aspect of her clothing.'
0:34:29 > 0:34:32I've still one burning question, though.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Has the Queen ever been,
0:34:34 > 0:34:36or is she now, fashionable?
0:34:37 > 0:34:39Well, this is nice, afternoon tea.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42'I'm hoping Grazia magazine's style director, Paula Reed,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46'will give me her definitive take on the Queen's dress sense.'
0:34:46 > 0:34:49I think she's always been stylish.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51I really do think she is...
0:34:51 > 0:34:54I mean, I think on the Vogue survey,
0:34:54 > 0:34:58she was listed as one of the 50 most glamorous women in the world.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01The Barbour kind of came into fashion last year.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Do you think people were following her?
0:35:04 > 0:35:07There was a moment, kind of six or seven years ago,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10when suddenly, the traditional British thing was cool.
0:35:10 > 0:35:11And it was on the runways,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14I'll never forget the Dolce & Gabbana show,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17all the models were wearing skirts just like that
0:35:17 > 0:35:19at exactly that length,
0:35:19 > 0:35:21- headscarves... - Headscarves, historical.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23..and big boxy bags
0:35:23 > 0:35:26and the inspiration was so literally the Queen.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28'But looking through these photos,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31'some might say the Queen could have been more adventurous.'
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Do you think she should have been more fashionable
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and tried a few more kind of outrageous things?
0:35:37 > 0:35:38Goodness me, no!
0:35:38 > 0:35:41It would be shocking to see the Queen in a miniskirt, wouldn't it?
0:35:41 > 0:35:44- Not that she didn't have the legs to carry it off.- Absolutely.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46But clothes are a great communicator.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Clothes actually convey,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51in a very subliminal, kind of subconscious way,
0:35:51 > 0:35:53exactly to people your position,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55your self-confidence.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57The clothes are about HER.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00It's not the style statement or the fashion statement.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04It's very much about her and the dignity of the role, and I think
0:36:04 > 0:36:07even as a very young woman, she had that very much front of mind.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09Well, it's only tea, but...
0:36:09 > 0:36:12to Her Majesty, the Queen.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14God bless her.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18So the Queen definitely gets the nod from fashion royalty there.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Larry, you, like me - obviously a complete fashion icon.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25Everyone has an opinion. What do you make of the Queen?
0:36:25 > 0:36:26Well I'm a...
0:36:26 > 0:36:28I'm a bona fide baby boomer
0:36:28 > 0:36:31so she's been there ever since I was a little baby.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Her reign and my life have sort of run together
0:36:34 > 0:36:37and she sort of...
0:36:37 > 0:36:39She's been doing things
0:36:39 > 0:36:43that I've watched on the television all my life.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46The places she's been, the things she's worn,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49the horse races, the things she's opened,
0:36:49 > 0:36:53the speeches in the House of Lords, opening Parliament, you know,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56all these things go on and on and on, right through my life,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59and it's what she sort of embodies
0:36:59 > 0:37:01and what she sums up
0:37:01 > 0:37:03and I'm sort of an amateur history buff,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06not like you, the full professional deal,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09but to be in a place like this in particular,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12this is what she embodies, is the history of this country.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16That's a ringing endorsement from Larry. He's more excited than I am
0:37:16 > 0:37:19to be in this incredible chapel. I have to hold him into position.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Sian is back in the nave
0:37:21 > 0:37:25and she is there recalling a very recent piece of royal history.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31The Abbey has such a long connection with the monarchy
0:37:31 > 0:37:35that it's easy to forget this is a working church with daily services,
0:37:35 > 0:37:38a place of worship as well as a tourist attraction
0:37:38 > 0:37:40but it's those big royal moments
0:37:40 > 0:37:43like last year's wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,
0:37:43 > 0:37:47which really bring the Abbey to the heart of our national life.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49It's thought that around 2 billion people
0:37:49 > 0:37:51watched the ceremony worldwide
0:37:51 > 0:37:54with 25 million watching live in the UK.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57The building was rigged with cameras everywhere
0:37:57 > 0:38:00in order to capture every moment of the service -
0:38:00 > 0:38:01well, almost every moment,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05because at the end of the ceremony, the newly married couple,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08their parents, Prince Harry and Pippa and James Middleton
0:38:08 > 0:38:11disappeared from view for ten minutes.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14They exited through one of the doors at the high altar
0:38:14 > 0:38:18into one of the few spaces in the Abbey not covered by the cameras.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20So, what's behind the door?
0:38:20 > 0:38:21Well...
0:38:22 > 0:38:24It's this.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27One of the most private and spiritually significant
0:38:27 > 0:38:29parts of the building - the shrine.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32This is the tomb of Edward the Confessor,
0:38:32 > 0:38:34the founder of the 11th-century abbey,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37and it's ringed by the tombs of the Plantagenet kings -
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Henry III,
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Edward I and Edward III
0:38:42 > 0:38:43and Richard II.
0:38:43 > 0:38:48In all, there are five kings and four queens buried here.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53There was another witness to events on April 29th last year.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55The Royal party were joined by the Dean of Westminster,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57the Very Reverend Dr John Hall.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59- Hello, Mr Dean.- Hello.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Before we talk about the day itself,
0:39:01 > 0:39:05just give us a sense of why this place, the shrine, is so important.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07The shrine of St Edward the Confessor -
0:39:07 > 0:39:09he's one of the kings who is also a saint,
0:39:09 > 0:39:11king from 1042 to 1066.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14He rebuilt the abbey here. He built his Palace of Westminster here
0:39:14 > 0:39:18so the Houses of Parliament meet in what would've been his palace,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21still a royal palace. He was a patron saint of England for many centuries
0:39:21 > 0:39:24and other kings and queens wanted to be gathered around him
0:39:24 > 0:39:26so it's a very important place.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29A very important place, and of course, the place
0:39:29 > 0:39:32the Royal party came to for the signing of the registers.
0:39:32 > 0:39:33Describe what went on that day.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37So, there was, in front of the altar, there was a table with the registers.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39There are three registers.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42There's a certificate that has to be signed as well
0:39:42 > 0:39:43so they signed themselves
0:39:43 > 0:39:46and other members of the Royal family signed, their witnesses.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Then the books went to Buckingham Palace
0:39:48 > 0:39:51for other members of the Royal family to sign too.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54Once they'd all signed, I got them lined up over here
0:39:54 > 0:39:56and sent them off.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59FANFARE PLAYS
0:40:02 > 0:40:04It was such a public ceremony
0:40:04 > 0:40:08and as we were saying, watched by 2 billion people worldwide
0:40:08 > 0:40:11and this was really the only private moment.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14What did it feel like to be part of that, for you?
0:40:14 > 0:40:16Well, for me, it was an extraordinary privilege
0:40:16 > 0:40:19and wonderful thing, as the whole day had been.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21I think for them, it was just a moment apart
0:40:21 > 0:40:23when they could reflect on what they'd just done
0:40:23 > 0:40:25and also be congratulated,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28just as a family would normally at that particular moment,
0:40:28 > 0:40:30a moment of relaxation.
0:40:30 > 0:40:31What was the mood like?
0:40:31 > 0:40:34Oh, very warm, and very supportive, very happy.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39The whole day was extraordinarily happy.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42You could be terrified, at least I felt I could be terrified
0:40:42 > 0:40:45about the thought of all these people around the world...
0:40:45 > 0:40:47I wasn't conscious of them at all.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51And the atmosphere in the church here was tremendously warm
0:40:51 > 0:40:53and supportive and happy.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55- Thanks very much.- Thank you.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56Well, William and Catherine
0:40:56 > 0:40:58are going to be our future king and queen
0:40:58 > 0:41:02and last year's wedding was a piece of history we could all share in,
0:41:02 > 0:41:06although perhaps not as intimately as the Dean of Westminster.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Their popularity has boosted support in the monarchy,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12but Royals haven't always been so popular.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15Dan and Michael now continue their royal road trip in the Midlands,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19where in the 17th century, people didn't like the monarchy much
0:41:19 > 0:41:21and they decided to do something about it.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25MICHAEL GROANS
0:41:25 > 0:41:28So, that thing you said in Scotland.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32There was James VI of Scotland, he became James I of Great Britain,
0:41:32 > 0:41:34and we had a king or queen ever since,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37apart from this one exception. What was that exception?
0:41:37 > 0:41:39You're right. There was an exception.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42Just when they'd managed to unite the monarchy,
0:41:42 > 0:41:44you had one king of all Great Britain,
0:41:44 > 0:41:48James' son Charles I comes along and he made himself so unpopular,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51that people chopped his head off.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55- They chopped his head off? - Executed him.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58That's a bit extreme, isn't it?
0:42:01 > 0:42:04He must have been absolutely hated then, Charles.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06What did he do that was so bad?
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Charles had a habit of making enemies out of nearly everybody.
0:42:10 > 0:42:11He alienated everyone
0:42:11 > 0:42:15and he was convinced that he was put on the earth by God in order to rule.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18He had a divine right to rule and that really put him at loggerheads
0:42:18 > 0:42:20with Parliament who were saying,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22"No, we have a right to rule as well."
0:42:22 > 0:42:25That was a transitional period and the politicians and the King
0:42:25 > 0:42:28were jostling for power over who controlled the country.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32A massive civil war broke out. Armies marched to and fro.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34The population was much smaller back then,
0:42:34 > 0:42:36so historians think it was the bloodiest war
0:42:36 > 0:42:39- relative to population in the history of Britain.- Wow!
0:42:39 > 0:42:41You got one side of Parliament
0:42:41 > 0:42:44and the other side supporting the King, or is that too simple?
0:42:44 > 0:42:45That's about right
0:42:45 > 0:42:49and there is evidence of this war right across the country.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52- Look at this, Michael, look at this.- It's a field.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55It's exactly what I thought it would be. A big, green field.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57It is a stage on which our history was written.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59This is one of my favourite battlefields.
0:42:59 > 0:43:00You get a great sense of it.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Basically, one side of it are up here on the high ground,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06the valley in between, the other side on the high ground there.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08- It looks like a battle field should do.- Who's up here?
0:43:08 > 0:43:11Over there is King Charles and the Royalists.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14This is all the king's horses and all the king's men out there, are they?
0:43:14 > 0:43:16Unfortunately, on this ridge here...
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Humpty Dumpty is over here, is he?
0:43:18 > 0:43:22On this ridge here is King Charles' nemesis.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24One of the greatest cavalry commanders
0:43:24 > 0:43:26this nation has ever produced.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29A man called Oliver Cromwell. This is the point of no return for Charles.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34His army is completely annihilated right here on this spot.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37This is the moment when Parliament, if you like, the people
0:43:37 > 0:43:41stand up to a bad king and say, "No longer can you treat us like this."
0:43:41 > 0:43:44He's captured, is he? And then taken back to London?
0:43:44 > 0:43:45Actually, he's not captured here.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48He just about manages to escape but he loses his Treasury
0:43:48 > 0:43:49and all sorts of things.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51He just manages to escape
0:43:51 > 0:43:54but I'll tell you about what happens next over a pint.
0:43:54 > 0:43:55A pint!
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Why am I doing all the driving?
0:44:03 > 0:44:06- I've driven the whole journey and I'm like your driver.- That's true.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08As you visit nice, historical sites.
0:44:16 > 0:44:21This is great. A history lesson in a pub. About time and all.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24It is not just any old pub, Michael, because this pub is famous.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28This is where Charles I, the King spent his last night of freedom.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30- Really? In here?- Yes.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32Local legend has it that this is the room he slept in
0:44:32 > 0:44:34before handing himself over to his enemies.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36I bet he got mighty tanked up that night.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39- This is a picture of him back here, is it?- That's Charles I.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42That's how he wanted to be remembered, in his armour,
0:44:42 > 0:44:44looking regal, God's representative on earth,
0:44:44 > 0:44:46everyone doing what he tells them.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49Eventually, they put him on trial and they executed him.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Did they cut it with an axe or a guillotine?
0:44:52 > 0:44:54They would have used an axe.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57I always think a saw would be better. Sawing it off.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06So, Charles is dead, he's gone, so who's leading the country now then?
0:45:06 > 0:45:08Who's the Prime Minister or whatever?
0:45:08 > 0:45:12The guy that defeated Charles at the Battle of Naseby, Oliver Cromwell.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16He basically becomes a dictator of Britain and Ireland,
0:45:16 > 0:45:17a military dictator.
0:45:17 > 0:45:21What happened to Cromwell then? Was then nobody like him, or what?
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Cromwell was OK while he was alive.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26People were glad there was stability and the war had stopped.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28When he died, there was a big vacuum of power
0:45:28 > 0:45:30and trouble broke out and everyone was like,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32"No, we don't want to return to chaos."
0:45:32 > 0:45:34They invited Charles I's son, Charles II to come over
0:45:34 > 0:45:37and be King again. The monarchy was restored.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40I think the best thing that could have happened to the monarchy,
0:45:40 > 0:45:42in some ways, is Charles I getting his head chopped off.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44It meant that all the future monarchs,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47when they got their fight with Parliament about who had more power,
0:45:47 > 0:45:50they just thought, hang on, back off a bit here,
0:45:50 > 0:45:53because my ancestor got his head chopped off.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56Cromwell, did he get his head chopped off?
0:45:56 > 0:45:59Cromwell died in his bed, surrounded by his family.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01That's a nice, happy ending for him then, isn't it?
0:46:01 > 0:46:02Not entirely.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08Yes not exactly, because to pick up the story, Cromwell was buried here,
0:46:08 > 0:46:11in the Lady Chapel, the Tudor addition to the Abbey.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13It's always seemed a bit strange to me
0:46:13 > 0:46:16that someone who stood for overturning the status quo
0:46:16 > 0:46:18and rejecting the trappings of royalty,
0:46:18 > 0:46:22was so keen to be buried here right next to the graves
0:46:22 > 0:46:26of Henry VII, Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29Under his rule as Lord Protector,
0:46:29 > 0:46:33the stained glass windows were broken and the place was smashed up a bit,
0:46:33 > 0:46:37not exactly evidence that Cromwell was this Abbey's biggest fan.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Yet he was absolutely determined that he should be
0:46:41 > 0:46:44in the company of all these royals after his death.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46That's the irony with Cromwell.
0:46:46 > 0:46:51He thought of himself as just as important as any monarch
0:46:51 > 0:46:54in Britain's history and really had the ego of a military dictator.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58He definitely had his head turned by the snazzy clothes and ritual.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02He insisted on the coronation chair being taken over to Westminster Hall,
0:47:02 > 0:47:06where he sat in it, in royal robes to be proclaimed Lord Protector.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10When he died, he had a massive state funeral modelled on that of James I,
0:47:10 > 0:47:12so I suppose it was logical, at least to him,
0:47:12 > 0:47:14that when he died, he should be buried here.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17As you hinted in that film, Dan, he wasn't here for long.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21This is the stone that commemorates where he was buried.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26You can see the inscription says 1658 to 1661.
0:47:26 > 0:47:31He was only here three years, probably not what he had in mind.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33No, I don't think he imagined he'd be dug up.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35Which is what happened.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38By 1661, Charles II was on the throne
0:47:38 > 0:47:41and furious with the man who had beheaded his father,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43he meted out a terrible punishment.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46In January of that year, they unearthed Cromwell,
0:47:46 > 0:47:50took it to Tyburn - Marble Arch - and then chopped his head off.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54Then they stuck the head on a spike as a bit of a reminder
0:47:54 > 0:47:57about what happened to people who tried to overthrow the monarchy.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01Well, the same treatment was handed out to fellow parliamentarians
0:48:01 > 0:48:04who'd also signed the warrant for Charles I's execution,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07and the bodies of Cromwell's wife, and other generals
0:48:07 > 0:48:10were also removed and reburied elsewhere.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13The only member of Cromwell's family who escaped that treatment
0:48:13 > 0:48:16was his favourite daughter, Elizabeth.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18They couldn't find where she was buried,
0:48:18 > 0:48:21so she remains here to this day.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24Well, if Charles I, Cromwell and Charles II only ruled
0:48:24 > 0:48:27for a few short, brutal and bloody years,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30the reign of our own Queen has been long and pretty peaceful.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32There's only one other sovereign in the whole of our history
0:48:32 > 0:48:36who's held the crown for 60 years and that was Victoria.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41Lucy Worsley finds similarities between her Diamond Jubilee in 1897
0:48:41 > 0:48:43and preparations for this year's.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54It all sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?
0:48:54 > 0:48:58But those headlines aren't from 2012, they're from 1897,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01the last time London hosted a Diamond Jubilee,
0:49:01 > 0:49:04for the 78-year-old Queen Victoria.
0:49:04 > 0:49:09115 years have passed since then, but not that much has changed.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13Just like today, the Victorians were concerned about health and safety,
0:49:13 > 0:49:16overcrowding and WHO was going to foot the bill.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19The celebrations were going to last ten days,
0:49:19 > 0:49:24and the highlight of it all would be the Queen's procession through the city on 22nd June.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28On that day, whoever you were, whatever you did,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31whether you were a publican or a housewife or a pickpocket,
0:49:31 > 0:49:35you would have been swept up in Jubilee mania.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43The procession was the showpiece of the festivities.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46Without TV, seeing was believing for the Victorians,
0:49:46 > 0:49:49and three million of her loyal subjects
0:49:49 > 0:49:51travelled from all over the Empire
0:49:51 > 0:49:53to catch a rare glimpse of the Queen.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56To get the full Victorian Jubilee experience,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59I'm recreating the 1897 procession route
0:49:59 > 0:50:03with my slightly more modest horse and carriage.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06The Queen's was drawn by eight white horses
0:50:06 > 0:50:08and set off from Buckingham Palace.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10My get-up is a bit less glamorous.
0:50:10 > 0:50:11I've just got the two horses
0:50:11 > 0:50:14and I'm setting off from the back streets of Vauxhall.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24The route covers six miles of the city,
0:50:24 > 0:50:28passing all the famous landmarks.
0:50:28 > 0:50:29As soon as the route was announced,
0:50:29 > 0:50:34the owners of every single house and church and pub
0:50:34 > 0:50:37and balcony and window all along the way went,
0:50:37 > 0:50:39"Hooray! Now we've got the chance to cash in,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42"cos we can sell tickets to spectators."
0:50:42 > 0:50:45Ticket sales were big business
0:50:45 > 0:50:48and your average seat would have set you back two guineas.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50That's around £100 today.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53An estimated 25,000 seats were up for grabs.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57Number 63 Piccadilly, just about here,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00was a jeweller's shop in 1897,
0:51:00 > 0:51:03and they'd sold seats in their upstairs front window.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07Seat number 15 had been sold to Mrs Curtis.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10That's her name, it's been clearly written in on the ticket there.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13I bet that cost quite a fair bob or two.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20The best seats of all were St Paul's Cathedral,
0:51:20 > 0:51:25because here the Queen's carriage stopped for an open-air service.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28It was said that some of these went for up to £8,000.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32That's around £450,000 today.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Makes the Olympic tickets look like a bit of a bargain.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38Queen Victoria even ventured south of the river,
0:51:38 > 0:51:41a first for a royal procession.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43The church of St George The Martyr in South London
0:51:43 > 0:51:46had a prime position on the route
0:51:46 > 0:51:47and took full advantage.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50- There's a terrific view up Borough High Street.- It's a great view, isn't it?
0:51:50 > 0:51:54- That's where she would have come down in her carriage. - It would have been perfect.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56'The church made £2,000 from tickets
0:51:56 > 0:51:58'and the current Reverend, Father Ray,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00'shows me how they splashed the cash.'
0:52:00 > 0:52:02- Blimey, look at your ceiling! - Great, isn't it?
0:52:02 > 0:52:06So this is what they spent the cash on? This is where they spent the profits of their stand on?
0:52:06 > 0:52:09Certainly, a lot of the cash they must have spent on this
0:52:09 > 0:52:11and it would have been extremely expensive.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15- It's so of its time, it's absolutely 1897.- Yeah.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17- It must have been strikingly contemporary.- Yes.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21- I congratulate the entrepreneurial spirit of your predecessor... - Absolutely.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23..who thought, "We can make some money here out of the Jubilee."
0:52:23 > 0:52:27Yeah, yeah, indeed. I wish we could do it this year.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31Selling tickets wasn't the only way to profiteer from the Jubilee.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Any item that could incorporate a picture of Queen Victoria
0:52:34 > 0:52:36was turned into a souvenir.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38At Kensington Palace,
0:52:38 > 0:52:43'the curator Alexandra Kim has been busy sourcing Jubilee memorabilia.'
0:52:43 > 0:52:47- Today, I guess the classic Jubilee purchase is going to be a tea towel for £2.50.- Yeah.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51But the Victorians went way beyond that, didn't they?
0:52:51 > 0:52:54- They had way more stuff.- I love how inventive the Victorians were.
0:52:54 > 0:52:59They were just happy to turn anything into this wonderful Jubilee opportunity.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02You've got everything here from spoons to playing cards.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04There was something for every pocket,
0:53:04 > 0:53:07whether you had one shilling or 50 shillings.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10It meant that even if you were from the poorest community,
0:53:10 > 0:53:13- you could have a...- You could get your own bit of kit.- Exactly.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16What do you think all this tells us about how the Victorians
0:53:16 > 0:53:19felt about Victoria in 1897?
0:53:19 > 0:53:22It shows the Victorians were really keen to have something
0:53:22 > 0:53:27to remember this incredible event, this kind of idea of Jubilee mania
0:53:27 > 0:53:30and the real inventiveness of all of these Victorian entrepreneurs.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32I take my hat off to you.
0:53:32 > 0:53:34Who would ever have thought of a Jubilee ginger beer bottle?
0:53:34 > 0:53:37Well, who knows? we might get one for this year.
0:53:37 > 0:53:38THEY LAUGH
0:53:38 > 0:53:40And the ginger beer would've been flowing.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44Eating and drinking were a huge part of the day's celebrations.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48The food historian Annie Grey gives me a taste of who was eating what.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52What was the definitive food of Jubilee 1897?
0:53:52 > 0:53:54It depends who you are.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57If you are poor, you probably come along to watch the procession,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59you'll probably buy something from a street vendor.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02So you might have some jellied eels or some whelks,
0:54:02 > 0:54:06or almost certainly soup, because that's the universal street food at the time.
0:54:06 > 0:54:07If you are slightly wealthier,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10you're probably going to have had your servants pack a hamper for you.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14- What might be in that? A game pie? - Game pie, absolutely.
0:54:14 > 0:54:15You're going to have lots of cakes,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18you're going to have lots of butter, cheeses, fruits.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22I think everyone's Jubilee picnic is going to have cupcakes in it this year.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24What do you think of them? Did the Victorians have them?
0:54:24 > 0:54:26I'm not a fan of the modern cupcake.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29- The Victorian cupcake was a little bit more like that.- Is that it?
0:54:29 > 0:54:31- That is so disappointing. - They weren't...
0:54:31 > 0:54:34It's lovely because it's delicate and sweet and ladylike
0:54:34 > 0:54:37and it means you've got room for the gingerbread and pork pie.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39What did the Victorians think about eating in public?
0:54:39 > 0:54:42- Wasn't it a bit vulgar? - It was a bit vulgar.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45The working classes ate on the street because that's where they could get the food,
0:54:45 > 0:54:49but the idea of the rich sitting on the street eating was not done.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52It's why they were hiring balconies and sitting behind glass,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55so that they could have a table and have it staged up properly.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58And pretend that they weren't really eating in public.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01Yes, very much so, but with a great view of the Queen passing by.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07It's clear that Londoners were having the time of their lives.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11But what did the party girl at the centre of it all really think?
0:55:11 > 0:55:16Well, we think of the elderly Queen as being silent, reclusive, moody,
0:55:16 > 0:55:23but actually, Victoria's diary shows that she was genuinely touched by the day's celebrations.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26She wrote that the cheers never ceased
0:55:26 > 0:55:28and it was a never-to-be-forgotten day.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34So despite all the moaning and the profiteering and the naysaying,
0:55:34 > 0:55:39the day was a huge success for Victoria and for her subjects.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42There was a great surge in affection for Victoria at her Diamond Jubilee,
0:55:42 > 0:55:46and I think exactly the same thing is happening again today.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52If you fancy finding out more about Queen Victoria's Jubilee,
0:55:52 > 0:55:57head over to London's Kensington Palace, for their Jubilee: A View From The Crowd exhibition.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01As Lucy observed, 2012 is a pretty big year for London
0:56:01 > 0:56:02and for the Abbey.
0:56:02 > 0:56:07It has to look its best for the million visitors expected through the doors.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12And that is the task of head conservator Vanessa Simeoni,
0:56:12 > 0:56:14who's responsible for looking after this incredible place,
0:56:14 > 0:56:16including Henry VII's tomb here.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19- Vanessa, how are you doing?- All right.- Can I help you in any way?
0:56:19 > 0:56:22- Yes, you can help me do some dusting.- Excellent.
0:56:22 > 0:56:28What are the biggest challenges when you're dealing with this absolutely priceless historical artefact?
0:56:28 > 0:56:31The biggest challenge everywhere in the Abbey is dust
0:56:31 > 0:56:34and the impact it has on all the different materials.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37There's bits of damage, so you have to be really careful.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39You do. You have to have a really good eye
0:56:39 > 0:56:41and recognise what you're looking at
0:56:41 > 0:56:44and recognise where it is old damage or recent damage,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48and also recognise what impact the dust is having on that surface.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51- Let's try and go for it.- All right. - I'll try not to break anything.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54We want to remove the dust, not just displace it,
0:56:54 > 0:57:00so we gently brush the dust off the surface and into the vacuum cleaner.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04- It's painstaking, isn't it? - It does take a long time.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08It's very satisfying, isn't it? How recently was this cleaned? There's some dust coming off.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11- This was cleaned last week. - You're kidding.- Yeah.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14Weekly housekeeping timetable, this particular monument.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16Where does that dust come from?
0:57:16 > 0:57:18That dust comes from the tourists that we get in every year.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20This is human dust?
0:57:20 > 0:57:23As well as being central London, you get all the dust and the pollution
0:57:23 > 0:57:26as well as building works, construction work going on.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28All has a major impact.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32Dust staying on the surface of, for example, some metal work,
0:57:32 > 0:57:34can start off corrosion and things like that,
0:57:34 > 0:57:37so you don't want to leave it on the surface for too long.
0:57:37 > 0:57:38Are we fighting a losing battle?
0:57:38 > 0:57:43Is the stuff eventually going to collapse, or can you keep it in this condition for eternity?
0:57:43 > 0:57:46The job of the conservator is to slow down deterioration.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49We completely understand that you can't stop things
0:57:49 > 0:57:52from deteriorating, especially when you're a public building.
0:57:52 > 0:57:57We can't stop it but we can slow it down and we do.
0:57:57 > 0:57:59It must be hugely satisfying.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03It's the most amazing job in the whole world. I'm very lucky.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06- Well, good luck with it.- Thank you.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15Thank you for joining us in Westminster Abbey
0:58:15 > 0:58:18to help us celebrate the heritage of this beautiful building.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20I'll tell you what, now I realise how much hard work
0:58:20 > 0:58:22goes into keeping it in this incredible condition.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25I hope we've whetted your appetites for exploring more of our history
0:58:25 > 0:58:27during this Jubilee year.
0:58:27 > 0:58:29- Thank you for watching.- Goodbye.
0:59:00 > 0:59:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd