A new documentary debuting at the end of this month will showcase previously unseen footage of Queen Elizabeth II from personal home videos.
“Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen,” which is set to air on May 29, will kick off the celebrations surrounding the queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which marks the 70th anniversary of her ascension to the throne.
The Associated Press reported that the documentary will consist of footage from the queen’s personal archive, giving viewers access into hundreds of home videos taken throughout the years. Many of these clips were filmed by her parents, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and George VI, as well as her late husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to whom she was married to for nearly 74 years.
The videos span the queen’s entire life, marking the major milestone moments over the decades. In one clip, she shows off her engagement ring from Philip to the camera before their engagement was public. Another showcased her formal coronation on June 2, 1953, when she ascended the throne following her father’s death in February 1952.
The queen’s Platinum Jubilee officially begins on Thursday, June 2, but seeing as she is the first British monarch to reach this milestone, a variety of celebrations are planned over the course of 2022.
Her Platinum Jubilee will kick-off with the Trooping the Colour, which includes the queen’s birthday parade. While the queen celebrated her 96th birthday on April 21, it’s tradition for monarchs to have a second “official birthday” too, NBC royal commentator Daisy McAndrew told TODAY last month.
Following the celebration on June 2, there is a Service of Thanksgiving for the queen, held at St. Paul’s Cathedral. On the third day of her Platinum Jubilee celebration, she will go to the Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse before returning to Buckingham Palace for a concert. On the final day, there will be The Big Lunch, where people in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth nations throw their own parties to celebrate the queen, ending with the Platinum Jubilee Pageant at Buckingham Palace.
This year’s celebrations will be made even more special as Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will be in attendance for the festivities along with their two children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 11 months. The news comes less than one month after the couple visited the queen when they made their first return to the U.K. together since moving to California in 2020.
The family, however, will not join the queen on the balcony of the palace during the Trooping the Colour, as these spots will be limited to active members of the royal family. Harry and the former Meghan Markle previously stepped down from their duties as senior members of the royal family.
Related: