New unseen home movies of the Queen reveal 'the fun behind the formality'

But the Queen has allowed the world to see touching glimpses of “the fun behind the formality” of her royal life in home movies that have been released for the first time.

The clips, which span her life from being a baby pushed in a pram by her mother to her Coronation in 1953 at the age of 27, come as she is set to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.

At the age of 96 and after a 70-year reign that has probably seen her become one of the most photographed women in the world, the Queen recorded a personal message to introduce the

BBC documentary - Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen - which includes a beaming image of her as a young princess showing the camera her engagement ring.

In the message, which was recorded at Windsor Castle this month, the Queen says: “Cameras have always been a part of our lives.

“I think there’s a difference to watching a home-movie when you know who it is on the other side of the lens, holding the camera. It adds to the sense of intimacy.

“Like many families, my parents wanted to keep a record of our precious moments together. And when it was our turn with our own family, we did the same.”

“I always enjoyed capturing family moments.”

“Private photos can often show the fun behind the formality. I expect just about every family has a collection of photographs or films that were once regularly looked at to recall precious moments but which, over time, are replaced by newer images and more recent memories.”

“You always hope that future generations will find them interesting, and perhaps be surprised that you too were young once.”

The 75-minute programme is largely narrated by the Queen herself, using clips and newsreel audio from her speeches to explain what viewers are seeing.

The Queen granted the BBC unprecedented access to hundreds of home-made recordings shot by her, her parents and the Duke of Edinburgh, which have been kept held privately by the Royal Collection in the British Film Institute (BFI) vaults.

Filmmakers listened to more than 300 of the Queen’s speeches, spanning over eight decades, to make the film in which she refers to her grandfather, George V, as as “Grandpa England”. Grainy black-and-white footage of a young Princess Elizabeth with her uncle Prince George, The Duke of Kent, who died in a plane crash in 1942 while on active service, and the King’s last visit to Balmoral in 1951 are among the rare moments seen.

It will also show the Queen as a young mother with the King and Queen fond as grandparents to her children, Charles and Anne.