The British Royal Family At Work DVD Review

As I've previously reported, I'm a bit of an anglophile. I'm fascinated with things British. Also, as I previously mentioned, I recently bought the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) DVD series Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work. This review is about that DVD series.

 

The series does what it says it does. It shows the British royal family at work. They promote hundreds of charities and causes. They recognize those who have done notable charity work. They promote British industry in the case of Prince Andrew. Lastly, the work to improve relations between various countries and Britain. They try to do all at an affordable cost to the British taxpayer. In the 5th episode, you learn that the British royal family costs each British taxpayer 68 pence ($1.34 U.S. at the current exchange rate of $1.99 U.S. to the British pound/Source of exchange rate: Yahoo Finance) per YEAR. To me, that seems very reasonable considering the hard work they do and the cache they bring to Britain.

 

However, some apparently don't agree. The series shows that some vehemently want to do away with the monarchy. They feel it doesn't serve any purpose. The BBC itself is said to have anti-monarchists working there which makes you wonder what their purpose was in doing the series. Were they truly neutral in the series or did they subtly try to convince people that the monarchy doesn't serve a real purpose anymore in Britain? In the series, the BBC isn't blatantly anti-monarch and yet, they fail to show the positive pound and pence impact they have on the charities they support. Princes William and Henry sponsored a concert which raised money for charities their mother the late Princess Diana of Wales previously sponsored. I don't know how much money the concert raised but the BBC definitely could've found out and told people just how much their efforts in pounds and pence helped those particular charities. They might've shown too the business that Prince Andrew helps generate for British industry. Scores of British charities seek royal patronage for a good reason. It helps them raise funds and it helps them raise awareness of their cause. In my opinion, the British royals do an invaluable job in this area alone.

 

The series does give a small idea of how hard the British royal life is. The royals themselves bring some of the difficulties up themselves. Prince Edward mentions that there isn't any training manual for what they're doing. Princess Anne mentions about how awful she must have been when she first started doing royal engagements. This would've been tougher for her as she was a bit shy at first. Prince Charles points out that he barely gets people to relax, have people see that he is human and begin to connect with him when he has to dash off to another engagement. It also shows the difficulty Prince Charles has in trying to show that the monarchy is relevant i.e. trying to actually do something about some of the problems the British people are dealing with. Lastly, you get to see the enormous press coverage that follows the British royals. The press coverage is a mixed blessing at best as it does help them promote the various charities and causes they support but, it also hounds their private lives and won't hesitate for a second to rip the royals if they make a misstep. The British royal family have had to learn about public relations and managing the Press the hard way. I think there is little question they have learned though their relationship with the media still can be difficult with their readiness to rip them for the slightest misstep.

 

Overall, I found the DVD series very interesting. It does a good job of explaining how the British monarchy works. The series composes of 5 episodes which last 6 hours total. There is an added 9 short bits of things they trimmed from the main episodes. An example was the Queen attending the opening of the James Bond film Casino Royale. Cost wise, the set cost me $65. You might be able to find it cheaper through Amazon or Ebay. If you're interested in the set, I would also recommend you read the companion book A Year with the Queen which I reviewed on February 17, 2008. You can find that blog under the tags Book Review and Queen Elizabeth II. Anglophiles and those just interested in the British royal family should find both book and DVD series interesting and help broaden their knowledge of just what the British royal family does.

Book Review

I confess that I'm an Anglophile. I am very much fascinated with things concerning England. One of the subjects that fascinates me most is the Royal Family. They get to live a life that I can only glimpse at in wonder. One of the neatest things I've done is take a tour of Buckingham Palace. The place absolutely dazzles. That someone would get to live in a place like that all the time boggles. So, when I heard about the book A Year With The Queen, I had to buy it and read it. The book tells you what Queen Elizabeth II does in a year, how she does it and the people who support her as monarch of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It also shows the part her family and cousins (Duke of Kent, Duke of Gloucester) play in helping her do her job. It's impossible for the Queen to attend all the engagements that require her presence so she has to send various members of her family as well as her cousins to represent her. The book explains how much it costs the British taxpayer for the Royal Family and what the money is spent on. It explains the relationship between the Queen and her Prime Minister and her relationship with the Commonwealth (former British colonies). In pictures, it shows the Queen and her consort the Duke of Edinburgh doing their various duties.

The list price for the book is $30 though you should be able to get it for less than that. All the major bookstores in the U.S. should have the book. The book is a companion to a tv series that will air on ABC (I believe) though I don't know when.

Overall, if you're an Anglophile, this is a delightful book about the Royal Family. You'll learn more of how things work at Buckingham Palace and what Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh are like. You'll even find out how you can get an invitation to one of the Queen's tea parties. If you're fascinated about England or just curious about the British Royal Family, this is a book you ought to read.

Movie Review - "The Queen"

I finally got out and saw the movie "The Queen" today. I've been meaning to get out and see it ever since I read about it in one of the royalty magazines I read. The movie is about Queen Elizabeth II and the week of Princess Diana's death. It tells the story of a lot of things that happened behind the scenes and out of the public eye. It's a fascinating movie in that we get to see a lot of maneuvering behind closed doors and the difference of values between generations as well as the enormous hype the press did on Diana's death. The British public took some of their grief and frustration over Diana's death out on the Queen. The public blamed the royals for the ostracism of Diana not realizing that Diana didn't want to play by the rules and so caused some of the ostracism herself. We see how the royals were frustrated by the two personas of Diana. The public persona was one of a princess who was very caring and supported a number of worthwhiled causes. The behind the scenes persona was of a princess that didn't want to play by established protocol and upstaged her husband Charles who was the whole reason she became the celebrity she became. If Diana had never married Charles, she never would've become the figure she became. There is no question Charles did Diana wrong in not giving up his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles but, in royal circles it would've been expected that Diana would've turned a blind eye to it and carried on. She refused and took the relationship to the public doing damage to the royal institution. Public opinion ignored Diana's lack of loyalty to the royal institution and instead saw her as something of a saint and victim. To make matters worse, the press were quick to seize on the lack of a response from Buckingham Palace as this helped sell more papers. It didn't matter to them that their stirring things up could've harmed the monarchy. Fortunately, we see how the Queen managed to calm things down in a speech. Time helped things further. Two months after the crisis week, the issue was no longer an issue. The Queen survived the crisis and moved on though undoubtedly stunned by what had happened.

Overall, I thought the movie "The Queen" very well done. It was fascinating to see all the moves that went on behind the scenes. The movie is definitely one for adults. I think kids would find it boring and wouldn't understand what all the fuss was about concerning Diana's death. Another reason the movie appealed to me is because I'm a bit of an anglophile. I love England and find it a beautiful and fascinating country. London still remains my favorite city. If you're a fellow anglophile, I think you'd find the movie fascinating in that regard. If you want to see the movie, you may have to hunt for it as the number of theaters showing the film is dropping. I guess the newness has worn off and other new movies are coming out. Still, the movie is one that might be worth looking for. If you're an anglophile or are simply fascinated with the British Monarchy then you'll want to see "The Queen."