Portrait of the Queen’s remarkable life Harry would do well to watch: ROLAND WHITE reviews the weekend’s TV
Elizabeth: A Life Through A Lens
Gods Of Tennis
Are they secret monarchists at Channel 4? You wouldn’t think so from the way the station churns out a cheeky ‘alternative’ Christmas message every year, or last month’s alternative coronation coverage.
Yet last night’s Elizabeth: A Life Through A Lens (Ch4) was the television equivalent of bunting, street parties and a fly-past by the Red Arrows. All that was missing was an interview with Paddington Bear.
In theory, this was about the late Queen’s relationship with the camera lens. As one expert put it: ‘Elizabeth II was without doubt the most photographed and the most filmed woman that ever lived’.
Last night’s Elizabeth: A Life Through A Lens (Ch4) was the television equivalent of bunting, street parties and a fly-past by the Red Arrows, writes Roland White
Images taken by members of the public selected to join the new royal photography exhibition at Kensington Palace
Historic Royal Palaces conservators Ola Ruiz-Aguillo and Nelson Garcia handling a lenticular print of Queen Elizabeth II
In practice, it was just an excuse to revisit her remarkable life: from a first baby picture to that poignant final photograph of her standing in front of a roaring fire and looking very frail.
There has been no shortage of royal television over the past few months, so a lot of this was very familiar. But there was the odd glimpse of something new.
For example, it’s clear that the Queen was somebody who knew her own mind from an early age.
When she was 11, the family posed for the photographer Dorothy Wilding, who wanted everybody to hang their hands by their sides. The young Princess was having none of that. She wanted to clasp her hands in front of her and refused to budge. She was right, too — that small difference makes the photograph better.
Much was made of the fact that very few of us really knew this most public of women: ‘Even with these thousands of images, we still never got the complete picture.’
Most of all, we never knew what she thought about the big issues of the moment, despite the occasional hint. As one expert put it: ‘The minute we see personal preferences, that has the capacity to divide people. The Queen always understood that the monarch’s role is to unify.’
Would it be too much to hope that Prince Harry was watching, and learning?
Perhaps it’s because the Prince’s face is everywhere these days, but the more I looked at fresh-faced young John McEnroe in Gods Of Tennis (BBC2) the more I saw a younger Harry. Apart from the 1980s hairstyle and the headband.
Like Harry, the tennis star had the hunted eyes of somebody who thinks the world is against him. And, of course, there were the famous public displays of petulance.
This second episode looked back at what must be tennis’s most famous rivalry: the explosive personality of McEnroe against the ice-cool tennis machine that was Bjorn Borg.
The more I looked at fresh-faced young John McEnroe in Gods Of Tennis (BBC2) the more I saw a younger Harry
Borg was the first pop star tennis player. He had to have a bodyguard of hefty policemen to push his way through adoring teenage fans.
‘Borg was sex personified,’ said fellow player Pat Cash. ‘His body, his clothing, his hair — you ask Sue Barker about Bjorn Borg.’
That was the very next question. So, Sue, did you fancy Bjorn? ‘I did back then,’ she admitted, ‘but he was in a different league. I mean, he wouldn’t have looked at me.’ His loss, surely.
What struck me about tennis back then was the sheer number of big personalities. Not just Borg and McEnroe, but Ilie Nastase, Pat Cash, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors.
Don’t most of today’s stars seem dull by comparison?
- Christopher Stevens is away
