Season 1
The Diamond Queen is a British documentary series presented by Andrew Marr which looks at the life of Queen Elizabeth II, focusing on her accession, her daily routine, how she is seen as a role model and how she is coping in her 60th year as monarch.
The programme features archive footage of the Queen, as well as in-depth footage of her major engagements since the beginning of 2010.
The series aired in the UK on BBC One from 6-20 February, 2012. There are three hour-long episodes in the series.
The Diamond Queen premiered in South Africa on SABC3 on Sunday 27 May 2012, at 20h30. It later aired on DStv's BBC Knowledge channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
The Diamond Queen premiered on BBC Knowledge on Tuesday 29 May 2012, at 21h00. New episodes broadcast daily at the same time.
Synopsis
The Diamond Queen, presented by British journalist and political commentator Andrew Marr, is a three-part documentary series looking at the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, with special interviews and remarkable archive footage.
The Diamond Queen is a landmark documentary series from the BBC to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years as Head of State of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth.
For the first time in modern history a Monarch reaches their Diamond Jubilee. To mark the occasion The Diamond Queen presents a definitive analysis of The Queen's reign, examining her history, constitutional role and responsibilities and her impact around the world.
It features interviews with prime ministers, world leaders and special interviews with members of the Royal Family, and closely follows The Queen's working engagements around the world for the period of more than a year and a half.
In the opening episode of the series, the ever-effusive Marr looks at the Queen's relationship between her parents, grandparents and uncle as well as her relationship with government and with the current and previous Prime Minister.
He follows the Queen as she tours the USA and the Middle East and visits the Queen's Wendy house, received as a present on her sixth birthday and recently restored.
The episode features interviews with the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal, Princess Eugenie, David Cameron, Tony Blair, John Major and William Hague.
In this first episode, with remarkable archive footage, Marr tells the childhood story of the young girl who never expected to reign. He looks closely at the influence of her grandfather, father and mother and the impact of the abdication, and hears from the Queen's grandchildren about what it must have been like to become queen at the age of 25.
Marr examines exactly what the Queen's role as head of state actually entails, and follows her to the Middle East and the USA to assess the global impact of the royal family on British trade and international relations.
In the second of three episodes, he assesses her moves to modernise the monarchy, from the abolition of the presentation of debutantes in 1958 to the very modern wedding of William and Catherine in 2011.
Princes William and Harry are on hand to talk about their grandmother's influence on the wedding day, from the guest list to the choice of uniforms.
Andrew also looks back at the challenges faced by the monarchy in the "annus horribilis" of 1992, follows the Queen on her groundbreaking visit to the Republic of Ireland in May 2011, and looks back on the happy times she spent on the Royal Yacht Britannia and the sadness she so visibly exhibited when it was decommissioned in 1997.
Peter and Zara Phillips talk about family holidays on the yacht and Tony Blair speaks of the difficult decision he took to scrap it when he came to power in 1997.
In the finale, Andrew Marr looks at the defining moments of HM the Queen's reign, beginning with her accession to the throne in 1952 and her Coronation sixteen months later.
He examines how she has coped with decades of changing and sometimes tense relations with the media, looks backwards and forwards at royal Jubilees and charts her trip to Australia to look at what some see as her most enduring achievement, the Commonwealth.
And, for the first time, all of the Queen's adult grandchildren have their say about "The Diamond Queen".
The Diamond Queen is a BBC production written and presented by Andrew Marr (History of Modern Britain, The Making of Modern Britain).
Seasons
There are three hour-long episodes in the series
Season 1
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 27 May 2012 | Finale: 10 Jun 2012 | Sundays, 20h30
Channel: BBC Knowledge | Premiere: 29 May 2012 | Finale: 31 May 2012 | Daily, 21h00