Ahead of her 70th anniversary platinum anniversary, a new documentary shared unprecedented footage from the early days of Queen Elizabeth II, a few years before her coronation.
The BBC’s “Elizabeth: The Invisible Queen” includes videos of the then-Princess in 1947 sailing for South Africa aboard HMS Vanguard with her sister, Princess Margaret, father, King George VI and mother.
“My whole family and I have always thought that one of our most important responsibilities is to express in our visits abroad the good will of our country to friends abroad, near and far,” Elizabeth is said to say in the film.
Another video, shot in the late 1930s, shows the family at Balmoral Estate in Scotland.
“Families so often value their daily lives and accept the roles, traditions and values that mean so much to us,” the queen said as she released the footage. “I see it in my own family and it is a source of great happiness.”
The documentaries were previously stored in the vaults of the British Film Institute and came as the United Kingdom and its British Commonwealth celebrated a feat that no other British monarch has achieved – seven decades on the throne.
To celebrate the Queen’s platinum anniversary, there will be an extended holiday weekend in the United Kingdom from 2 to 5 June.
“I just think it’s amazing that the Queen has been on the throne for 70 years, it’s quite historic,” said Susan Marcy.
“We came from Yorkshire just to see all the bunting and all the excitement, because I just think it’s a fantastic achievement for our country.
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