Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute

"Elizabeth at 90" is a television special that offers unprecedented access to the British royal family. Normally, you see them from afar...such as when they're leading parades or attending other state functions. However, here you actually get to see and hear them up close...reminiscing about Elizabeth as well as life in the royal family. You see and hear Elizabeth, her son Charles, Princes Harry and William and several others as they view old family home movies and reminisce.

So who would enjoy this film? Anyone who is patient...patient because the show is a bit dry and slow at times. This is not a complaint...more an observation about the style. I personally enjoyed it...mostly because it is so unique and groundbreaking.

This is a very interesting & fun documentary to watch. There are photographs & home movies spanning from the Queen's childhood up until recent days. Prince Charles narrates. He has a very pleasant voice. I could listen to him for hours. I also love the language & expressions they use. As an American, I find it fascinating. They all speak so eloquently. It's so soothing.

The Queen, herself, & members her family (Prince Charles, Princess Ann, Princes William & Harry, & a few of the Queen's cousins offer commentary on the subject. It really is interesting to see the Queen running, singing, & playing with her sister as a young child. To see large family gatherings (on her mother's side). There's a comment about how Prince George is now running & playing in many of the same places. It reminds me of watching the home videos my grandpa would play for us every year, at Christmas. They may be royal but they're a family & they're essentially like most other families (but with a castle or two). It's really refreshing to see.

This tribute to Queen Elizabeth II consists of archival film and commentary by current royals and others as they watch the same film the audience is viewing. The film is very captivating as old family photos are (or movies in this case). It is very enjoyable to see Princes Charles, Willam and Harry as well as the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh relaxing as they view the film or add their own stories. We see other Royals as well, including Princess Anne, who is the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, etc. The Duke of Kent, now over 80, is a first cousin, who was shown as a young Duke in the early years of the Queen's reign. Wonderful memories are captured on film of the young Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, King George VI, the Queen Mother, Winston Churchill, etc. The family of the Queen are shown as children in the 1950s and 1960s. Whether playing on the grounds of their home or on a beach, various scenes are wonderful insights into the private life of the Royal Family. I highly recommend if you are a Royal watcher and even if you are not, old family movies are a good entertainment and interesting social history.

Tess and I recently watched this program on Netflix and really enjoyed it. Tess is a lifelong Anglophile and a staunch royalist (and I've lived and worked in England several times and love the country too) and has watched MANY documentaries on the royals but she loved this because she said that it finally showed the world that the Windsors have always been a "normal", loving family who have gone through good times and bad, and survived with dignity and that Diana Spencer did not "humanize" them because they were already human and deserving of respect. (My little pitbull defends others too). Princes William and Harry and other family members and friends clearly enjoyed watching the home movies as much as we did and we both agree that Prince Charles will (someday) be a very good King.

This is one of those times when Netflix comes through. This is actually the most revealing and fascinating look at the entire Royal family including the Queen Mother teaching Lillibet and Margaret a rollicking little dance on the royal yacht deck, the Queen herself and other actually mentioning 'Crawfie', the governess Miss Crawford who was the very first to cash in on being close to the royals and then was frozen out for 60 years, her name NEVER mentioned for her betrayal. The film, often in early color is priceless. Lots of corgis, holidays, grand tours of the commonwealth and very intimate family moments. A sheer delight. The relationship of Margaret and Elizabeth is particularly warm.