ROYAL PAEAN
New doc Elizabeth: A Portrait in Part(s) chronicles the Queen's 70-year reign
Elizabeth: A Portrait in Part(s) is the final film of director Roger Michell, who died last year.
Just under 90 minutes long, it cuts together clips from the monarch's 70 years on the throne, and a little before that as well — more history than most of us can even recall at first hand.
Royal watchers should have a good time with it. For everyone else, here are five things we learned about Queen Elizabeth II from the doc.
1 She has a stand-in
Not a look-alike to fool would-be attackers, the Queen's stand-in merely fills her spot at event rehearsals so people know where the real Queen will be on the day. Sometimes the stand-in will go so far as to engage in mock conversations with other.
2 She gambles
Footage of her at a race shows the Queen sprinting to the edge of the royal box (I have never seen her move so fast!) to watch the horses cross the finish line. “That's my horse,” she marvels, and while you'd be forgiven for thinking she owned it, turns out she'd merely bet on it. She won £16 pounds (C$25).
3 She knows how to wear a crown
Another clip finds the Queen examining her ceremonial crown, noting that if you're wearing it and giving a speech, you can't look down at your notes or it'll snap your neck, it's so heavy.
4 Insults can get you slapped
In 1957, Lord Altrincham was interviewed on a BBC show about an article that he'd written criticizing the Queen and calling her a “pain in the neck.” On his way out of the studio, he was confronted by a member of the League of Empire Loyalists, who gave him a mighty slap before being taken away by police.
5 Paul McCartney is a big fan
Elizabeth is 16 years older than McCartney, who recalls: “To us she was a babe. There was a lustfulness in us teenagers.” He then dials up the Liverpool accent as he remembers saying “look at the heave on her,” in apparent reference to the royal bosom.