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Documentary looks at the evolution of Queen Elizabeth II during WWII
Princess Elizabeth was 13 years old when World War II broke out. It was this world event in which the shy teenager’s life was set into becoming a legendary monarch.
She and sister Margaret, the young princesses, became symbols of hope for a nation wracked by a horrific war, the terrors of the Blitz and the relocation of over a million children.
By 1945, Elizabeth had been transformed from a shy girl into a confident young woman and proved her mettle as a driver and mechanic in the women’s branch of the army.
These are some of the many events that are chronicled in the documentary “The Queen at War,” which will premiere at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, on New Mexico PBS.
This was an opportunity for Chris Granlund, an executive producer, to learn more about the queen.
“Her life is so fascinating,” he says during a recent interview. “There was so much I didn’t know about her life.”
Granlund has worked on projects like this before and says it’s imperative that the filmmakers pay attention to the research.
The development process took over a year, and the crew was in production for about six months.
Of course, the filmmakers worked diligently to get interviews with people who were close to the queen, which proved to have its own set of obstacles.
“She’s now 94, and the people that know her well are as old as her or they were way too young to know,” he says. “It came down to a small group of people. We found them one at a time, and we were grateful that we had these opportunities.”
The documentary also delves into the war years, during which Elizabeth’s enduring love story blossomed.
Just two months before the outbreak of war, in September 1939, the 13-year-old met a handsome 18-year-old naval cadet during a family tour of the Royal Naval College.
Instantly smitten, the two wrote to each other throughout the war, during Philip’s military service.
“Whatever it meant to her personally, it gave her this same sense of identity with so many other British women during the war,” royal biographer Robert Lacey says. “Their man — husband, fiancé, boyfriend — was away, risking his life, which Philip did.”
It was during the war that Queen Elizabeth’s famous sense of duty emerged, transforming her into the leader her country needed.
“It made Princess Elizabeth grow up,” Granlund says. “She was able to become one with the people. In her speech, there was so much power and grace. This was a turning point for her.”