Royal Children

Even the most devout monarchist may feel uncomfortable watching Royal Children - hindsight makes the film, a compilation of newsreels sponsored by the Commonwealth Relations Office, a rather poignant experience. Although clearly intended as a hymn to royal life, with a panting narration describing the bliss Charles, Anne and Andrew are experiencing (the film was made three years before the birth of Edward), the images tell a different story - only a couple of shots feature the children smiling, while the first glimpse of Andrew as a baby, a spotlight shining on his face as photographers snap away, is a faintly sinister symbol of the royals’ lack of privacy from birth. The knowledge that a future of divorce and tabloid scandal would tarnish these children's adult lives adds irony to this snapshot of supposed utopia.

Charles is the main focus of the film’s attention. In spite of the ‘ordinary, happy childhood’ insisted by the commentary, it is the surreal nature of the ceremonies he attends, notably watching his mother being crowned when he was just four years old, that linger in the mind. The shots of Charles smiling shyly for the cameras at Gordonstoun have an added pathos, owing to subsequent rumours that he was the victim of bullying. The ‘friends’ with whom these ‘normal’ children spend time are a strange mix of adult volunteer guards who they have known for just a few days, the Queen Mother, and President Eisenhower, ‘a great favourite’. Fortunately there are moments when Charles and Anne are seen doing things a child might actually enjoy, such as bumping dodgems at the funfair (albeit with minders) or feeding the Barbary apes when welcoming their mother back from a royal tour. Anne’s later equestrian talents are predicted by her early love of horses, with the children seen patting ponies named Greensleeves and William. Monarchists are treated to a sneak peek at life behind royal walls, from walking with the corgis at Balmoral and playing polo at Windsor to sailing in the then-new Royal Yacht Britannia.