US press savages documentary about the Queen as 'justifying her own existence'
It’s a documentary that gives viewers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the royal family.
The focus of ITV’s ‘Queen of the World’ is very much on Her Majesty and her role as head of the Commonwealth, exploring how she is passing the baton on to the younger generation.
While viewers have loved moments such as the Queen being interrupted during the recording of her Christmas speech and the Duchess of Sussex being reunited with her bridal gown for the first time since her wedding, one review of the programme has not been so favourable.
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The Hollywood Reporter, based in Los Angeles, has savaged the programme – attacking it for being little more than a promotional film “justifying why the British monarchy still exist.”
In the scathing review, it said the programme was “capitalizing on the momentum of Netflix’s The Crown and the fervor of the spring wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.”
One particularly scathing paragraph reads:
‘Queen Elizabeth is still the figurative Head of State for 2.4 billion people, and thus one third of the global population. (Whoever said the sun never sets on the British Empire is still half right.) The apolitical documentary celebrates this role, virtually ignoring the legacy of colonization and erasing Britain’s imperial cruelty. If you think about it, the title — which is meant to be heartwarming — seems rather Orwellian. The empress has no clothes, it seems. Even an anglophile such as myself who dreams of Merry England can understand this documentary is history written by the victors. ‘
The second hour-long episode aired on Tuesday night and followed the Queen and her staff as they prepared to host an historic summit for all 53 leaders of the Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace.
Her Majesty also met with winners from the Young Leaders Awards, including Elizabeth Ketay Kite, for her contribution to Women and Young people’s rights in Tonga.
After being invited to the private audience, Elizabeth is incredibly moved by the meeting.
She says: “I just had a chat with the Queen. I’m going to wake up tomorrow and feel, like, did that happen? I don’t quite know…
“Honestly anything really is possible. Whatever it is you dream to be, you can actually achieve.”
‘Queen of the World’ concluded at 9.00pm on ITV on Tuesday 2 October.
