Elizabeth: A Life Through the Lens review – the late queen’s reign looks like one long marketing campaign

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This swift documentary looks at the use of photography to shape the previous UK monarch’s image. It’s a fascinating account of her reliance on imagery

n the late 1930s, the world was in turmoil, old orders were at risk of being overturned and Britain’s monarchy was still reeling from the abdication of Edward VIII. Fearful of the future, the unpopular George VI set in train the phenomenon that would keep his clan in business – just about – for another century: a newsreel photographer was hired to shadow the new king and his family, including his daughter and heir, Elizabeth. The royals were to be put on display.

The first conscious effort to manage citizens’ view of Elizabeth came in wartime, when the privations suffered by ordinary folk prompted a move away from the rich prettiness of her earlier photoshoots. Fancy dresses were out. Muted tweeds and sturdy wool were in. Then, in 1947, on her 21st birthday, the princess delivered an address that was mainly heard at the time on radio but is seen here on film.

How much the monarchy’s subjects should be allowed to actually taste the Kool-Aid was, however, a difficult question. Having ascended to the throne and married Philip – we are shown how carefully marshalled photojournalism remodelled an unfamiliar Greek interloper as an earthy, manly, steadying influence, just like good English husbands – the young Elizabeth II embarked on a world tour in the early 1960s, stepping out of the motorcade and focusing on the walkabout.

 

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