Queen Elizabeth II as seen on television
By Hannah Ferguson
From black and white to technicolour, the late Queen Elizabeth II utilised the power of the television to communicate with and broadcast to both country and commonwealth. From serious occasions such as the coronavirus pandemic to happier, more light-hearted affairs, like the London 2012 Olympic Games or her Platinum Jubilee, the Queen remained a constant on our screens.
The impact the late monarch had on television is no less than remarkable, beginning with her coronation, the first ever to be broadcast on TV. The advent of this technology pronounced her as a Queen of the new age — this royal affair had become a moment that could be shared worldwide, previously only experienced by the 8,251 people in attendance at Westminster Abbey. The rise of the importance of television during the period of her accession to the throne is reflected in the figures. Whilst 700,000 people held television licenses in the UK in 1951, this rocketed to 1.1 million within a year. Undoubtedly, Queen Elizabeth II had become a woman of her people, with twenty million people watching her coronation from the comfort of their own homes, a figure that outnumbered the radio for the first time in history.
The impact the late monarch had on television is no less than remarkable
One major Christmas day staple for many households across Britain shall seem quite strange this year, as the late Queen will not feature on the Christmas Message as she has done since 1957. As she said in her own words on that first Christmas broadcast of the “landmark” occasion, “television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day”. It appears she was a woman who recognised her personal and sentimental importance to many families. It may hardly come as a surprise that many of those who were interviewed in the wake of her death compared her to a beloved family member or a dear friend.
Advising the nation during the coronavirus pandemic that “we should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return”, the Queen more recently echoed the wartime broadcast she gave with her late sister, Princess Margaret, comforting families experiencing this unparalleled period of hardship. These addresses provided the nation with a sense of comradery, a heart-warming testament to the late Queen, as she stood by the side of the nation during its darkest hours, offering a hand of friendship in the place of a traditionally ceremonious monarch.
Television has thus allowed the Queen to build her legacy and communicate with each new generation of young people across the world
In contrast, the Queen has time and time again shown her versatility and approachability on television. For example, she shocked viewers by channelling Roger Moore in 1977’s, The Spy Who Loved Me, at the 2012 London Olympic Games opening ceremony by ‘jumping’ from a helicopter with a Union Flag parachute for the BBC’s feature film, Happy and Glorious. I personally recall watching this at age nine in complete disbelief that the ‘actual’ Queen was jumping from a helicopter with James Bond (Daniel Craig). This instance will have only endeared her further, as she highlighted her sense of humour on the world’s stage, perhaps breaking previous conceptions of the royal family’s disconnect from reality.
The Platinum Jubilee that we celebrated just this summer again placed the Queen on television. Sharing the stage with another British cinematic icon, Paddington Bear, she similarly exposed her comical side to the UK. Television has thus allowed the Queen to build her legacy and communicate with each new generation of young people across the world, with today’s generation of children perhaps remembering her for how she appears to keep a marmalade sandwich tucked away for later in her handbag, just as the lovable bear does.
The Queen’s legacy on television is at the same time a great testament to her character as well as the period of her reign. Her appearances in our homes from her coronation to her Platinum Jubilee gave the impression of a sympathetic, hopeful and humorous monarch; a steadfast figure of British television from 1953 to 2022.
Image: Nick Fewings via Unsplash
