Charles R: The Making of a Monarch

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BBC One - Charles R: The Making of a Monarch

The story of how a prince became a king, told in His Majesty’s own words.

The story of how a prince became a king. An intimate portrait of HM King Charles, told in his own words from across the decades and featuring rare and unseen archive footage.

This is the story of how a prince became a king, a revealing portrait of our new monarch across the seven decades he spent as heir to the throne. It’s a journey from cradle to crown told almost solely in his own words, from film and television recordings to private home movies and featuring a wealth of material, some of which has never been seen before. As well as drawing on home movies from the Royal Collection, the film-makers were given exclusive access to sequences featuring the prince, shot for the landmark 1969 film Royal Family, including private unseen moments. 

Personal memories of childhood are illustrated by intimate footage of family life. We see candid cameos as the King recalls how he loved making his mother laugh, being taught things by his father, and a memorable moment at just four years of age when sitting next to his grandmother at the coronation, he remembers her advice –  ‘you must try and remember this.’  

Schooldays spent in Scotland and Australia are remembered alongside images of a period that was both challenging and transformative. Unique to this film, the 20-year-old prince’s first steps into joining the ‘family firm’ were recorded by the film crew making the Royal Family documentary. Watched by an audience of over 30 million at the time, it has never been officially broadcast since, and this film shows both scenes from that film and previously unseen footage from the out-takes, including a bonfire at Sandringham, the prince learning to fly, and a visit with his parents to the Royal Mint. 

The insights continue with Charles's perspective on how he was moved by his investiture as Prince of Wales and shaped by his five years of military service. On leaving the navy, he was faced with defining a role with no job description. As he admits, ‘I made it up as I went along.’ But the film shows how early influences and the urge to make a difference led him to take up two of the most defining causes of his life: the environment, and championing young people through the Prince's Trust.

Marriage and family life evoke the joys of fatherhood and the pain of a marriage break-up in the full glare of the media spotlight. Other insights come through the prince’s thoughts on the Commonwealth, his approach to meeting people, and the importance of creating a private life. Unfamiliar moments from the archives illustrate the lighter side of the King, while home movies reveal the origins of many of his passions, from skiing and music to nature.

Finally, as the coronation approaches, Charles reflects on the meaning of succession, the importance of ceremony and the challenge of continuing to evolve the institution which he now heads up. Personal, revealing and visually arresting, Charles R: The Making of a Monarch celebrates a life at a moment of destiny.

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Charles R: The Making of a Monarch

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