The Queen Mother - Episode Guide

The series starts with the tumultuous events of 1936. She began the year as Duchess of York, but following the abdication of her brother-in-law Edward VIII, her husband George was forced to take on the throne, leaving her unexpectedly thrust into the role of queen and a vital source of support for the unprepared new monarch.

This episode looks into the difficult time faced by the queen mother following her husband George VI's death in February 1952. From this crisis year, which like 1936 had begun with death and disaster, she again emerged stronger and more determined to reclaim her position as a powerful matriarch in charge of the Windsor dynasty. She became queen-maker to her daughter Elizabeth, guardian of the traditional Windsor dynasty flame, and fiercely protective grandmother to the heir apparent, Prince Charles.

The Queen Mother enjoyed a privileged childhood. But how did the woman who never expected to be Queen become the leader Hitler called ‘the most dangerous woman in Europe'?

The married years of Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon are examined in detail via royal insiders, journalists and archival material. 

A look at the final 50 years of the Queen Mother's life, which she dedicated to her family and the country, devoting herself to official duties, functions and openings, which would become her full-time occupation. The programme also reveals that she never forgave Wallis Simpson, blaming her for forcing her husband into a job that she believed killed him prematurely.