Controversial documentary reportedly banned by the Queen leaked online

'I never liked the idea of the royal family film… it was a rotten idea,' said Princess Anne

(Getty Images)

A groundbreaking fly-on-the wall documentary about the royal family – which had been hidden for 50 years – resurfaced in full on the internet before being swiftly removed this week.

Royal fans were able to view the entire 110-minute BBCprogramme, called Royal Family, for the first time since it was withdrawn from use in the early 1970s, after it was uploaded to YouTube by an unknown user.

When the documentary first aired it was so popular that more than 30 million tuned in. However, reports suggested the Queen regretted giving the BBC behind-the-scenes access and requested the programme never be broadcast again.

The documentary, shot in colour in 1969, followed the Windsors for a year and offered the first insight into their domestic life, showing the Queen and her family enjoying a picnic at Balmoral, where a kilted Duke of Edinburgh cooked sausages on a barbecue.

Other footage captured a bare chested Prince of Wales waterskiing and the Queen buying a young Prince Edward an ice cream with money from her own purse, before declaring: “This disgusting gooey mess is going to be in the car, isn’t it?”

However, a few years after it was broadcast the film was locked in the BBC archives – a move believed to have been made at the request of the Queen.

Clips have been used over the years in other documentaries and as part of an exhibition for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee but the entire programme has not been screened in its entirety since the ban - until now.

The events behind the documentary were dramatised in episode 4, season 3 ofThe Crown, which depicted the film being withdrawn from broadcast by Her Majesty after only three public viewings, following widespread criticism.

The documentary’s intention had been to give the general public a look behind the curtain, but critics at the time said this was not the purpose of monarchy and, as such, the film had been a mistake.

Media reception was generally negative with David Attenborough, who was controller of BBC Two at the time, going so far as to claim the film was in danger of “killing the monarchy”.

Though the Queen has never publicly commented on the film, Princess Anne has admitted she disliked the programme.

She said: “I never liked the idea of the royal family film. I always thought it was a rotten idea.

“The attention that had been brought on one ever since one was a child, you just didn’t want anymore. The last thing you needed was greater access.”

The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace and the BBC for comment.