The Queen's Castle, 28 Dec 2005

The major advantage of the Extras DVD is the guided tour around Windsor with The Duke of Edinburgh. It is a fascinating item and the Duke shows his flair for managing the Castle. We see him wandering around the Windsor Farm Shop as well as giving a frank interview about the Windsor fire of 1992, the death of George VI and the basic management of such a historic landmark. His Royal Highness shows his amazing knowledge and seems to know all there is to know about Windsor. The tour is 'unedited' and so we see the Duke complaining about the planes that fly over Windsor and his concern for the camera crew ; "Have you got transport? Make sure you have a good lunch".

The DVD is truly the best fly-on-the-wall documentary made about the Royal Family. It isn't based around media scandal or personal problems - the focus is the Castle. From the Military Knights who live in their grace and favour apartments to the cleaners who vacuum walking backwards - we learn things about the Queen's Castle that we never knew before. The actual series itself shows exactly how stressful the Queen's job is. I was delighted to see Her Majesty coming down to the dining room to inspect the table before the guests arrived - it was a true homely touch and showed the Queen to be a caring and considerate hostess. The splendour of the Castle was also wonderful to see and the Duke of Edinburgh explains how the Royal Collection is distributed throughout the Royal Residences. For Royal watchers and those who enjoy seeing the 'behind the scenes' action, this DVD is a must. It is a well put together set but does focus more on the every day workings of the Castle. For those who like footage of the Royal Family, the 'extras' DVD provides more than the actual series DVD but has the same insider information as 'A Royal Family'. It is a great set and reasonably priced and has something for everyone.

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)