THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Questions for discussion

1. What stood out for you in this video?

2. What did you learn that you didn’t know before? Did anything surprise you? What
questions do you still have?

3. The video opens with footage from four di erent eras in Queen
Elizabeth’s life, and in each she is addressing the nation. What does she say? How
do those four quotes introduce her, her role and the focus of this short lm?

4. “Her role blended the ancient and the modern,” the narrator tells us. How? What
aspects of the monarchy have been in place for centuries, and what aspects of the
modern world did Queen Elizabeth have to negotiate for the rst time?

5. This piece focuses on Queen Elizabeth as the “media queen.” Throughout, it gives
examples of how “the royals understood the power of imagery” and how the queen
“sought to control the royal narrative.” What are some examples? How successful
was Queen Elizabeth? How important do you think controlling the royal narrative was,
given her role as monarch?

6. At what point, according to the lm, did Queen Elizabeth “almost lose public sympa-
thy irrevocably”? Why? What did she do to “help the monarchy begin to restore its
image” afterwards?

7. How have the “junior members” of the monarchy made it di cult for the royal family
to both keep its mystique and reinforce the impression that it is “a family at the servi-
ce of the nation itself”? How much have you been aware of and interested in the sto-
ries - for example, those about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle? What impressions
have they given you of the queen and the royal family?

8. The video ends by describing the monarchy as “central to Britain’s sense of itself”.
How?

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Double-Entry Chart for Watching a Video

Directions: use the chart below as you watch to record and consider the aspects that you
nd most important or interesting. First, on the left side, note a speci c quote or detail
from the video; next, on the right side, tell what you noticed about it, why you chose it, or
what questions it raises for you.

Notable Quote or Detail from the Video Your Observation, Comment or Question
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