to loose orchestra will perform at the eurovision song contest. they had originally dedicated it to their mothers, but now they say they wanted to become an anthem for ukraine, according to book makers, they're the favorites to win. ah, this is dw news, stay with us. ah. i started out with spooky intimidation and transformed into an orgy of hate and violence. the history of the ku klux klan, the oldest terrorist organization in the united states founded over 150 years ago, which repeatedly died out, but always been, was erected. the ku klux klan starts may 11th on d. w. ah,

ah, elizabeth, the 2nd queen of the united kingdom service of our country for 70 years. this nobody else on earth has that experience. although she was the imperial state, crown, the political power i kingdom is wielded by others, 14 prime ministers have held office during her reign. tradition demands that once a week, a report to her majesty at buckingham palace all come to find it. one of the most treasured moments of these meetings, a strictly confidential it is never ever leaked from buckingham palace.

ah, what a queen i said to a prime minister or prime minister to the queen. we take a look behind the facade and we discovered secret palla gapes rivalries, but also genuine friendships. ah, the british love the queen, maybe because she doesn't talk about politics. boom. often said she's never put foot rome, and that is true. but she is understood the importance of silence, of not expressing her opinions of not reacting. ah, ah, 10 downing street is the headquarters of her majesty's government. from here,

the prime minister starts every week on a little business trip to buckingham palace for their weekly audience, with the queen. ah. the queen has already met 14 prime ministers. ah, the 1st was winston churchill. her paternal friend. ah, particularly close was her relationship with prime minister number 5, the labor lefty. harold wilson at the end of the seventy's, the 1st female prime minister, margaret thatcher. the iron lady equally difficult, was her relationship with tony blair. ah ah, neither he nor her latest prime minister barak johnson were born when she held her

1st audience in 1950 to waive the rest of us in britain. love this. we love the idea that once a week, the prime minister, even if we voted for it, has to go a bow than the to somebody. that's his greatest significance of all. but once a week, powerful prime minister with all his connections and everything has to go and give an account, has to literally bow the knee to somebody who represents something bigger than him. during the audience, the queen listens more than she talks, but she's always well prepared and guides the conversation by asking the right questions. ah,

nearing her euston, elizabeth spent many caffrey summers in the countryside. she is a conscientious, modest down to earth gull. ah, i think the secret to understand. elizabeth 2nd success is to realize she was not born to be a queen. ah, for the 1st 11 years of her life, she was royal. she developed all the reverence for royalty for her grandfather george the 5th. but it was no prospect of her becoming queen, so it never went to a head. i think the fact that she is not a conceited person is the essence of her success. ah. suddenly, in 1036, her grandfather, whom she actually called grandpa england,

died to be succeeded by uncle david, as she called him. that was king of with the 8th m. and within months, king edward the 8th is wanting to marry an american divorce. see, he's being thrown out of his job by the british people. ah, who's to take his place, the stuttering george, the sick. ah, he had, ah, an enormous respect for the monarchy and the constitutional monarchy in particular . and that's what he inculcated into his daughter. ah,

but then the 2nd world war breaks out. even during the blitz prime minister, winston churchill and the royal family stay in london to boost the morale of their people. ah . during the victory celebrations on the 8th of may, 19451000000 britain celebrate elizabeth's family and their prime minister. the close relationship between her father in his people impresses elizabeth so much that she makes a solemn vow on her 21st birthday. i declare before you all my whole life, whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. soon on the 6th of february,

1952. she has to fulfil her pledge a father dies of lung cancer. elizabeth cancels a holiday trip. winston churchill greets her back home. everybody who lived through it will remember the moment when the door opened than this. young girl appeared at the top. the 1st time, really of many occasions in her reign that she brought reassurance to the country ah, out of respect that her father elizabeth, wait, 16 months before she is finally crowned on the 2nd of june. 1953 full months. she's prepared herself for this moment and work through state papers. 3000000 spectators cheered the young woman who at this moment becomes queen of the

united kingdom and of 15 other countries. ah, how old friend winston churchill becomes her 1st prime minister. ah . 78 year old churchill has known elizabeth since she was born when she was only 2 years old. she already impressed him with her or 30 and thoughtfulness. now during the 1st audience, it becomes clear that he feels a lot more than just respectful. ha, ah, i think the queen valued my grandfather's experience and he, of course loved queen that he did love her. i mean, he really all his, she aroused in him all his romantic ideas of solemn jay and

monica. and the new elizabeth made which he referred to but they also have their differences. churchill fought 5 wars for the empire, and he wants to retain britain's global supremacy by force if necessary. elizabeth, on the other hand, favors the loose confederation of states. 5 months after her coronation she embarks on a well tour to promote the commonwealth. churchill doesn't think much of this idea . my grandma was a child. oh victorian tampa. and um, you wouldn't expect him. i think to be overjoyed. probably. but he was a pragmatist, churchill, and he understood the movement of events and history and time.

but unlike his young queen, churchill finds it difficult to accept britain's new role in the world. he fights against the dissolution of the empire. increasingly, he is plagued by depression. my grandmother tried very hard to get him to retire of law and to end his, his political career and a great wave of glory. but he couldn't, he was like, no, was she? they couldn't give it up. then churchill has a stroke. officially, he says that he suffers from exhaustion, but elizabeth knows the truth. ah, she must have been very moved by the occasion because, you know, this was her 1st prime minister. she had her name, him all hub natural life. and it was the end of an era, the end of the arrows you say the emily mo, looking back of the under the m by and away

a signal euro. mm hm. in the years after elizabeth settled into position as head of state each year, she opens parliament in a lavish ceremony. and each year she reads a speech, but she hasn't written. the prime minister puts his words into her mouth. the bay for the 1st time. and if you have not been by with, by many millions of my friends, elizabeth is britain's best ambassador. she meets marilyn monroe and of the hollywood stars. the queen who doesn't have a passport, makes 43 state visits during the 1st 10 years of her reign. she is britain's most important diplomat. ah,

[000:00:00;00] ah, back home her kingdom is enough. people. the sixty's usher in a new era, the young rebel against tradition. ah, after decades of conservative rule, the britons want somebody who's a bit more modern hulu. the new prime minister is called harold wilson,

the labor party leader. ah everybody, the establishment were absolutely terrified of wilson when he was in power. i mean, it was, what was he going to do next? elizabeth? conservative advised as warn. ha! wilson supposed to be a lefty and planned the social revolution. there was quite a lot of trepidation in buckingham palace as to what this shot would be like. but to their surprise, they found that wilson himself was quite a monarchist. a royal list. elizabeth advisors forget that harold wilson is not only the leader of the labor party, but also an oxford don

wilson, i think, was the 1st to treat her as an equal ah, and, and not looked down on her. and certainly to make it clear that he wasn't looking down on her ah ah, but wilson's government is facing huge problems. the industry is still suffering from the consequences of the war and exports a low. because trade with the former colonies has broken down the workers to revolt against wilson. they want him to nationalize the colon steel industries and go on strike in. the palace doesn't understand the rift between the workers and the labor party,

but the prime minister can explain. and he saw himself as teaching her a lot about co sections or of, of her kingdom, which she didn't really know from 1st hand. you know, from 1st hand she knew this, the kind of things that an old fashion conservator prime ministers did like going shooting and having grand country house parties. but she didn't really know about the trade unions. she didn't really know about how the labor party worked. ah, interesting the over the years her wilson's audiences with the queen, with the queen's agreement, i became longer and longer and he would stay for drinks afterwards. ah, that has never happened before. alcohol used to be taboo during the audiences. now brandy and jin a being served ah,

the prime minister spends his summer holidays with his family and cornwall, picnic king and golfing. harold wilson loves the country life. ah, just like his queen. she traditionally spends her summer holidays up in scotland and invites all prime ministers for a weekend to bow morrow. on the 2nd day and a big barbecue was cooked, and it's cooked by the duke of edinburgh. and the queen herself does the washing up and how wilson thought it was great to to go to belmont. ah, but in the industrial cities of the north, the riots are becoming more violent, high inflation rates, unemployment, and endless strikes turned britain into the sick man of europe.

ah, march 1976. after 8 years in power, the exasperated prime minister requests a private audience with the queen. ah, he said, i did ask him myself about why he resigned. he said, you know, it's because i've been there so long. i've seen the questions coming round and they're coming round again coming round again. and i don't have any nuances. so i decided it was time to go with ah,

over the next 3 years, an ambitious grocer daughter from lincolnshire fights away to the top of the conservative party. yes, i am and i am a day. after all, it wasn't a bad thing to be an iron duke. margaret thatcher, success is the result of heart what the advertising agency thought she and thought she designed her campaign. she employed a style consultant and a voice coach. britain was unique in these years. we had a head of state and the chief executive who were both female stuffy allbriton was ahead of the game in this sense. and you have these 2 women. ah, a woman who loved confrontation as mrs. thatcher, with a woman the queen who took anything to avoid an argument. i mean one of the reasons the queen is a successful constitutional monarch is she much prefers to agree and disagree. she

hates a row. margaret thatcher, immediately deregulate the financial markets. the stock market is booming. ah, but the gap between the rich and the poor white the late is not for turning. ah, she quells protest with folks there was more social unrest rights strikes and lack of social cohesion under margaret thatcher than at any other time. because partly because she felt she had to grasp the natural and her style was, was confrontational and the, and there is evidence that, that the queen herself was, was deeply unhappy about what, what went on for

a lot of the time. i'm under mrs. thatcher. the 2 ladies also disagree on foreign affairs. the commonwealth countries, one thatcher, to take a stance against the apartheid regime in south africa. but the prime minister doesn't want to be bothered with the problems of the commonwealth. african countries were fed up with white britain effectively supporting slowing down the sanctions and they knew that margaret thatcher was part of this. she actually delayed debates, stock debates in the british parliament about sanctions. ah, against that as will elizabeth traveled to a meeting of commonwealth countries effectively supporting their claims, fatuous, given, and is forced to the side line ah,

and at home. the royal family is more popular than ever. on the 29th of july, 1981, prince charles marius diana spencer. on the day it was wonderful. it was just the whole nation celebrated. you know, it was a lovely fairy tale love story. there's never been another wedding in my view that could equal, it was just wonderful of the bride. was the most beautiful. the whole world was interested in that wedding. the sad thing was that the prince wasn't. ah, that just popularity is tumbling as she introduces the poll tax. a quarter of a 1000000 people take to the streets in london alone. rioting breaks out

a more than 100 people are injured. the country is in turmoil. in the end, even her own party has had enough of margaret thatcher. john major succeeds her. she leaves downing street in tin. mm. cream is very upset by the way in which mister satcher was deposed by the conservative party and she told somebody that all right miss such a may have been tired and things, but it was a horrible way that it was done. and that's why i think it was very important that there was the queen kind of waiting in the wings. politically, elizabeth's kingdom returns to normal. but suddenly her family life becomes a target for the tabloid press. in 1992, her son,

andrew and his wife sarah separate. and then charles and diana's marriage breaks up . she's been on the throne a long time and now it's all falling apart. she was called the mother of a dysfunctional family. they all thought that, you know, it was her fault that her children had bad marriages. you mean the monarchy was under threat because people thought, well, what's the point of having a monarchy like that? you know, they're all scandals going on all the time. and it was just a disaster. oh, during the reception in november, the queen shows her true feelings. ah 1992 is not a year on which i look back with undiluted pleasure. boom words or one of my more sympathetic correspondence. it has turned out to be an anis

already bill is the mood in the country is bleak. john majors government seems lack luster. britain is yearning for a fresh start. 43 year old tony blair is the labor parties new hope he promises to change things and indeed, on the 2nd of may 1997. tony blair enters downing street with a landslide victory. ah, blair came to office with an enormous majority. so i think it would have been quite natural that the palace might have been a little bit skirt as to what he was going to do with it as it were. and he knew he was very, very cocky when he started out. he he walked to the state opening of parliament holding his wife's hand, which made the state procession look slightly sort of antiquated. at least that was

the impression to the old new labour. it was always in a new cool baton. here it was all, everything was going to change, things were going to apparently get better during their 1st audience. elizabeth cuts herself confident, prime minister, down to size. when tony blair 1st became prominent his very 1st audience with the queen, he told me the queen said, ah mister bla, welcome to 1st audience as prime minister. of course, my 1st run minister was winston churchill. and he went and bought then. and he said that put me my place straight away. oh, just 3 months after blair takes office. princess diana died in a car accident. i. death is a test for the relationship between the queen and her prime minister. elizabeth is on summer vacation and balmoral. she has the news of diana's death in the morning.

ah. the queen's 1st concern was her grandson's william and harry. she said to prince charles, we must take the radios out of their rooms. then she clicked on the television across all the channels and of course, every channel had pictures of the dead princess, the crash a life was endlessly re hashed and she said, we've got to get them out. we got to get them up on the hills. ah listen, organize a barbecue for them this evening and her preoccupation was with her own family. and she forgot that she had another family down in england. us all weeping and laying our wreaths and feeling that we had been deprived. and when she did come to think about us, she shrugged her shoulders unsold well,

you can all get home with it. ah, tony blair, however, comforts the grieving nations straight away. just alice after the accident, he stepped up to the microphone. with can we please have your reaction to the news? i feel like everyone else in this country to day, utterly devastated. our thoughts and prayers are with princess diana's family. in particular, her 2 sons, the 2 boys. ah, let's go out to them. she was the people's princess, and that's how she will stay, how she will remain in our hearts and in our memories forever.

ah, the grief over diana's death turns into rage against the silent queen. the newspapers attack, elizabeth, ah. the extraordinary emotions that came out in the country that the gap between that and on the way the royal family seemed totally stand offish and everything like that. and blair did advise the queen via prince charles as to how she the queen should behave. and this is, he'd only been prime minister for about 3 months to, to be advising the monica as to how she should behave towards her own people. was quite a tricky thing. the queen and her prime minister confer every day.

he urges her to address the nation. mm i guess history will say that's the, the pit the, the week in which i, the cream was slow to come back from bell. moral was a mistake. not necessarily a personal mistake, but i mistake of the institution. and actually, i think it's unfair because it was said the best of reasons to protect the grand sons at the most terrible time off to their mother's death. but it, that history judges harshly. and that that will be one of the judgments ah, 5 days after diana's death,

elizabeth finally returns to london. ah, downing street and the palace agreed that the queen must make a speech showing that she shared the grief of the people. the queen's private secretary's mall over the wording. ah, just at the last minute they sent it to dawning street. not for approval, but to see if they had any ideas. and it was campbell, who diffidently suggested on tony blair's behalf. could her majesty perhaps say speaking as a grandmother and they grabbed it. so what i said you now as your queen and as a grandmother, i say from my heart 1st i want to pay tribute to diana myself. she was an exceptional and gifted human being in good times and bad. she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh,

nor to inspire others with her warmth. unkindness. thanks to blair's bright idea. the queen winds back the hearts of the people. but her relationship with the prime minister remains difficult. at her 50th wedding anniversary, blair blabs about the highly confidential audience. for a moment, elizabeth loses her eternal smile. actually, your majesty is closing words to me at buckingham palace on tuesday. at the end of our, our weekly session were, please don't be to abusive. no british prime minister can afford such a mishap. may be one of the reasons why bless audiences with elizabeth are often over after just 20 minutes hour queen. with a keen sense of humor, and a mean ability for mimicry. in the end,

blair loses both popular and political support. he vacate downing street to make room for his successor gordon brown. brown's government is hapless and after only 3 years, he has to make way for david cameron, a tory, the queen's 12th prime minister in 2011, prince william and kate's fairy tale wedding makes the monarchy more popular than ever. politically, however, the united kingdom is facing one of the biggest crises in its history. breck fit. although david cameron is against britain leaving the e u, he promises his people a referendum. he hopes this will strengthen his position as prime minister above all,

he doesn't expect to be defeated. ah, but he's wrong. in june 2016. a wafer thin majority of 52 percent of britons voted to leave the e. u. the british people have made a very clear decision to take a different call. cameron resigns. ah, his successor teresa may have the difficult task of making break that happen. rex, it means breakfast and we're going to make a success of it. the 2nd female prime minister in british history has a good working relationship with the queen. but she is unpopular within her party and with the people. after 3 years,

she finally gives up while the government stumbles from crisis to crisis, the royals add some glamour to the tristan. in may 2018. megan and harry get married at the time. no one would have guessed that the marriage would soon spock a major family route among the windsor's in july, 2019 boris johnston replaces to resume and becomes elizabeth's 14th prime minister. when he was born, she had already been on the throne for 12 years. johnson's government stands for much that runs counter to elizabeth's principles, nationalism, confrontation and disruption. and what does the queen think about breakfast? it's complicated to even try and go into what the queen thinks about anything of

a political bent because she spent her entire life on the throne being politically impartial, and actually rather inscrutable because she's never given any interviews. and therefore, it's probably quite difficult to determine whether she was for or against leaving the you when it came to the referendum. early 2020. the united kingdom leaves the e u. the brakes are tears celebrate. ah, but bricks it is far from over. johnson faces, months of difficult negotiations with the e u. the prospect of a disorderly exit exacerbates the economic crisis. ah, brick sit is followed by makes it hairy,

and megan retired from royal life in january 2020. their accusations, too much controlled by the palace, racism too much media hype. megan even speaks of suicidal thoughts. the usa is to become then you free home without financial support from the royal family. a heavy blow for the queen. so she's having to deal with it both as a grandmother and a great grandmother, but also as head of the monarchy. and there is this sense that you have to preserve the monarchy, no one or 2 people a bigger than the institution itself. and that's what she ultimately did. ah, 2020 turns into another. and as horrible as for the queen, besides breaks it and makes it cove, it hits the country particularly hard. the n h s is overwhelmed. intensive care

units are overcrowded. great britain is recording high death rates. several members of the royal family become infected. the queen and her husband go into isolation at windsor castle. initially, the audiences with johnson are only held by telephone. the queen no longer leaves her home. ah london turns into a ghost town. prime minister johnson gets infected and governs from home, but then his condition deteriorates. he has to go into intensive care. a government crisis is looming. in this extra larry situation, the queen becomes a symbol for stability. once again, there's a sense that she's the mother of the nation as well as head of state. and particularly throughout crone of our irish, she's been proved to be

a woman of wisdom and experience and the type of person that the public turns to at a time of crisis. everything johnson survives. nevertheless, the british continue to suffer from cove it, but also from the economic crisis. lou politically, johnson can finally celebrate her success. after months of tough negotiations, london and brussels agree on a trade deal. with a no deal breaks, it has been averted. thank you very much. thank you. well, johnson has achieved his goal, but brick set has deeply divided british society. all the more important that the queen remained strictly neutral in this conflict.

mm. on top of breck stitch and cove it she now worried about her husband. for over 70 years. prince philip has been the man at her side. but in spring 2021, his health deteriorates. ah, the 9th of april becomes probably the most difficult day in queen elizabeth sleif. prince philip dies 2 months before his 100th birthday. they had been married since 1947.

ah . the britons moon with their queen. the next few weeks, the hard for the queen, but with her typical sense of duty, she soon resumes her public engagements where the brick set makes it cove. it was the death of her husband, her duties take priority. 2 months after the death of prince philip, she and boris johnson opened the g 7 summit in cornwall. ah, grey success is her continuity, her ability to move with the times and not look like a fusty fuddy. duddy old reactionary. on the other hand, could she have moved

a little bit more? could she have seemed a little bit more human, but the great um, victorian constitutional historian walter budget said, be very careful. don't let de la shine in on the magic. and it's a very, very difficult balance. and i think she's let some day de la china him at present, spoke much during the past 70 years, the queen has held more than 3 and a half 1000 audiences with her prime ministers. no one has more experience in office. and no one talks less about it. elizabeth's power lies in our acts, not in her words. my lord's privacy to me. she has never openly interfered with politics. my government priority has always been to secure the united kingdom's departure from the european union. but every prime minister knows governing with queen elizabeth is smart,

governing against her is impossible. ah . a conductor turns 17, and tells d w. what's truly important in life we take a look at his past and future. meet the artist, a very personal kent mercado arch

2030 minutes, d w. oh, how about taking a view? you could even take a chance on what i reread to. ah, don't expect to happy ending. literature west. germany. it is the end of the pandemic in sight. we show what it could look like. return to normal. and we visit those who are finding it difficult to success in our weekly coping 19 special every thursday on

d w. ah ah, this is dw news live from berlin. a deadline to fight. russia says ukrainian defenders of mario poll refused to lay down their weapons exchanged for their lives . that's as the cities of harkey in the capital key of face new attacks from russian boss. also on the program, pope francis says the world is seeing an easter of war giving his easter address,