. >> reporter: archivist elizabeth harper keeps record of all the stars on stage. >> it was the firstles played here, and you can see it's quite female heavy. >> reporter: and backstage. >> i have some lovely images of princess diana coming here, which actually people won't have seen before. >> reporter: the idea for a place to promote the arts and sciences to the british masses began with prince albert, but he died in 1861 before the hall was completed. a decade letter, his widow, queen victoria was still grieving at the opening ceremony. >> it's really sad, because she says in her diaries she was so overcome with emotion, she couldn't speak, and she just thought of her dear prince albert. >> she really loved him? >> she really did. >> reporter: at the time the hall ones of the largest in the world. >> they didn't know how to fill a venue like this. nowhere else existed quite like it. eventually they found quite crowd-pleasing events to draw people in. >> reporter: events like the world's first major bodybuilding contest. extravagant balls -- >> it's the viennese waltz. >> reporter:

. ♪ >> reporter: elizabeth harper keeps records of all of the stars on stage. >> it was the theatre, quite female-heavy. >> reporter: and back stage. >> i have some lovely images of princess diana coming her wch actually people won't have seen before. >> reporter: the idea is to promote the arts and sciences to the british masses began with prince albert, but he died in 1861, before the hall was completed. a dic a decade later, queen elizabeth was grieving. >> she thought of her day with prince albert. >> reporter: she really loved him? >> she really did. >> reporter: at the time, the hall was one of the largest in the world. >> they didn't know how to fill a venue like this. there is nothing quite like it. but eventually they found events to draw people in. >> reporter: events like the first body building event, and speeches b erages a in 1933, albert einstein spoke here, warning of the looming horrors of world war ii. legend has it the hall survived that war relatively unscathed by enemy pilots relied on its dome as a navigation point. >> it is quite a cattle market. >> reporter: a