Airdate: The Windsors’ Lost Letters

New 3 part history series The Windsors’ Lost Letters screens on SBS.

Everyone knows the story of the Queen’s father: reluctant but dutiful George VI. Most know the story of his elder brother, Edward, who rejected the throne for love. But their four siblings – Mary, Henry, George and John – have been largely forgotten. This series tells the interconnected stories of the first young Windsors. Never before seen letters and diaries belonging to the Royals reveal their hidden story across the social and political backdrop of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Through war, abdication and deep family divisions, the family would be subjected to unprecedented scrutiny and the parts these siblings played would shape the monarchy we know today.

Series One, Episode One: Rebellion
Post WWI, monarchies throughout Europe have toppled, most working men and many women now have the vote – it is a new, democratic and unpredictable age. George V has changed the royal family’s name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor – and deploys his five children as part of a charm offensive to woo the public. Princess Mary dutifully marries a British aristocrat and decorated war hero, in the first major Windsor wedding. Bertie’s marriage, also to a suitable spouse, soon follows. But brothers Edward, Henry and George are living the life of royal rogues in the frenetic 1920s scene.

Monday, 6 July at 7.30pm on SBS