(narrator) At the heart of the British establishment are the royal palaces.

Imposing... (Dr. Ramirez) They encapsulate the very finest architecture, art, design.

(narrator) Lavish... (Professor Whitelock) It was deliberately grand, this most ostentatious statement of absolute power.

(narrator) ...and brimming with hidden gems.

(Lisa) You always feel like there's something new to discover.

(narrator) They're the backdrop to every royal event.

(Susie) Every celebration, birth, death, crisis for a thousand years.

(narrator) In this all new Secrets of the Royal Palaces, we gain exclusive access to these illustrious buildings and uncover their private parts... (Dr. Foyle) The regal bog, that would be used by Queen Victoria herself.

(narrator) ...reveal the extraordinary royal art hidden within... (Dr. Ramirez) The Queen's stamp collection is worth 100 million pounds.

Not a bad return on loads of pictures of yourself really, is it?

(narrator) ...dig up the royal palaces' dark history... (Professor Williams) George builds secret tunnels so no one could ever see him.

(narrator) ...and share fresh revelations about the royal dramas that are gripping the nation.

(Colin) Not a soul got anywhere near that island.

I loved it a bit.

(narrator) This is the Secrets of the Royal Palaces.

(dramatic music) ♪ (peppy music) Coming up: We discover Windsor's most ruthless queen.

(Professor Williams) Legend has it that Isabella killed him herself by pushing a red-hot poker up his bottom.

What a brutal way to die.

(narrator) A security leak at Buckingham Palace causes a scandal that threatens the monarchy's image.

(Emily) It was a crime.

A member of staff had stolen these either from Anne's briefcase or her desk.

(narrator) And a daring new look for the Queen backfires.

(Susanna) It could almost be a kind of album cover for a band from the early '80s.

♪ (regal music) (narrator) Britain's palaces are some of the most beautiful and admired in the world.

♪ They are not just bricks and mortar.

They are a symbol of the power of the Crown itself.

(narrator) But behind palace walls there is often a power play between the royals themselves.

♪ In the wake of Harry and Meghan's move to America, the Cambridges needed to refocus the spotlight back onto their court.

♪ (energetic music) And the James Bond premiere gave them the perfect opportunity to do so.

(Richard) The premiere for a James Bond film is always extremely glamorous, and the royals are-- are just like the rest of us.

They love a good Bond film.

(narrator) After weeks of secret fittings, the duchess went all out to make this an affair to remember.

♪ (Richard) She was, uh, dressed in this amazing outfit.

(triumphant music) ♪ Gold sparking with crystals and sequins and beads, and I mean, she looked a million dollars.

♪ It was a real moment for her to remind everyone that she is the future queen.

She is a glamorous young woman and everyone could-- could really see that from this dress choice.

(quirky music) (narrator) The dress was created by a palace favorite: Jenny Packham.

(Richard) We know from the designer herself that she'd modeled this particular outfit that she designed for Kate on the famous actress who played the gold-covered model in that iconic Bond movie, Goldfinger.

(narrator) Kate did make one secret adjustment to the original design.

She raised the neckline to protect her modesty.

(wondrous music) And Kate's glamorous look also secretly paid homage to another former palace icon.

As soon as Kate came out of the premiere, there were instant comparisons to Princess Diana at the 1985 premiere of A View to Kill.

That night Diana wore this incredible silver, almost foil-like, pleated dress by Bruce Oldfield with the same plunging neckline and gathered effect around the waist that we saw on Kate's dress.

And I think we often see Kate doing this, just giving these little touches, little nods to her mother-in-law, and just acknowledging her sort of style heritage and the fashion effect that she had without it being too literal.

♪ (Richard) It took a while for her to become the confident figure that she is today, but she now patrols that red carpet like it's her own.

It's almost as though she was born to it.

She seems very natural, assured, she talks easily to people.

I think, yeah, behind the scenes there's this very distinct operation to kind of elevate her as the new star of the royal family.

♪ (peppy music) (narrator) One day, the Cambridges will become King and Queen Consort, and their main home is likely to be here: Buckingham Palace, the headquarters of the royal family.

(Julie) Buckingham Palace is considered the most iconic royal palace across the globe.

(narrator) Architectural Historian Jonathan Foyle knows the palace well.

Buckingham Palace has reputedly 775 rooms.

I haven't counted each one of them, but these plans give you a sense of how many there are arrayed on each floor when you think of it spread out over three floors, and then plus the courtyards as well.

You know, certainly, it's a big complex.

(pleasant music) (narrator) But how did Buckingham Palace become the grand focus of royal power?

You have to go back to when George IV came to the throne.

He became King when Britain was riding high after defeating Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo.

(Professor Whitelock) England in 1820 was a country full of self-confidence.

George wanted to consolidate this kind of sense of optimism and grandeur and power, and architecture is a way of displaying power, and Buckingham Palace really did sum up the age.

(narrator) George spared no expense and employed one of the most fashionable and costly architects of the day, John Nash.

(Dr. Owens) What George IV was hoping for was that Nash would give Buckingham Palace a real facelift.

(narrator) And there is one particular room that Nash ensured would wow visiting dignitaries.

(regal music) ♪ The Throne Room.

It has become the focal point for every milestone event in the royal family... ♪ ...from coronations to weddings, to meeting heads of state.

(Lisa) So the Throne Room at--at Buckingham Palace really overwhelms you.

Um, it batters your eyes with its throniness.

(contemplative music) (narrator) But despite George's extravagant spending on his pet palace, it wasn't finished within his lifetime.

♪ And the next king, William IV, did not share George's enthusiasm for palace building.

(Dr. Owen) As a king, William wasn't interested in extravagance.

He was a--a very austere figure and he rejected the wealth, the splendor, the ceremony that had-- had characterized his-- his predecessor's, uh, reign.

And so it remained, um, covered in dust sheets and--and getting increasingly dirty until Queen Victoria decided to move into it.

♪ (narrator) We'll see later how Victoria would transform Buckingham Palace into the most fashionable in the world.

♪ Coming up: One of the most ruthless queens in British history plots her revenge at Windsor Castle.

(Professor Williams) Eleanor was furious, jealous, heartbroken.

She wanted to annihilate her love rival.

(narrator) And the scandalous theft of secret love letters from Buckingham Palace that threatened to destroy the monarchy.

(Emily) Princess Anne was lonely and she sought solace elsewhere.

(peppy music) (pleasant music) (narrator) Britain's royal palaces are some of the most lavish in the world, both outside and in.

Over centuries, the royal family have amassed one of the most extensive collections of art in the world.

(Emily) It's not just paintings.

It's pieces of jewelry.

It's furniture.

But it is incredibly valuable because it's a reflection of the personal taste of the kings and queens of the last 400 years.

♪ (narrator) And one of the most exquisite items is this grand piano, which can be seen at Buckingham Palace in the Queen's White Drawing Room.

It is not your average piano.

This is a piano that has been completely blinged up, pimped up.

It's OTT, it is gold, it is covered in decoration.

It's a really exquisite piece.

(elegant piano music) (narrator) It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1856 to be the showpiece of their staterooms at Buckingham Palace.

(Dr. Ramirez) It's a bit of a composite piece.

The actual piano, the--the keys, the workings of it are by a company known as Erard, and they were very important piano makers during the Victorian period.

The casing is actually from an earlier piano.

It's made up of so many rich materials.

There's mahogany, satin wood.

It's all been varnished, gilded.

And the miniatures painted on it are by a French miniaturist called Rochard.

(narrator) Its ownership and history makes this piano one of the most valuable musical items in the royal collection.

(Dr. Ramirez) Well, other similar Erard pianos have sold at auction for 140,000 pounds, around that mark.

But because this has been played by every monarch from Queen Victoria onwards, surely just that provenance would whack up the price tag.

(soft piano music) (narrator) For Albert and Victoria, their love of music was invaluable, and piano playing was one of their favorite pastimes here in Buckingham Palace or in any of their palaces.

(Dr. Ramirez) Music was such an important part of their relationship.

They were both excellent musicians.

They both played the piano.

Victoria had a beautiful soprano voice.

♪ It really amazing to think that this object, um, has had all these royals performing the music-- the cutting-edge music of their time on its keys.

(mysterious music) (narrator) Though it's not known if our current Queen plays the piano in any of her palaces, we do know it featured prominently in her 2018 Christmas message, where it can clearly be seen in the background.

Our current Queen, Elizabeth II, got into a bit of trouble with this piano.

In her speech, she was talking about generosity, about giving to one another, and yet in the background there is hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of gilded piano, so sort of undermined the message slightly.

(uplifting music) (narrator) Whatever the price tag, for the royal family, the piano is simply part of the furniture of Buckingham Palace.

This piano has been played by every monarch from Queen Victoria right up to our present Queen.

There's a photograph of her mom, the Queen Mom, playing to George VI on their 25th wedding anniversary.

I think it's quite a romantic object.

♪ (dramatic music) (narrator) Palaces are synonymous with wealth and luxury.

But they have also been spaces of danger and intrigue.

The royal palaces are witnesses to centuries of backstabbing, scheming, and betrayal.

(narrator) To protect their palaces, some monarchs have had to be ruthless.

And in the 12th century, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine would stop at nothing to defend her position at Windsor Castle.

(mysterious music) ♪ (Professor Williams) Queen Consort Eleanor became engaged to Henry II, and they were both glamorous and gorgeous.

It was a very successful marriage.

They had eight children and five sons.

(regal music) But Henry had dozens of affairs, fathering illegitimate children.

And Eleanor tolerated the affairs, but all this changed when Rosamund Clifford came along.

♪ She apparently was incredibly beautiful, an absolute knock-out, and Henry was smitten.

♪ He apparently created her a small secret house in a maze for their romantic rendezvous.

♪ Rumors began circulating about the affair.

Everyone was talking about it.

Eleanor was so humiliated she begged her husband to squash the rumors.

Instead, he did the opposite.

He went public, he acknowledged it.

(dramatic music) He adored Rosamund and he didn't mind who knew it.

What happened next is the stuff of legends.

Eleanor was furious, jealous, heartbroken.

She wanted to annihilate her love rival, and Eleanor found a way of getting into the maze... ♪ ...because she found a loose thread that had come out of one of Rosamund's dresses, and she followed this all the way through the maze.

♪ Found Rosamund at the heart of the maze, and the story was that's when she confronted her.

♪ (ominous music) Eleanor offered her rival the choice of two tempting options to kill herself.

♪ Either she killed herself by drinking a bottle of poison... ♪ ...or she stabbed herself to death with a dagger, and Rosamund apparently chose the poison and died, died for the love of her king.

♪ (bright music) (narrator) As well as dark dramas, Britain's royal palaces are synonymous with pomp, grandeur, and tradition, and the one most recognizable to millions of people is Buckingham Palace.

(Dr. Owens) It's one of Britain's most symbolic buildings, capturing the-- the classic palace look.

(wondrous music) (narrator) Inside Buckingham Palace are the state apartments, designed for visiting dignitaries to meet the Queen and catch a glimpse of the royals' secret world.

(camera snapping) ♪ And the most magnificent stateroom is the Ballroom, where many state banquets are held today.

♪ The room is so vast that it takes three weeks to prepare for a state banquet, including polishing this gilt dinner service.

This impressive space is the legacy of Queen Victoria, the first monarch to live there full time.

Yes, it was going to be the royal center of operations, but it was really important for her that her family would be there and live with her, too.

(quirky music) (narrator) But she quickly decided that this fabulously appointed palace was nowhere near big enough for her growing family, or her love of partying.

♪ On arriving at Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria is not impressed by what she finds.

It's dirty, drab, it's cold.

Uh, she wants glitz, she wants glamor.

♪ So she writes to Sir Robert Peel, uh, requesting that the--the British Government invest in a ballroom that she can use, where she can host her guests.

(Professor Whitelock) Buckingham Palace became a--a party palace in many ways.

(narrator) And Victoria could justify this grand space for diplomatic use.

♪ (Dr. Foyle) If you are someone like Queen Victoria, and you have this burgeoning empire surrounding you where people speak different languages, and you have ambassadors from those places, music is really useful because it's a leveler.

You know, everyone can understand music.

You don't--there's no language barrier there.

(elegant music) ♪ (narrator) The Ballroom became not only the biggest in the palace, but also the largest in London.

♪ (Dr. Foyle) The Ballroom at Buckingham Palace is a whopper.

It is 110 feet long, it's 60 feet wide, it's 45 feet high.

(narrator) These huge proportions were needed for a particular reason.

The dance of the day was the waltz and the waltz needed lots of space.

♪ (narrator) Victoria's husband Prince Albert took control of the project and added more and more ambitious ideas.

(Professor Whitelock) Costs spiraled, almost doubled the cost about 77,000, which is about 6 million in today's money.

Partly this was Albert sort of getting a bit carried away with installing things like gas lamps in the--the Ballroom.

♪ (narrator) Even though the Ballroom went way over budget, it was a huge success with its guests, leading the palace to be named "The Headquarters of Taste."

♪ And later, we'll find out how the royal family used the death of Victoria to finance a multimillion pound facelift.

♪ (wondrous music) Since the turn of the 20th century, Buckingham Palace has been the focus of many royal events, particularly when it comes to a royal wedding... ♪ ...culminating in an appearance on the most famous balcony in the world.

In 1973, Princess Anne was the first of the Queen's children to marry and appear here.

It was a moment of huge celebration.

(Susie) There was half a billion people watched the ceremony, so it was, um, terribly romantic.

She wore a beautiful gown, amazing tiara that the Queen lent her, and a whole nation rejoiced.

♪ (bells tolling) (peppy music) (narrator) Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, had settled down at the new royal residence of Gatcombe Park with dashing army captain and fellow Olympic equestrian, Mark Phillips.

(Emily) They met, uh, whilst both competing at the Olympics, so it was a real, you know, love affair founded on horses.

(narrator) But what had initially seemed like the perfect marriage soon hit the rocks.

(dramatic music) I don't think he was terribly well suited to being a member of the royal family.

(Dr. Dunlop) And by all accounts they had a couple of rather unfortunate nicknames that Prince Charles gave him because Charles didn't consider him, well, the sharpest knife in the box.

He was described by Prince Charles as being thick but dim, and therefore nicknamed "Fog."

♪ (narrator) The couple's long absences from each other also didn't help.

So Mark Phillips, uh, was running a business.

He was being sort of a professional equestrian, traveling around the world a lot.

We later found out that on tour or a trip to New Zealand, he was having an affair with a young teacher called Heather Tonkin.

And she would come to meet him in the equestrian center where he was based, and she would know which room he was in because he would leave his dirty, muddy horse-riding boots outside the door.

That's the horsey set for you.

(Emily) Princess Anne was lonely and she sought solace elsewhere.

(tense music) (narrator) In 1989, there were rumors at the palace that Anne had a new man in her life.

♪ (Emily) So Tim Laurence was the Queen's equerry.

He was from the Navy, and he had been with the Queen on the Royal Yacht Britannia.

So that's how the two of them met, and the two of them developed a-- I think the--the--the term is "a close friendship."

But of course no one knew about it.

(ominous music) (narrator) But in April 1989, everything changed when the tabloids were sent stolen letters which revealed Anne's elicit affair.

♪ Still to come: How the theft of Princess Anne's secret letters publicly revealed the state of her marriage.

(Richard) It is a big deal, I mean, because the royal palaces are supposed to be the most secure buildings in the whole of the country.

(narrator) And the secret of the royal portrait that has divided opinion.

(Dr. Dunlop) They look like they should be bid parts in Star Trek, to be honest.

(peppy music) (bright music) (narrator) Britain's royal palaces are some of the most opulent and eye-catching in the world.

The royal family has a long list of palaces that they can call home, but Windsor Castle is their oldest.

(Richard) It was famously built by William the Conqueror, and that's when the first castle ramparts went up, and it's been a lived-in castle for a thousand years.

(narrator) Windsor was also the home of one of the most notorious Queen Mothers in history.

(mysterious music) ♪ (regal music) (Professor Williams) Princess Isabella of France is married off age 12.

She was married to Edward II of England.

The only problem was is at the beginning of their marriage he was in love with his best friend and favorite, Piers Gaveston.

♪ (quirky music) Edward's love for Piers means he snubs his wife, in fact, he's really cruel.

He gives Piers half her dowry of jewels.

He gives him an earldom.

He's called "a second king."

And actually this doesn't just annoy Isabella, but all the barons are furious at the influence that Piers has, and eventually they bump him off.

♪ Soon Edward is back on the prowl for other men.

And as a teenage bride, Isabella had put up with these infidelities, but now, 28, four children, she's particularly annoyed when Edward falls in love with Hugh Despenser.

And the King, once more, was showering titles and money and privileges on Hugh, and Isabella was furious.

(sinister music) Admired by everyone except her husband, Isabella starts her own affair with Roger Mortimer, and the pair of them start plotting against the throne.

Isabella allied with Mortimer and her son Edward to get power from her husband.

The barons side with her and the Queen storms to victory.

♪ It's time for the She-Wolf to get her payback.

(tense music) Hugh Despenser was dragged naked through the streets, made a spectacle of, executed, and it was so gruesome.

Stories varied about whether he was castrated, beheaded, hanged, dismembered.

King Edward was forced to abdicate to allow his 14-year-old son to take the throne.

Legend has it that Isabella killed him herself by pushing a red-hot poker up his bottom, and the screams could be heard from miles around.

What a brutal way to die.

And that's why she was called the She-Wolf.

♪ (energetic music) (narrator) Britain's royal palaces are some of the most magnificent in the world.

But behind the glitz and glamor, there are secrets that lurk within their corridors.

♪ (Richard) Well, if the walls could speak, they would have some wonderful stories to tell of intrigue, of betrayal, of love and-- and thwarted love, too.

♪ (narrator) Palatial royal scandals are, of course, not only consigned to ancient history.

In 1989, one threatened to expose the state of Princess Anne's marriage, when it was revealed that the protective walls of Buckingham Palace had been breached.

Secret letters from Princess Anne's lover, Tim Laurence, a member of the palace household, had been stolen from the Princess's private apartments, and they had been sent straight to the newspapers.

One of the most unlikely secrets to emerge, um, from the palace in recent years was the intimate letters written to Princess Anne by a man, who at that time was the equerry to the Queen.

So these letters were leaked to The Sun newspaper, who clearly realized what dynamite they were sitting on.

(pensive music) (narrator) But what the palace did next surprised even Fleet Street.

Ordinarily what would happen is the--the newspaper goes to the Buckingham Palace, says, "We've got some letters, we'd like to report on them."

And Buckingham Palace would give a fairly anodyne, blank statement, just saying, "Some letters have been stolen."

-That would be it.

-But, crucially, Buckingham Palace released a statement saying that the letters had been written by Queen's equerry, Tim Laurence, to Princess Anne, and they were personal letters of a personal nature, and they wouldn't be commenting further.

It was astonishing bit of detail.

As far as royal watchers were concerned, Buckingham Palace would never give you extra information when you go to them for a comment, ever.

And so this was-- it was very widely seen as basically Princess Anne, all the royal family themselves as a whole, confirming this was the person she was in love with.

(contemplative music) (narrator) Fleet Street editors refused to publish the actual letters, claiming they were too steamy in nature and too hot to handle.

The letters were given to The Sun newspaper, who didn't publish them crucially, because they couldn't.

It would've been a breach of copyright and The Sun knew that.

(narrator) But aside from the palace's embarrassment, the letters also revealed a potential security risk at the palace.

♪ (broadcaster) Were they taken from Buckingham Palace, who stole them, and what did they contain?

The palace, the police, and the media are all anxious for the answers.

It was a crime.

A member of staff had stolen these either from Anne's briefcase or her desk, but at the very least from her personal office, somewhere that very few people had access to.

(Richard) It is a big deal, I mean, because the royal palaces are supposed to be the most secure buildings in the whole of the country.

(Emily) I mean, if someone was able to pinch intimate love letters from one member of staff to one of the members of the royal family, well, what--what else could people pinch or--or go missing?

Of course, metropolitan police then had to launch an investigation... (tense music) ...interviewing pretty much everybody, um, who was at Buckingham Palace.

Hundreds and hundreds of people taking all their fingerprints, taking their--their alibis, their stories, trying to work out who had stolen these letters.

(narrator) The investigation also meant that Anne and Tim Laurence were questioned.

(Daisy) I think, yeah, the police were pretty nervous about that, as you would be, 'cause you know you're going to be asking very delicate questions.

In fact, the reports back were that they were very open about it.

And you can't help but think, "Maybe they were relieved that it had got blown out into the open, that--that the choice had been taken away from them about how, when, and if to go public.

It had happened and everyone just had to deal with it."

(narrator) The investigation continued for four months.

(Emily) But police could never come up with any explanation as to who was responsible.

No one was ever charged.

They never found him or her, uh, and it's still one of the palace's great secrets.

(dramatic music) (narrator) Now the scandal had spread beyond the palace walls, there were consequences for Anne.

-To go?

-Turn around.

Never been mentioned, by anybody.

(Emily) Obviously now it's out in the public.

Something kind of had to be done because it still was creating institutional damage by the revelation of the sexual peccadillos, frankly, of the Princess Royal, of the Queen's daughter, and that does have a-- have a, um-- a backlash against the institute and the monarchy.

♪ (narrator) Three years after the theft of the letters, Mark and Anne divorced, making the Princess the first of the Queen's children to do so.

Same year, Andrew and Charles's marriages both hit the rocks, and the Queen described it later that year as her annus horribilis.

She said, "1992 is not a year I should look back on with undiluted pleasure."

(bright music) (narrator) Less than eight months after divorcing her first husband, Anne married Tim.

This time, it was far away from Buckingham Palace and the full glare of the media, at the church on the Balmoral Estate.

(Emily) Was a very low-key wedding.

Second marriages are allowed under the, um, Scottish Church.

The Queen went.

Uh, it was a very small, intimate family wedding, and Anne was very, very happy.

She looked so happy in the pictures.

She was unhappily married to Mark Phillips.

And certainly, you know, her--her marriage to--to--to Tim Laurence has--has endured.

They are still very happily married.

♪ (peppy music) (narrator) Buckingham Palace is not only a family home.

It's also where an army of staff operate tirelessly organizing the royal family's diary.

♪ The palace also keeps a tight rein on the royals' public image.

Most of the time they get it right.

But on the odd occasion, they get it terribly wrong.

♪ (Susie) They dressed as though they're in Cadbury wrappers.

(quirky music) You know, like Quality Streets or something.

♪ (Dr. Dunlop) They look like they should be bid parts in Star Trek, to be honest.

The Queen's looking really quite serious.

She's about to try and land Starship Enterprise.

♪ But then the Queen Mother has been possessed by archangel Gabriel.

♪ She's got this white halo around her head.

You know, after all, nobody's gonna say a rude word about the Queen Mother post-1945.

♪ As for Margaret, she's still seducing with those violet-blue eyes.

♪ (Susanna) It could almost be a--a kind of album cover for a band from the early '80s.

♪ (whimsical music) (narrator) "The Blue Trinity," as it has been dubbed, was taken at the Queen Mother's Windsor home of Royal Lodge in 1980.

The portrait was to commemorate her 80th birthday.

It was taken by Norman Parkinson, a well-known Vogue fashion photographer and a favorite of the royal family, who had photographed them many times before, but in a more traditional way.

I met Parkinson around the time he was doing this, and, um, he told me that he was chosen by the Queen Mother to take her official 80th birthday.

And in the past, the Queen Mother had been photographed with her daughters, but they would all would be wearing, uh, different clothes, and it's hard to concentrate on the--the people themselves and not get distracted by the clothes.

And so he came up with this idea that he would get Hardy Amies to run up a capelet so that all three members of the family were all wearing the same neutral garments, and the concentration of the photograph would be on their faces.

(energetic music) ♪ (Dr. Pritchard) It really sums up the 1980s.

It was a period of particular hairstyles, particular ways of lighting photographs as well.

(Dr. Dunlop) And don't forget that blue was the color of the '80s, who didn't have great big-- big bands of blue eye shadow, and the--that big hair, you know, all poofed up, lots of spray.

Well, all of them have got big hair in that photograph.

Must've taken hours.

They will have punched a massive hole in the ozone just keeping it set for a couple of hours.

(chuckling) (narrator) The photographs may not have dated as well as other classic images of the royals, but Parkinson still has his admirers.

I think it's a lovely picture.

I think it's a beautiful picture of a--the Queen Mother, and Parkinson should be very proud of it, and I don't understand why people think it's odd or don't like it, 'cause it is a lovely picture, you know, it's wonderful.

(bright music) (peppy music) (narrator) Coming up: The secret marriage that rocked the royal family.

There was no way George III was going to agree to his son marrying a commoner.

(narrator) And how Buckingham Palace transformed from this to this.

(Professor Whitelock) Here was a remodeling of Central London really, which was going to show how profound and significant Victoria's reign and legacy was.

♪ (regal music) (narrator) The royal family's palaces are some of the most magnificent in the world.

(Richard) I think all the royal palaces are unique, and there are many secrets that go on behind their walls that we simply don't know about.

(narrator) George IV kept plenty of secrets at his favorite home, Brighton Pavilion.

It was here he hid his secret wife.

(mysterious music) ♪ The young George, Prince of Wales, met beautiful Maria Fitzherbert after a night at the opera.

She was twice widowed, but he fell immediately in love with her.

He was obsessed, had to have her.

But there was just one problem: A marriage between them would be completely illegal.

(dramatic music) Not only was she a commoner.

She was Roman Catholic, and Roman Catholics could marry heirs to the throne.

Also, problem, big problem was that his father, George III, caused a law saying that all royals had to check with him before they got married, and there was no way George III was going to agree to his son marrying a commoner and a Catholic.

So that was the end of that, you'd think.

But no, George was a man obsessed, and he begged Mrs. Fitzherbert, letters, gifts.

He said he was really ill, he was dying.

He also threatened to commit suicide, and finally, Mrs. Fitzherbert gave in.

Problem was: Who was gonna solemnize it?

Because, well, it's an illegal marriage.

(pensive music) They approached three different clergymen, all of them said no.

Finally, one agreed for a big chunk of cash, so it was pretty much bribing someone to turn a blind eye to the law.

But where was George going to hide his secret, illegal wife?

She couldn't be hidden in London.

George had a brainwave and that brainwave was Brighton.

♪ He was going to live at the Royal Pavilion.

He'd built her a secret house next door... ♪ ..so George and Mrs. Fitzherbert could meet each other whenever they wished.

And George couldn't have been happier.

He was breaking every law about the royal succession, but nevermind, he got his wish, and that was Mrs. Fitzherbert and he had to have her.

♪ (regal music) (narrator) Britain's royal palaces are the most famous in the world, and the most recognizable of them all is Buckingham Palace.

It's the iconic home of the royal family in modern times.

It's got the balcony.

It's got the Mall.

It's got usually the Red Arrows.

♪ (narrator) Throughout the world, it is known as the seat of the royal family.

It's the place where we go now to see the royals and to be seen by them.

(wondrous music) (Dr. Foyle) When you approach Buckingham Palace, it's not the palace itself that's the first thing to hit you.

Instead, there is an enormous marble sculpture, and it is dripping with iconography.

♪ (narrator) This is the Victoria Monument.

♪ A tribute to one of Britain's longest reigning queens.

♪ Created by her son, Edward VII.

♪ When Edward VII came to the throne in 1901, he set up a committee to consider a fitting memorial to his mother, Queen Victoria.

(Lisa) She'd been on the throne for so long, she'd been the only queen that many people had known, and during her reign the most extraordinary revolutions had taken place, not only industrially, but also politically.

England coming to dominate the world economically and territorially.

(narrator) To pay tribute to his mother, Edward chose the architect Aston Webb and the sculptor Thomas Brock, and they came up with this.

(Dr. Foyle) It's a whopper-- it stands 25 meters tall and contains 2,300 tons of Italian Carrara marble, and that marble conveys a lot of symbolism.

(narrator) Surrounding Victoria are also images that depict justice and truth, elements that the architect wanted to associate with her 63-year-long reign.

But the silent sculpted messages don't stop there.

(Dr. Foyle) Around the edge further still in bronze are figure groups to do with manufacture and agriculture and peace and progress.

(contemplative music) And on top of this scene, we have the crowning figure of victory, like the cherry on the cake, she stands gilded, holding up a wreath, telling everyone who sees this monument that the figure beneath, Queen Victoria, will be crowned with laurel for eternity.

♪ The memorial is very visible and familiar to millions of people, but here's the secret to it: It's not just those 2,300 tons of Carrara marble, and it's not just the plinth that it's sat on, because the concept for it extends much further out.

(inspiring music) It encompasses everything we see here at the end of the Mall, because it is the entire forecourt to Buckingham Palace.

♪ (Professor Whitelock) It represents in many ways the reach of Victoria's reign across the globe, and here was a legacy, uh, that was established through a remodeling of Central London really, which was going to endure and show how profound and significant Victoria's reign and legacy was.

(pleasant music) (narrator) Edward knew that the cost of this ambitious project would be huge.

An estimated 27 million pounds in today's money.

To fund it, he lobbied Victoria's empire.

♪ Most contributions were recognized in the designs of these gates.

You can see the names of countries: South Africa, West Africa opposite.

There's Canada and Australia.

(narrator) But what many people don't know is that Edward's fundraising was so successful that there was a huge cash surplus that also needed to be spent.

So 60,000 pounds was diverted into the recasing of Buckingham Palace's facade, turning what had been a dull, lackluster design into something befitting London and its imperial status.

♪ (peppy music) (narrator) The palace went from this to the building we recognize today.

The whole project took over 10 years, and was finally completed in the autumn of 1913.

And since its creation over 100 years ago, the Victoria Monument and Buckingham Palace have been the setting and focus for many royal and national celebrations.

♪ (regal music) ♪ ♪ (bright music)