Throughout her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II underwent a stunning transformation, devoting her entire life to public service and upholding a favorable image of the monarchy. All the while, she leaned on allies like David Attenborough who helped make decisions regarding her public image.
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Prior to Elizabeth’s time on the throne, the royal family had always been enigmatic — but the sovereign hoped to change that. In 1969, she commissioned a documentary called “Royal Family,” which aired on the BBC and offered a glimpse into the royals’ private lives. By most accounts, the monarch’s inner circle approved of the project — however, there was one glaring exception: David Attenborough. In her book “The Queen and Di: The Untold Story,” biographer Ingrid Seward revealed that Attenborough felt the documentary would spoil the “mystique” of the royal family. According to Seward, Attenborough told a BBC executive, “You’re killing the monarchy, you know, with this film you’re making.”
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Despite their disagreement over “Royal Family,” Attenborough always looked out for Elizabeth’s best interests. In the late ’80s, the monarch needed help selecting an outfit for her annual Christmas broadcast, so she called upon Attenborough. “It was a room with green wallpaper so I dismissed all the green stuff. I picked out something that was mushroom,” the naturalist revealed during a 2015 speech at the Radio Times Festival, as reported by The Telegraph. He added, “[T]he Queen came out of this rackety old lift and she said: ‘I hope you approve of my costume.'”
