The Firm : Troubled Life of the House of Windsor

The Firm : Important and Relevant

Is the House of Windsor a hangover from the past, an expensive anachronism, a relic of a bygone age of deference and hierarchy, or is "the Firm" an important and relevant part of Britain in the 21st century - something that gives stability and continuity to the country, and richness and glamour to our national life in ways that a republic never could?

House of Windsor

In 1916, during World War I, anti-German feeling among the people resulted in the Royal Family exchanging use of all of their German titles and house names for English-sounding versions. The House of Windsor came into being in 1917, when the name was adopted as the British Royal Family's official name by a proclamation of King George V, replacing the historic name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. It remains the family name of the current Royal Family.
The period saw the modernisation of the monarchy in tandem with many social changes which have taken place over the past 90 years.

The Firm : No Privacy

Members of the House of Windsor live in the lap of luxury with footmen, valets and under-butlers, cooks and courtiers, but for all the palaces and privilege it is not an enviable life. The work is hard, repetitive and unremitting; they are in the limelight from cradle to coffin, the Windsors have no privacy, no freedom, no voice and, so long as Britain continues to want a monarchy, no choice.

Family's relationship

As Camilla Parker Bowles - a new and controversial member - joins its ranks The Firm investigates the Windsor Family's relationship with government, the press and the people. It looks at whether the institution can reach out to those, particularly the young, who see the House of Windsor as no more interesting or significant than the players in a soap opera. It asks, in short, whether the British monarchy has a future.