Secrets of the Royal Palaces

Uncovering the secrets of palace entertaining, from Wayne Sleep teaching Princess Diana how to dance, to the Buckingham Palace party that almost went up in flames.

Behind-the-scenes tales of palace retreats, exploring former royal yacht Britannia'a hidden history and unravelling why its loss caused such public sorrow on its decommissioning at Portsmouth dockyard. Plus, the secrets of George IV's seaside palace Brighton Pavilion, while Kate Williams tells the astonishing story of how George V's doctor hurried the dying monarch to his death at Sandringham in order that its could be reported in the morning's edition of the Times.

This time, we uncover the secrets of Queen Victoria's Palaces, as we explore the romantic hideaway designed for her by Prince Albert, open-up the scandalous diaries that reveal Victoria's racier side, and discover just how many times she was shot at by would-be assassins. We begin with Victoria's birth at Kensington Palace. Architectural historian Jonathan Foyle takes us into the very room where a new era began and reveals how the birth was preceded by an unedifying baby-race across Europe as the twelve adult children of George III (all without legitimate heirs) got busy attempting to produce one - with Victoria ultimately taking the prize. Next we delve into Victoria's childhood to bust a pervasive palace myth. Victoria suggested that her upbringing at Kensington was miserable and lonely, but more recently discovered evidence suggests that her upbringing was largely a happy one. Professor Kate Williams tells the story of the first of six shootings survived by the Queen as she took a trip through Hyde Park shortly after her marriage. Undeterred by the assassination attempt, she continued to make public outings throughout her reign, and with each fresh shooting she found her popularity soar. We journey to the Isle of Wight, where Prince Albert created for his wife a new palace by the sea: Osborne House. We learn how its secret, cutting-edge design was decades ahead of its time, with everything from a plumbed-in bath to a lift. And we see the influence of one of the Queen's most controversial servants, Abdul Karim. Queen Victoria's personal diaries, housed in Windsor's Round Tower, show a saucier side to the monarch than we usually see, but they were once even more revealing. That was until daughter Beatrice destroyed an estimated two-thirds of them after Victoria's death, to "save" her mother's reputation. We reveal the secrets of two startling Victorian monuments: the vast Albert memorial created for the equivalent of £10million opposite the Albert Hall, and the statue of Victoria at the end of the Mall, the focal point of a complete transformation of London's ceremonial heart, giving us the central London of today. Finally, Kate recounts the antics of Victoria's son Bertie, nicknamed Edward the caresser, whose philandering ways continued as he ascended to the throne as Edward VII, lowering the tone at Queen Victoria's former HQ, Buckingham Palace.

Behind-the-scenes tales of Tudor residences, with architectural historian Jonathan Foyle tracing the story of Hampton Court Palace's creation and revealing it was a radical departure for architecture in this country. Plus, Kate Williams takes us to a Tudor palace banquet as she enjoys a startling treat known as coqz heaumez, which consisted of a helmet-wearing chicken riding a pig and was meant to suggest a proud knight on his trusty steed.

Revealing the secrets of Christmas in our royal palaces, from strange traditions to momentous events. We hear from eyewitnesses to legendary moments, like Wayne Sleep smuggling himself into Kensington Palace to teach Princess Diana, and a pub landlord who served Queen Elizabeth II after she got stranded in a snowstorm. The story of Harry and Meghan's romance, Sandringham's Christmas history, and the Queen's train journeys to Norfolk are also uncovered.