Plot Synopsis

In the year of her 80th birthday, Queen Elizabeth II granted the filmmakers of MONARCHY: THE ROYAL FAMILY AT WORK an exclusive look inside the modern British monarchy. In this intimate series, viewers join Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of Britain's most famous family as they travel abroad, work at the palace and meet people from all walks of life. The programs follow the queen as she visits the first permanent British settlement in the U.S. and spends time with President Bush at the White House. The cameras roll as she visits the newly democratic republic of Estonia - where no British monarch has set foot before. Back in England, the series goes inside Buckingham Palace for exclusive interviews with members of the royal family, preparations for elaborate formal occasions and a behind-the-scenes look at the royal kitchens, royal wine cellar and royal car fleet, and the jobs of footmen, ladies in waiting, the yeomen guard and the crown jeweler. MONARCHY: THE ROYAL FAMILY AT WORK offers a glimpse behind the velvet curtain to reveal what life is really like as a member of the family firm. PBS aired the U.S. premiere of this series on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 8pm ET.