Secrets of the Royal Palaces

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 secret stories of palace retreats, as Sandringham is rocked by a mysterious shooting, we unearth the secrets of the ultimate seaside palace and we reveal how the late Queen's war-time escape led to one of Windsor's best kept secrets.

But first we tell the story of the royal retreat that made the Queen cry: her floating palace, Britannia. It was the only home the Queen ever chose for herself and its loss prompted the only public tears most royal watchers ever saw Her Majesty shed. We explore the yacht's hidden history and unravel why its loss caused such public sorrow on its decommissioning at Portsmouth dockyard.

Staying by the sea, we reveal the secrets of George IV's magnificently weird seaside palace, Brighton Pavilion, including how it was inspired by a stable-block in the garden and why the palace's finest showpiece room was reserved for the servants.

Historian Prof Kate Williams reveals some of the darkest secrets of the royal retreats including the astonishing story of how King George V's doctor hurried the dying monarch to his death at Sandringham without consulting the King, in order that his death could be reported in the morning's Times rather than (heaven forbid!) in a lower-class evening paper.

Still at Sandringham, we investigate another mysterious death, or rather deaths, after the shooting of two highly endangered Hen Harriers, a crime carrying a six-month prison sentence. The police officially named Prince Harry a suspect, to huge royal embarrassment, yet with no carcasses recovered no charges were ever brought and the crime remains unsolved…

Finally we tell the story of one of Windsor's best-kept secrets, prompted by the future Queen Elizabeth II's escape to the palace during the second world war. With the historic paintings cleared from the walls for fear of bombing, a local teenage student was called on to create some decoration for the Waterloo Chamber – all to fit with the pantomimes the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret staged there. To this day the charming pantomime pictures hide behind the grand oil-paintings in this grandest of rooms.

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.