The BBC documentary will see Queen Elizabeth II reflect on her memories of the 1953 ceremony as well reminiscing about watching her father, George VI, being crowned when she was just 11-years-old.
Ahead of tonight’s highly-anticipated hour-long conversation, royal commentator Bruce, 57, revealed the Queen’s sole ground-rule for the discussion.
“Simply this: that you don’t ask the Queen a direct question,” Bruce told press at a recent screening of The Coronation.
“So you pose a comment that the Queen then responds to and if there’s the chance to very gently to take the comment that the Queen has made forward, then conversationally you can do that.”
He stressed: “It worked really well, actually.
“I make a comment, ‘It’s amazing how red this wall hanging is’, and then there was a pause and the Queen would say, ‘Well, red is a very strong colour,’ and off we go. I think it worked really well.
“The Queen was unbelievably generous to me by making me feel very very relaxed and comfortable, and she has the most delightful sense of humour so we got through it very well, I think.”
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Bruce, who admitted he found his experience with the Queen “overwhelming” also shared his greatest surprise at their meeting.
“It was the huge enthusiasm the Queen shows for certain parts of the imperial state crown,” he explained. “Her love of the Black Prince’s Ruby was fascinating.
“Her description of the drilling of the hole, and the fact that with Atlantic productions we were able to get this unbelievably close up analysis through the cameras of each and every stone – and you can absolutely see this drilled hole – and experiencing that enthusiasm from The Queen, both for the Black Princess Ruby and the story of her ancestor.
“It’s not just somebody talking here, it’s the Queen seen talking about her ancestor and the fact that at the battle of Agincourt in 1415 in the helmet; and again taking and tapping the pearl earring worn by Elizabeth I – Elizabeth II tapping with her fingers the earring worn by Elizabeth I – I was absolutely overwhelmed and no matter what you might know about the collection, the Queen as guardian and the person who was crowned with that symbol, it was pretty overwhelming.”
The Coronation airs tonight at 8pm on BBC One.
