Royal rumble

IT is unlikely to have escaped anyone’s attention that this year heralds the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Only one other monarch in our nation’s long history has reached the milestone of 60 years on the throne – Queen Victoria, who achieved her feat in 1897.

By all accounts, the celebrations back then were lavish, too. However, behind the scenes, a scandal was developing in the run-up to the big occasion that threatened to tear the Royal Family apart as Queen Victoria’s Last Love reveals.

When an Indian servant named Abdul Karim joined the royal household, he was originally employed as a waiter, but he soon began to grow closer to the queen.

He became the monarch’s friend, confidant and teacher, giving her daily lessons in Hindustani.

In the socially divisive 19th Century, the presence of a Muslim at the heart of the royal household was quite remarkable indeed and didn’t sit well with many.

The Queen’s relationship with the man broke racial and class taboos at the time, and led to jealousy within the ranks. His position also caused political problems for the Empire, and ultimately a confrontation between the Queen and her family broke out in 1897 that threatened to disrupt her diamond jubilee celebrations.

Much is known about Victoria’s 63-year reign, which was marked by a vast expansion of the British Empire and a spread of influence into Europe because many of her grandchildren married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the nickname the Grandmother of Europe.

However, as Queen Victoria’s Last Love highlights, less has been reported about her private life.

Journalist and author Martin Wainwright says on the show: “We don’t know exactly what Abdul said in that first year when he starts to really come to her attention, all we know is that somehow he must have appealed to her romantic interest in the Orient. He started to tell her stories of India – and that hooked her.”

This fascinating documentary paints a picture of a ruler who seemed to be years ahead of her time in her attitudes towards race relations.

To shed further light on the relationship and its impact on the Empire, the film features testimony from relatives of Victoria’s household and those of Abdul Karim himself, while extracts from the Queen’s diaries and journals add further colour to a fascinating and controversial period in our nation’s history.

MARCH 9, 2006, and while the rest of the TV schedules were nothing to write home about, one little series touched a chord with millions: Waterloo Road. It was a nice little earner for Jason Merrells, Jill Halfpenny and Angela Griffin back in the day.

Six years on and the show is still going strong. The latest run barely seems to have been on air a few minutes before the end of term has arrived once more. But what state will the staff be in if the school actually does close for good in this episode?

Michael has a plan to keep Waterloo Road alive, but it means persuading the staff to relocate 220 miles north.

We know he will succeed because the BBC is shooting the next series in Greenock, 25 miles outside Glasgow.

Meanwhile, Josh is dragged into gangfighting and winds up on the receiving end.

EVOLUTIONARY biologist Richard Dawkins is an expert in his field, but in later years has become arguably better known for his outspoken atheism as for anything he’s achieved professionally.

However, in 1976, he published The Selfish Gene, a book inspired by an idea by zoologist Bill Hamilton.

His theory suggested that genes rather than individuals or species drove natural selection; such a thought caused controversy in the scientific community.

The documentary Beautiful Minds focuses on what happened once the book was published, and also examines Dawkins’ life and career to date, including his criticisms of religion and creationist theories.