Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is giving candid interviews about life as a monarch as part of a new series.

The BBC is airing 'The Coronation', which is marking the 65th anniversary of her coronation.

The hour-long film is looking at the story of the crown jewels and the ancient ceremony for which they are used.

Queen Elizabeth II recalls the day when the weight of both St Edward's Crown and the hopes and expectations of a country recovering from war were on her shoulders.

She says: "Fortunately, my father and I have about the same sort of shaped head. But once you put it on, it stays. I mean, it just remains itself."

She jokingly says she cannot look down when wearing the imperial state crown, which weighs 2lbs 13oz (1.28kg), as her neck would "break".

"There are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they're quite important things".

The film also features eyewitness accounts of those who participated in the 1953 coronation.

It is part of the Royal Collection season, in partnership between the BBC and Royal Collection Trust.

It looks at the history of the Royal Collection - one of the largest art collections in the world.

Queen Elizabeth also reveals her dislike for the gold state coach, which she sometimes travels in.

Recalling the time she went from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey for her coronation, she describes the journey as "horrible".

She reveals the seven-metre-long (24ft) gilded carriage, which weighs almost four tons and is pulled by eight horses, is "not meant for travelling in at all".

"It's only sprung on leather", she added, and "not very comfortable".

She says her journey to the abbey was four to five miles - "halfway around London", she claimed.

She says the coach "can only go at a walking pace" and the horses "could not go any faster" as it was "so heavy".

She adds when she sits in the carriage, she is very high, comparing her height to the coachmen several feet below.

'The Coronation' will be broadcast on BBC One at 8.00pm on Sunday.

Additional reporting: IRN