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Woman's Hour

Forced adoption, Queen Elizabeth II's outfits exhibition, Indigo Reign

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2026

⏱️ 57 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Church of England is planning to issue an apology for its role in forced adoption, according to a draft seen by the BBC. During the 1950s, 60s and 70s tens of thousands of babies were forcibly taken from their unmarried mothers, women who had been sent away to homes run by the Church and state. The news of a potential apology comes just a fortnight after the House of Commons education committee published a report of their inquiry into the issue and called for a state apology from the Government. Anita Rani is joined by Labour MP Helen Hayes, chair of that committee, along with Diana Defries, Chair of the Movement for an Adoption Apology, whose daughter was taken away 12 days after she gave birth.

The largest display of Queen Elizabeth II’s clothing ever to be staged will open on 10 April at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. The exhibition, called Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, marks the centenary of the late Queen’s birth and includes around 200 items, about half of which are on display for the first time. It charts clothing worn in all 10 decades of Queen Elizabeth’s life, many designed by Norman Hartnell, and it spans the full breadth of her wardrobe, from couture eveningwear to impeccably tailored off-duty clothing. Ahead of the exhibition opening to the public, Anita went to meet its curator, Caroline de Guitaut, to take a tour.

Once thought politically unstoppable, recently Italian voters said 'no' to Giorgia Meloni’s proposed judicial reforms in a referendum. So what does that rejection tell us about her current political position after more than three years in charge? And why, earlier this morning, did she feel the need to address the Italian Parliament? In October 2022 she became Italy’s first female Prime Minister and as of September this year she will have had the longest continuous term in office in Italy since the Second World War, surpassing the late Silvio Berlusconi’s record. Anita is joined by senior BBC European reporter Laura Gozzi and Director of the Institute of International Affairs Nathalie Tocci.

Indigo Reign, formerly known as Lady MC, is one of the first female MCs in jungle music. She's just been part of a landmark moment for global music culture, bringing the "godfathers" of drum and bass, Fabio and Grooverider, to headline the first-ever jungle and drum & bass festival in East Africa, called NURAFest and it took place in Kenya. Born in prison, she grew up around gang culture and found her voice in jungle music, becoming an award-winning MC and artist, who turned disadvantage on its head. She's also the founder of the Young Urban Arts Foundation, helping thousands of young people through music.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Andrea Kidd

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

0:07.3

Their company's success helped build a nation.

0:10.9

The company is such a big part of Korea's economy.

0:13.5

But who are the family behind one of the world's tech giants?

0:17.2

They often say, look, we built the nation.

0:19.2

And without us, South Korea as it exists today,

0:22.6

would simply not be here. Inheritance, Samsung, explores the real-life dramas of the Lee family

0:28.3

and their company. They are the equivalent of royalty. Listen first on BBC sounds.

0:34.1

Hello, I'm Anita Rani and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4. Just to say that for

0:39.8

rights reasons, the music in the original radio broadcast has been removed for this podcast.

0:45.5

Good morning, Georgia Maloney. Italy's first female prime minister and if she's still in office in

0:50.9

September, she'll have been in continuous office longer than any other Italian Prime Minister, including Silvio Berlusconi.

0:57.8

We'll be hearing about her current political position and what it means for Italy.

1:01.9

She's one of a handful of female jungle MCs, formerly known as Lady MC, but now her monica is Indigo rain to reflect how she's grown and transformed as a woman.

1:11.7

She's also the brains behind Neurofest, a drum and bass festival in Kenya.

1:16.2

She'll be here to share her inspiring story.

1:19.1

And I popped out of Women's Hour HQ and dropped into Buckingham Palace to see a new exhibition in the King's Gallery.

1:26.2

It's Queen Elizabeth II, her life in style,

1:29.0

the largest exhibition of the late Queen's fashion. Over 200 items, including her wedding dress,

1:35.7

coronation ground, off-duty tweeds and a fair few headscarves. But there's also a very cool

1:41.0

brown suede jacket that she wore time and time again for decades,

1:45.7

as she was very much from the make and do and mend generation.

...

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