Elizabeth: Our Queen

Elizabeth's early years are explored, from the day she learned she would eventually be Queen to her studies with the Provost of Eton and the tour of Kenya during which she learned her father George VI had died.

As she learned the ropes of monarchy, Elizabeth faced many tough decisions, including how to modernise the British Empire, manage a critically ill prime minister, and balance her royal duties with her family.

The 50s and 60s brought plenty of challenges, as Elizabeth tried to bring the royal family's image into the modern age. She made use of technology to get closer to her people via her first televised Christmas message, befriended Labour PM Harold Wilson, and invited the BBC into Buckingham Palace.

In the 70s, the Queen faced both a hostile nation who questioned the royal family's wealth, and scandal within as Margaret divorced and Charles sought a bride.

Through the 70s and 80s, Elizabeth was thrilled to see her sons married, but also faced a strained relationship with her first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. Though the two women worked hard to present a united front, they were dogged by press rumours of trouble between them.

In the 90s, Elizabeth faced the most challenging decade of her reign, including the famous 'annus horribilis', during which three of her children's marriages failed, and fire destroyed much of Windsor Castle.

At the turn of the millennium, the break-up of her children's marriages and the deaths of Diana, Margaret and the Queen Mother took their toll on Elizabeth. But she emerged from the tragedies as a more relaxed and accessible monarch.

As Elizabeth moved into the 2010s, there was a new confidence in her reign as she used her 60 years of experience to reconcile old adversaries and celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

Elizabeth's early years are explored, from the day she learned she would eventually be Queen, to the tour of Kenya during which she learned her father George VI had died. Then how she faced many tough decisions, including how to modernise the British Empire, manage a critically ill prime minister and balance her royal duties with her family.

The 1950s and 60s brought plenty of challenges, as Elizabeth tried to bring the royal family's image into the modern age. In the 70s, the Queen faced both a hostile nation who questioned the royal family's wealth, and scandal within as Margaret divorced and Charles sought a bride.

Through the 70s and 80s, Elizabeth was thrilled to see her sons married, but also faced a strained relationship with her first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. In the 1990s, Elizabeth faced the most challenging decade of her reign, including the famous 'annus horribilis', during which three of her children's marriages failed, and fire destroyed much of Windsor Castle.