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.

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.