Elizabeth

In 1936, Elizabeth, a shy ten-year-old with a limited education, became heir to the throne after the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII. Suddenly, the princess was catapulted into a new life and the role that awaited her-as Queen. Through interviews with close friends and members of the Royal Household, we paint a uniquely personal picture of young Elizabeth, from her easygoing early days at her Piccadilly home to her war years at Windsor Castle to her 1952 overseas tour, when she learned of her father's death and her ascension to the throne.

In 1952, Elizabeth became the youngest monarch to ascend the throne in over a century and her coronation was broadcast around the world. During her first decade as Queen, she made use of her glamour and youth to shape the monarchy, but she faced many challenges dealing with Churchill and other politicians as a constitutional monarch. And she would soon have to navigate the conflict between duty and family when her sister Margaret fell in love with a married man and her husband Philip lost his bid to use Mountbatten as the Royal Family name.

Five years into her reign, prosperity and technology were transforming the world but the monarchy seemed stuck in the past. The Queen still moved in an insular world, laden with old-fashioned tradition and formality. She needed to change. Through rarely seen footage and interviews with close friends and advisors, we examine Elizabeth's bumpy journey to modernizing the monarchy, helped in part by the appointment of a new press secretary, William Heseltine, a risk taker who would successfully transform the Queen's image.

The 1970s was one of the Elizabeth's most difficult periods on the throne. She had to weather personal challenges with her sister's divorce and political wrangling over the state of her finances. She hoped her heir, Prince Charles, could help provide some stability to the monarch by finding a suitable wife, but even that proved tricky. Through interviews with close friends, politicians, and royal household members, we go behind the scenes to examine a decade that put the Queen's resolve to the ultimate test.

The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in July 1981 marked the beginning of a golden age for Elizabeth and the monarchy. But the decade would not be without its challenges, especially in the political sphere, as the Queen came into close contact with another powerful woman: Margaret Thatcher. While the two managed to navigate the diplomatic obstacles of the Falklands conflict and other national matters, issues within the Royal Family would soon signal a change in the public's relationship with the Elizabeth... and her children.

In the 1990s, the Queen faced the greatest challenges of her reign, from the destruction of Windsor Castle to the collapse of her children's marriages to the shocking death of Princess Diana. Public opinion of Elizabeth was at an all-time low, and as the 21st century approached, the monarchy needed to once again rethink the way it related to its people. Interviews with the Queen's close friends, advisors, and staff take us behind the scenes of the political and family dramas that followed Elizabeth throughout the decade.

After the huge success of the Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the marriages of her beloved grandsons, Elizabeth's past traumas of the 1990s and 2000s started to fade. However, as 2020 began, The Queen was hit with a series of bombshells, from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal exit to Prince Andrew's sexual assault allegations to the death of the love of her life, Prince Philip, in April 2021. Through it all, however, she maintained a high profile at home and on the international stage, driven by her unwavering duty to serve her people.

2002 was the Queen's Golden Jubilee, marking half a century on the throne. But the year got off to a tragic start when her younger sister Princess Margaret died, followed by the death of the Queen's Mother just six weeks later. Up until this point, Elizabeth's popularity had been in decline, but these series of hardships proved to be a transformative moment for Elizabeth. The public began to support her, and as the rest of the decade unfolded, the Queen showed that she was prepared to evolve and usher in a more inclusive kind of monarchy.

It's the 2010s, and along with her Diamond Jubilee, the decade will be highlighted by weddings and a new generation of royals. But there will also be difficult territories to navigate, from the Scottish referendum and the Brexit vote to her extraordinary state visit to the Republic of Ireland. Through interviews with the Queen's friends and associates, and rarely seen archival footage, we provide an inside look at Elizabeth's public and private life on her path to becoming Britain's longest reigning monarch.