Royalty

Born on August 4th 1900, one of 9 children to the fourteenth Earl of Strathmore, the extraordinary life of Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, known around the world as "The Queen Mother," spanned the 20th Century. When she died in 2002 she was 102.

Princess Margaret was born in 1930 into a life of Royal privilege, with every possible advantage _ intelligence, wealth, position and good looks. Prevented from marrying her first love Peter Townsend in the name of duty and propriety, and forced to live a life in the shadow of her sister, Queen Elizabeth, Margaret has been described as a "Princess without a vocation."

In 1952, the sudden death of King George VI changed Elizabeth's life for ever. Our monarch was just 25, and mother to Prince Charles, three, and Princess Anne, 18 months, when she came to the Throne. Winston Churchill was her first Prime Minister. Britain was still bandaging its war wounds and the Coronation sparked the biggest party since VE Day.

The arrival of the 1960s found Britain in optimistic mood. Post-war austerity had given way to something of a consumer boom and the times were a-changing. The Royal Family was expanding fast. The Queen gave birth to Prince Andrew in 1960, ten years after Princess Anne. And Prince Edward was born in 1964.

The 1970s were a mix of gloom and glitter. The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated 25 years of marriage, and their daughter, Princess Anne, wed fellow equestrian Mark Phillips. But the troubles in Ireland spread to mainland Britain. Strikes forced a three-day working week, and a fuel crisis sparked food shortages and mounting discontent across the country.

When the 1980s began, there was one question on everybody's lips: whom would Prince Charles, the world's most eligible bachelor, take for a bride? We soon had our answer and a shy nursery teacher, Lady Diana Spencer, became famous around the world. Marriage preparations consumed the country and their union would become "The Wedding of the Century."