the bbc�*s royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, now looks back on her life. and admiralty arch into trafalgar square, the tumult of welcome and love surrounds her. fanfare plays i here present unto you queen elizabeth, your undoubted queen. # vivat regina! # vivat regina elizabetha! # vivat! is your majesty willing to take the oath? iam willing. she was 27 when she took the coronation oath. will you solemnly promise and swear— will you solemnly promise and swear to — will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of

the united kingdom of great britain — the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland? i solemnly promise so to do. she was anointed, blessed and consecrated. choir sings zadok the priest by handel she took possession of a 1,200—year—old throne. she knew that it was a role from which only death could release her and yet, when she was born, no—one had thought that it would be her destiny. elizabeth alexandra mary windsor was born on 21 april, 1926. she was the first child of the then king's second son, the duke of york. she cried at her christening perhaps the only time in her life that she made a public scene. she was a happy child with occasionally a child of make sense of mystery. ——

mischief. this was the young princess elizabeth at the age of four and three quarters, visiting a photographic studio in london. her life then was comparatively carefree. a politician called winston churchill noted she had an air of authority that was astonishing in an infant. fate propelled that infant towards the throne. in 1936, her uncle king edward viii abandons the crown in order to marry the twice divorced american wallis simpson. elizabeth's father reluctantly took the throne. all: god save the king! god save the king! his coronation gave the then 11—year—old elizabeth a foretaste of what lay in store for her. she later wrote that she had found the service very, very wonderful. elizabeth's childhood was a sheltered one. she never went to school but was educated at home with her younger sister margaret. but the family unit was strong. herfather, george vi, was devoted to her, and she to him.

throughout her life, he was to be her inspiration. injuly 1939, injuly1939, the in july 1939, the king injuly1939, the king took his daughters to the royal naval couege daughters to the royal naval college at dartmouth and there, amongst the cadets, was the young prince philip of greece. it was not the first time they had met but the first time they had met but the first time they had taken an interest in each other. but europe was on the brink of war. the nazis were on the march. britain was preparing to defend itself and as children were being evacuated from britain's cities, elizabeth made her first radio broadcast. thousands of you in this country have had to leave your home is and be separated from your fathers and mothers. home is and be separated from yourfathers and mothers. my sister margaret rose and i feel so much for you, as we know from experience what it means to be a way from those we love most of all. to be a way from those we love most of all-— most of all. night after night durin: most of all. night after night during the — most of all. night after night during the blitz, _ most of all. night after night during the blitz, german - most of all. night after night. during the blitz, german bombs fell on britain. king and queen

refused to send elizabeth and her sister abroad. refused to send elizabeth and hersisterabroad. royal refused to send elizabeth and her sister abroad. royal family symbolised the united kingdom's fight against tyranny. buckingham palace was bombed. and elizabeth brieflyjoined and elizabeth briefly joined up. she was taught how to drive and to service an army lorry. as britain celebrated victory in europe, the crowd gathered outside buckingham palace. elizabethjoined herfamily on the palace balcony. later that evening, she slipped out with crowd —— friends to join the crowd, as she recalled.— join the crowd, as she recalled. ~ ., recalled. we “oined the king and queen _ recalled. we joined the king and queen on _ recalled. we joined the king and queen on the _ recalled. we joined the king and queen on the balcony . recalled. we joined the king l and queen on the balcony and then walk miles on the streets. i remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief. with the war over. _ happiness and relief. with the war over, there _ happiness and relief. with the war over, there was _ happiness and relief. with the war over, there was an - war over, there was an opportunity to relax and for elizabeth, there was another reason to be happy. she had fallen in love.

her engagement to lieutenant philip mountbatten, as he was now called, was announced injuly 19117. fanfare. four months later, they were married in westminster abbey. seldom has a bride and groom received such a tumultuous expression of goodwill. b, received such a tumultuous expression of goodwill. a year later, expression of goodwill. a year later. the _ expression of goodwill. a year later, the first _ expression of goodwill. a year later, the first child, - expression of goodwill. a year later, the first child, charles l later, the first child, charles was born. two years after that, a daughter, anne. by by now, philip had resumed his naval career and was posted to the mediterranean island of malta, where he wasjoined by his wife. it was the most carefree time of their married life but it wasn't to last. the king was in poor health. he'd been treated for lung cancer. when elizabeth left for a visit to east africa in february 1952, it was to be the last time she would see him. it was a farewell. it was also, as events turned out, goodbye.

at the moment of her father's death from a heart attack, elizabeth was in a game park in kenya. the news that she was now queen was given to her by her husband. archive: hertour of- the commonwealth cancelled, the princess we knew as a girl and watched in the even growth of her stature comes back to meet her ministers as queen. in a way, i didn't have an apprenticeship — my father died much too young — and so, it was all a very sudden kind of taking—on, and making the bestjob you can. britain was stunned at the loss of its wartime king. his coffin was brought by train from sandringham to london. elizabeth was there to receive it with her mother and sister. george vi was laid to rest after a state funeral. elizabeth's succession was

proclaimed. elizabeth's succession was proclaimed-— elizabeth's succession was proclaimed. elizabeth ii with lona and proclaimed. elizabeth ii with long and happy— proclaimed. elizabeth ii with long and happy years - proclaimed. elizabeth ii with long and happy years raining over us. god save the queen. britain pledged its loyalty to the new monarch, glamorous woman in her mid—20s who seemed to hold all the uk's hopes. there was talk of a new elizabethan era.- there was talk of a new elizabethan era. �* ., elizabethan era. and now, here comes her _ elizabethan era. and now, here comes her majesty. _ elizabeth's coronation injune 1953 was one of the biggest public celebrations in britain's recent history. for the first time, television cameras were allowed into westminster abbey. the ceremony was broadcast to millions. archive: the moment of - the queen's crowning is come. as elizabeth was crowned, she accepted what to her was a sacred duty — an obligation to serve, which was to set her apart for the remainder of her life.

god save the queen! long live the queen! elizabeth was sovereign and head of state notjust of the united kingdom of britain's rounds and territories in every continent. rounds and territories in every continent-— continent. different realms. sydneysiders _ continent. different realms. sydneysiders turn _ continent. different realms. sydneysiders turn out - continent. different realms. sydneysiders turn out to - continent. different realms. i sydneysiders turn out to meet their queen. in sydneysiders turn out to meet their queen.— their queen. in late 1953, she set off on _ their queen. in late 1953, she set off on the _ their queen. in late 1953, she set off on the first _ their queen. in late 1953, she set off on the first of - their queen. in late 1953, she set off on the first of many i set off on the first of many overseas tours with a six—month trip to australia, new zealand and the pacific. i trip to australia, new zealand and the pacific.— and the pacific. i want to tell ou and the pacific. i want to tell you all happy _ and the pacific. i want to tell you all happy i _ and the pacific. i want to tell you all happy i am _ and the pacific. i want to tell you all happy i am to - and the pacific. i want to tell you all happy i am to be - you all happy i am to be amongst you. and how much i look forward to myjourney through australia. this was a joyous spine—tingling welcome. the young queen was a star on the world stage and her popularity was never greater. it's estimated that, in australia, three quarters of the country's entire population turned out to see her in person. and a great roar

of cheering pours out from tens of thousands of friends. the trip was a huge personal success. a happy picture of this fairy queen who has, it seems, come magically amongst us. but as the 19505 gave way to the swinging �*60s of the beatles, attitudes started to change, old certainties were questioned. the monarchy was seen by some to be stuffy and out of touch. elizabeth was always cautious about change, but shrewd enough to recognise that the monarchy needed to move with the times. on some matters, though, she showed a less certain touch. when a coal tip in aberfan collapsed onto a school, killing 116 children, elizabeth was urged to visit the village. initially, she declined. she finally went to aberfan eight days after the disaster. although a supremely dutiful monarch, she found public emotion difficult to handle. her sense of duty also at times interfered with her family role. her son and heir charles had been a sensitive child who found his mother's absences

difficult and wounding. and her husband philip was a restless man who sometimes found his role as consort frustrating. on one occasion, the palace had to deny rumours that the marriage was in difficulty. in fact, it was a partnership from which elizabeth was to derive great strength and reassurance. in the early �*60s, they had two more children — prince andrew, born in february 1960, and prince edward in march 1964. by the late �*60s, the palace realised that it needed to take the initiative. the result was a ground—breaking documentary. the film royal family showed the monarchy as it had never been seen before. elizabeth was shown performing the daily business of the sovereign, working on the official documents which were delivered to her virtually every day... yes, ma'am? do you think you could bring up those papers that i was looking at yesterday? the american ambassador, your majesty _ ..and meeting visiting dignitaries. we're in the embassy

residence — subject, of course, to some of the discomfiture as a result of a need for elements of refurbishing, rehabilitation. for her silverjubilee in 1977, there were carnivals, street parties and pageants. elizabeth by then had been queen for a quarter of a century, by which britain had changed profoundly, that the monarchy seem to secure the public�*s affection as it has ever been. and it was very largely due to the queen herself, her commitment remained absolute. mr; herself, her commitment remained absolute. my lord ma or, remained absolute. my lord mayor. when _ remained absolute. my lord mayor, when i _ remained absolute. my lord mayor, when i was - remained absolute. my lord mayor, when i was 21, - remained absolute. my lord mayor, when i was 21, i - remained absolute. my lord - mayor, when i was 21, i pledged my life to the service of our people and i ask for god's help to make good that vowel. although that vowel was made, in my salad days when i was green injudgement, i do not regret nor attract one word of

it —— vow. regret nor attract one word of it -- vom— regret nor attract one word of it -- vow. ., . w it -- vow. violence reached the ro al it -- vow. violence reached the royal circle _ it -- vow. violence reached the royal circle in _ it -- vow. violence reached the royal circle in 1979 _ it -- vow. violence reached the royal circle in 1979 when - it -- vow. violence reached the royal circle in 1979 when the . royal circle in 1979 when the duke's uncle earl mountbatten was murdered off the west coast of ireland by the ira. the vulnerability of the queen herself was exposed at the trooping the colour ceremony in 1981, a disturbed youth in the crowd had a gun. blank shots were fired as the queen rode past. despite the pandemonium, she brought her horse under control and carried on. there was concern again a year later when it emerged that an intruder had entered buckingham palace one morning and found his way into the queen's bedroom. she kept him talking until help arrived. good evening, your majesty. you've had a very long day! britain by now had its first woman prime minister,

margaret thatcher. relations between female head of state and female head of government were sometimes said to have been strained. one at times difficult area was the queen's devotion to the commonwealth, of which she was head. elizabeth knew the leaders of africa well and was sympathetic to their cause. she was said to have found mrs thatcher's attitude and confrontational style puzzling. with this ring... ..i thee wed. for the queen and herfamily, the 19805 had begun with a moment of great promise. prince charles's wedding injuly 1981 to the young lady diana spencer seemed to be a moment of hope for the future. the new princess of wales captured the public imagination and became a media superstar. consequently, when the marriage began to fail, its decline was a very public one. when the couple's separation was announced in 1992,

it followed the collapse of the first marriage of the queen's daughter, princess anne, and a series of lurid stories involving the queen's other daughter—in—law, the duchess of york, whose marriage to prince andrew had also ended. national anthem plays. in a revealing speech to mark over a0 years on the throne, the queen described 1982 as her "annus horribilis" — her horrible year — and conceded the need for a more open monarchy in return for a less hostile media. no institution — city, monarchy, whatever — should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support. not to mention those who don't. but we are all part of the same fabric of our national society, and that scrutiny by one part of another can be just as effective if it is made with a touch of gentleness, good humour and understanding.

to compound the misery, a few days earlier, the queen had seen part of her favourite home, windsor castle, destroyed by fire. she was devastated. the fire seemed to symbolise the reversal of the royal family's fortunes — difficulties which were exacerbated by a public row over who should pay for the repairs. but even worse was to follow. the death of the by now divorced diana, princess of wales in a car crash in paris in august 1997 was to provoke what, for the queen, was a shocking backlash against the monarchy. she'd remained at balmoral with princes william and harry after diana died — her priority had been to care for her grandsons. but to the grieving crowds outside buckingham palace and elsewhere, it seemed as though the royal family simply didn't care.

it provoked some of the most hostile headlines of her reign. the queen herself was being called to account. there followed a hastily planned return to the palace to inspect the thousands of flowers left in diana's memory, and in an unprecedented live broadcast on the eve of diana's funeral, the queen tried to heal the breach that had opened between the palace and the people. what i say to you now, as your queen and as a grandmother, i say from my heart. first, i want to pay tribute to diana myself. the queen promised to learn the lessons from diana's life and the reaction to her death. the whole episode had shaken her. for the first time, she'd appeared to be out of tune with the feelings of her people. the decommissioning of the royal yacht britannia was another moment of sadness. it had been there for so many

of the happy moments of her life — for family holidays around the scottish islands and state occasions the world over. for once, after so many other difficulties, the queen's distress was evident. with charles's marriage to his long—term companion camilla parker—bowles in april 2005, the royal family was finally able to turn the page on the domestic anguish of previous decades. it was time to move on. for the queen, it was a moment of relief, and in the years that followed, with scarcely any lessening of their workload, she appeared to enjoy her role with renewed enthusiasm. in 2011, she was at westminster abbey for the wedding of her grandson, prince william, to catherine middleton. it was a moment when the public�*s appreciation for the monarchy seemed to be reconfirmed. a few weeks later, at the age

of 85, the queen made one of the most important foreign visits of her reign when she became the first british monarch to visit the republic of ireland. she laid a wreath in memory of those irish nationalists who had risen up against the crown, and at a state dinner in dublin castle, she spoke with regret about britain's treatment of ireland. with the benefit of historical hindsight, we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently — or not at all. the following year, in belfast, she met and shook hands with martin mcguinness, a former leader of the ira who by then was deputy first minister of northern ireland. it was another significant gesture of reconciliation. her diamond jubilee in 2012 confirmed the nation's regard for a monarch who had reigned for 60 years. mr bond, your majesty. it was also the year

when the queen showed that she too could spring a surprise. good evening, mr bond. good evening, your majesty. sovereign and secret agent — one of the highlights of the opening night of the london olympics. happy birthday plays. by the time of her 90th birthday in april 2016, she'd become the united kingdom's longest reigning monarch, its oldest, and — few would disagree — one of its most deeply respected. it was rare for elizabeth to speak about her life as monarch. there were occasional insights, though — this from a bbc documentary. it's a question of maturing into something that one's got used to doing. and accepting the fact that here you are

and it's your fate. she continued with her public duties well into her 905. there was further family turmoil, though. prince andrew was forced to withdraw from public life amid claims he'd sexually assaulted a 17—year—old — claims he denied. and then the su55exe5, harry and meghan, decided that they wanted to step back from royal life. they moved to california and gave a television interview in which meghan made damaging criticisms of the royal family. they were unsettling moments, presided over by a monarch who showed that her sense of commitment was undimini5hed. together, we are tackling this disease... during the coronavirus emergency of 2020, 5he broadcast a reassuring message to the nation. we should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. we will be with our friends again. we will be with our families again. we will meet again.

her word5 seemed to encapsulate her role as monarch — drawing on her own long experience to help settle the nation at a moment of difficulty. her resilience was evident again in april 2021, when her beloved husband philip died two months short of his 100th birthday. they'd been married for 73 years. at philip's funeral at st george's chapel within windsor castle, she seemed a solitary figure, pausing at one point to turn and look back. the figure who had been two paces behind herfor so many years was now absent. but despite the great sadness of her loss, there was never any question of her withdrawing from the path of duty. she marked the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, a record no other monarch had achieved, in february 2022.

beautiful! by then, it was apparent that she was rather more frail physically than before, though mentally as sharp as ever. applause her doctors had advised her to take things a little easier. "light duties" was the expression used by the palace, but every day there were red boxes full of official papers to deal with. in a message to mark her 70 years on the throne, she said she was humbled by the loyalty and affection she'd received throughout her reign. and she signed the statement, "your servant, elizabeth r." byjune 2022, at a public celebration of her platinum jubilee, her declining health limited the events she could attend. there was, however, a delightful surprise. a pre—recorded appearance — a somewhat chaotic tea party with paddington bear. perhaps you would like a marmalade sandwich. i always keep one

for emergencies. so doi! i keep mine in here. happyjubilee, ma'am. and thank you. for everything. that's very kind. this was a monarch at peace and enjoying herself. on the final day of thejubilee celebrations, there was a final appearance on the balcony of buckingham palace. god save the queen plays the national anthem was sung, a much—loved monarch acknowledged the many thousands who had waited to greet her. the crowds cheered and cheered. but finally it was time to go. the queen turned to depart from the balcony on which she had

first been seen as a baby. there was an unspoken feeling that an era was drawing to a close. fanfare plays. throughout her reign, elizabeth ii embodied the strengths of a constitutional monarch, a constant and reassuring presence at the centre of our national life. for decade after decade, 5he represented a changing kingdom to itself and to the world. above all, hers was a life guided by a christian faith and driven by a profound sense of duty, and by the pledge she made to the world on her 21st birthday. i declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service, and to the service of our great imperialfamily to which we all belong. god help me to make good my vow, and god bless all of you who are

willing to share in it. # god save our gracious queen. # long live our noble queen. # god save the queen. # send her victorious # happy and glorious # long to reign over us # god save the queen. # thy choicest gifts in store # on her be pleased to pour

# long may she reign. # may she defend our laws # and ever give us cause # to sing with heart and voice # god save the queen.#

hello there. this weekend we should see some spells of sunshine and it should be turning much drier as well. at this very wet thing we have had all week continued to the end of the week, with lots of heavy and hungry showers across england and wales. it has been so wet because we have had low pressure getting close to us, but that is finally beginning to pull away towards the east, taking away those heavier showers, still feeding some cloud into this south—east of scotland and north—east england but across other parts of scotland and northern ireland with clear skies, will be quite chilly first thing in the morning. still got that cloud rolling into south—east scotland, northern england, could produce a little light rain or drizzle in the morning, other parts of england and wales are seeing some sunshine, could be a scattering of light showers, most will be across eastern parts of england, scotland, northern ireland likely to be dry, the winds will be lighter, it may feel a bit warmer, temperatures around 19-22. as bit warmer, temperatures around 19—22. as one area of low pressure moves away and we start to dry off we look to the

atlantic to see a couple of areas of low pressure trying to push our way. it will be western areas that are more likely to see some rain, this rain mayjust rush the south—west of england for a while, push into the westernmost parts of wales but the wet weather likely to be here in northern ireland in the afternoon. much of scotland, much of england and wales drive, some spells of sunshine, early mist and fog around in the morning but temperatures getting to 23, will feel warmer in the north—east of england. this area of low pressure has some remnants of an ex— hurricane danielle which is heading towards iberia. this area of low pressure will drift down across the uk and bring these weather fronts, down across the uk and bring these weatherfronts, bringing rain overnight, scotland and northern ireland, the rain probably coming to west across northern england and north wales, becoming lighter and more patchy. following that we have a north—westerly breeze and a few showers, also some much cooler air in the north—west, whereas ahead of the rain in the south—east it will be a warm day to start the week, temperatures into the mid— 205. that weather front then moves away, and if there

is any rain as we head further into next week, it is more likely to be in the far south of england. otherwise we will find this area of high pressure moving in. heading into next week we will find drier weather across the uk, the winds would be lighter, there may be some sunshine but it should be a little cooler. backlash against the monarchy.