We follow the process used to create one of the most unusual. Not forgetting the Royal Collection - to which she has added nearly 150 portraits over the past six decades. The Queen also owns the Tower of London - part of a collection of Historic Royal Palaces. These are 'peculiars of the crown' - as are the Channel Islands where they still call Her Majesty the 'Duke of Normandy' to remind outsiders that they were with William the Conqueror on the winning side at the Battle of Hastings. Among them are Westminster Abbey and the Chapels Royal. The Queen's Possessions - The Queen has some surprising possessions. And, we discover unique 3D footage of a young queen, shot in 1953, which is held by the British Film Institute.

We are in Scotland to see her at the Braemar Gathering (she has been to it seventy times) we follow her on a visit to Liverpool - the sort of regional trip that happens every week but attracts little publicity.

Royal Visit - The Queen's year is driven by her diary - and has been since her accession in 1952. Trevor McDonald reports on the tradition of Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace and visits Horseguards to meet the man who is in charge of the troops who guard The Queen. It is still the centre of a working monarchy. Here, she and her sister, Margaret, mingled, incognito, with the joyous crowds on VE Day. Here, the young Princess Elizabeth grew up before the Second World War. London, Royal City - London is, indisputably, the capital of Britain's royal life. From Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace to the collection of Historic Royal Palaces from a privileged glimpse at the making of a royal portrait to 600 years of counting royal swans on the River Thames from a potential change to the rules of succession to the pomp and circumstance of a state visit, this is truly a showcase for a queen and her country. In this fascinating series, veteran newsman Sir Trevor McDonald looks not only at the traditions and institutions surrounding the monarchy, but at the fabric of British life and history.

Her 60 years on the throne make her the second longest-serving sovereign in history, and in 2012 all eyes are on Queen Elizabeth II as Britain marks her Diamond Jubilee. This program presented as originally broadcast in the UK.

Queen and country comic