On 6 February, 2002, the Queen will have been on the throne for 50 years. She will then be approaching her 76th birthday.

Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, following the death of her father, King George VI, the year before. This book celebrates her 50 years of reign and is written with the special insight of its author, Ronald Allison, who joined the Royal Household after some years as the BBC's Court Correspondent and worked for the Queen as her Press Secretary for five years.

The Queen - 50 Years begins with an overview of her reign, and this is followed by an in-depth look at each individual year. Her growing family, the Royal tours, the Commonwealth, her governments and the changing world about her are detailed in words and pictures, while key events for each year, in the world and in Great Britain, set the activities of The Queen in a wider international context.

Emerging throughout is a picture of The Queen as daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother, as well as Head of State - still honouring, in 2002, the promises she made on her 21st birthday and the vows she took at her Coronation in 1953.