The Queen's six glorious decades

The Queen's six glorious decades

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 15:52 EST, 12 May 2012 | UPDATED: 15:52 EST, 12 May 2012

Joy as she names the new royal yacht Britannia. Delight as she plays on a picnic blanket with newborn Prince Andrew. Laughter as she tests the first long distance telephone call.

1962: Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Performance. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Pride as she welcomes home troops from the Falklands. Dignity as she comforts Wallis Simpson at the funeral of the Duke of Windsor. Sorrow as she attends the Queen Mother’s funeral.

And curiosity as she meets Marilyn Monroe…

All these extraordinary moments in the Queen’s 60-year reign â€" and many, many more â€" are captured in the Queen’s Diamond Decades, a unique collection of six DVDs.

Unavailable in the shops, this magnificent documentary series is free only with the Mail, starting next Saturday.

1962: The Queen judging a cake competition during a visit to Slough. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

1965: Her Majesty holding Prince Edward at Windsor. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

1961: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at a civic ceremony in New Delhi during the Royal Tour of India. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Chronicling Her Majesty's 60 glorious years on the throne, the series also captures six decades of momentous events and social change in Britain and abroad.

From post-war austerity, the Suez crisis and rock ‘n’ roll of the 1950s, to the terrible events of 9/11, the global economy in meltdown and the wedding of William and Kate in the new Millennium, the Queen’s Diamond Decades examines her remarkable reign in the context of the tumultuous world around her.

Here you can view a preview of the second DVD, covering the 1960s when Britain enjoyed a consumer boom and with the help of four lads from Liverpool the decade started to swing!

The six-part series has been created exclusively for the Mail by Andy Goodsir, who made the acclaimed TV documentaries The Queen’s Castle and The Royal Family at Work, where he and his team were given unprecedented behind-the-scenes access.

You can celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with this magnificent DVD col lection by picking up all six DVDs free with the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday at Tesco or WHSmith â€" or see the paper for details of how you can get the full set sent to your door.

Your first disc â€" the 1950s â€" is free with next Saturday’s Daily Mail. The second disc â€" 1960s is free with next week’s Mail on Sunday.

1966: The Queen meets French actress Catherine Deneuve at a Royal film performance. Also present are (left to right) Christopher Lee, Ursula Andress, Woody Allen and Raquel Welch. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Prince Edward and Prince Charles enjoy a moment with their Mum. (Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage)

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