It is 8 May 1945, and victory in Europe is declared at the end of World War Two. In just seven years’ time, Princess Elizabeth will become the greatest monarch the world has ever seen, but tonight she is 19, a teenager desperate to celebrate alongside the ecstatic crowds pouring onto the streets of London. In later years, Elizabeth will describe the occasion as ‘one of the most memorable nights of my life’. She danced the conga, linked arms with revellers and sang outside the gates of Buckingham Palace – she could never have dreamt of the seven decades of service
