The doors of Westminster Abbey flung open, a young woman walked out onto the streets of London. The waiting crowd roared in appreciation.

The date was Tuesday 2 June 1953, the Queen's coronation day.

As the procession made its way back to Buckingham Palace, millions across the country gathered at street parties to celebrate the new queen.

In the 1950s, the world was haunted by the horrors of World War Two. On her coronation day, the Queen reigned over 70 overseas territories. The British EmpireA group of countries that were once ruled or controlled by the UK, including Australia, Canada, India and large parts of Africa. still existed, although even then, its power was shrinking.

In the seven decades since, the globe has transformed. The Queen is monarch of 15 countries, not 70.

Changes have taken place beyond the CommonwealthOfficially called the Commonwealth of Nations, it was set up in 1926. There are 54 members in all.. Britain joined the European Union in 1973, then left in 2020. The Queen lived through the tense days of the Cold WarA period of diplomatic conflict between blocs led by the USA and the USSR that lasted from 1947 until 1991, when the USSR collapsed. and watched on as first the Berlin Well and then the entire Soviet Union fell. She has witnessed years of peace between East and West, and now the return of fighting in Ukraine.

When Princess Elizabeth became Queen, segregation was still allowed in US schools. The civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther KingThe civil rights leader was shot dead in Tennessee in 1968. , had not begun.

Today, same-sex marriage is legal in 30 countries, including the US and UK. Apartheid has ended in South Africa.

Technology has transformed our understanding of what is possible. In the 1940s, an explorer was looking at burrs in the Swiss Alps when he came up with the idea for Velcro - an invention later used on the Apollo missions. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth. Now, there are plans to populate Mars.

The tech industry has altered how we live. Elizabeth II sent her first email in 1976 at the age of 50 and her first tweet in 2014 aged 88.

In the 1950s, music fans listened to Elvis Presley on vinyl. Today, people have thousands of tracks stored on the smartphones in their pockets, all made possible by the invention of the internet.

The woman who waved to her subjects 70 years ago could not have imagined the future in front of her. There is no doubt: the pace of progress has been dazzling. Today, some believe there is no other era in history that can rival the second Elizabeth age.