In this first episode, with remarkable archive footage, Marr tells the childhood story of the young girl who never expected to reign. He looks closely at the influence of her grandfather, father and mother and the impact of the abdication, and hears from the Queen's grandchildren about what it must have been like to become queen at the age of 25.Marr examines exactly what the Queen's role as head of state actually entails, and follows her to the Middle East and the USA to assess the global impact of the royal family on British trade and international relations.