In 1952 Britain had an empire, sweets were rationed, mums stayed home and kids played on bombsites. 70 years on, everything has changed except the Queen, ageing far more gracefully than the fractious nation over which she so lightly presides. Engel’s England author covers the years from Churchill to Thatcher with his own light, wry, touch in his sweeping social history The Reign:The Story of Elizabeth’s Britain, Part One:1952–1979. Interviewed by Jon Ryan.