Enthusiastically, Andy Warhol once wrote: ‘I want to be as famous as the Queen of England.’ For the celebrity-obsessed US artist, the Monarch was the ultimate expression of global fame.
The facts bear out his view. No one has been as famous in their lifetime for as long as Her Majesty, nor been the subject of such intense public scrutiny.
Historical giants such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon and even Hitler pale in comparison.
From the moment of her birth in 1926, crowds have surrounded her homes. She learned to wave to strangers while she was still in her pram, took her first salute at three, and attended her first State Opening of Parliament when she was just ten.