PEOPLE 50 Years of the Royal Family
50 Years of The Royals
Royalty in Reality • For 50 years People has covered the true stories inside the palaces and behind the fairy tales
The Crown in the ’70s • Marking her Silver Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth lent a steady presence to a culture on fast-forward. And the future King? He was decidedly single
The ’70s: Snapshots
The Duchess Speaks • 1974 The former Wallis Simpson—the American woman for whom a British King gave up the throne—opened up her Parisian home and her memories of life and love with the Duke of Windsor
The Bachelor • 1974 Prince Charles, the 26-year-old heir to Britain’s throne, picked up his dates James Bond-style in an Aston Martin and partied with stars. Would he ever find himself a future Queen and settle down?
Scandal in the Sun • 1976 Queen Elizabeth’s sister Princess Margaret set society abuzz from the U.K. to the Caribbean when she started spending time with a young friend while still married
The Diana Years • The new Princess of Wales brought youth, glamour and a human touch to a staid institution, changing the monarchy forever. Meanwhile, in Monaco, an American-born princess’s reign comes to a shocking early end
The ’80s: Snapshots
The Wedding Planners • 1981 In advance of Charles and Diana’s big day, People previewed all that went into creating nuptials that would be watched by millions around the globe
‘I Don’t Think of My Life as a Fairy Tale’ • 1982 Months before her death in a car accident, Princess Grace of Monaco spoke with People about her films, her children and her hopes for their future
Her Majesty in Hollywood • 1983 When Frank Sinatra feted Queen Elizabeth on a movie studio lot, the day’s top stars humbly queued up for an audience with the ultimate A-lister
Happy Birthday, Mummy! • 1985 Britain’s most popular royal, Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was, at 85, not even close to slowing down. Credit her devotion to duty, her horsey lifestyle and a habit of midday gin
The Merry Wives • 1987 For twentysomething royals Princess Diana and Sarah, Duchess of York, raised eyebrows and the wrath of the press were worth enduring for a few moments of unrestrained mischief
Prince William: A Royal Boy’s Life • 1989 At age 7, ‘Willie the Wombat,’ as his father dubbed him, enjoyed usual little-boy fare: playing games of tag, eating sweets and bossing his younger brother around. (When you are a future King of England, they call that last activity evidence of natural leadership)
The’90s: Snapshots
An Imperfect Union • 1991 She was a few years away from revealing to the world that there were ‘three of us in this marriage,’ but already Princess Diana, raising her boys in London, felt alone. Meanwhile, Prince Charles—spending increasing time in Scotland—had been spotted in the company of an old friend, Camilla Parker Bowles
Up in Flames • 1992 The year saw the end of three of her four children’s marriages, as well as a once-in-a-millennium fire that nearly razed Windsor Castle. The unprecedented mess inspired the Queen’s Latin catchphrase: annus horribilis
Single and Stylish
Tears for a Princess • 1997 After her shocking death at age 36, Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest at her family’s country home, far from London’s royal palaces. Amid a global tsunami of grief, her young sons soldiered on, stoically masking their agony
A New Era • After the death of beloved Queen Elizabeth, King Charles takes the throne, as William and Kate usher in an exciting generation of young royals, charged with energy and glamour
The ’00s: Snapshots
Big Man on Campus • 2003 At 21, college student William was a heartthrob with a ‘rumored love’ named Kate when People put the prince on its most...
