I watched the Queen getting crowned – Britain has changed dramatically since then

How can a snapshot of the UK at the beginning of the Queen’s reign help us now? I can suggest five main lessons, writes Hamish McRae

There is the sheen of glamour: the uniforms, the cars, the cut of the clothes and so on (AP1966)

The Jubilee may or may not be a time for celebration – that depends on your view of the world – but it should be a time for reflection. Not many heads of state have remained in post for 70 years, and the UK has changed remarkably during this period, both in social and economic terms.

It is for historians and social commentators to opine about the changes that have, for better or worse, taken place in our ideas about how societies should be ordered. From an economic perspective, however, it is worth making clear that this has been a period of massive, if uneven, progress.

I am one of the few people who remembers The Queen getting crowned, although I was in Ireland and it was barely reported. We had to watch the coronation in a private screening in the school.