The coronation in 1953, which heralded a new Elizabethan age, was accompanied by that most famous of mountaineering exploits - the conquering of Mount Everest.

'This weekend,' writes Sara Wheeler, 'we are not, perhaps regrettably, expecting celebratory rocket-runners from Mars announcing touchdown on the red planet.'

But, Sara suggests, the new Carolean age should be about collective effort rather than focussed on individual achievement.

Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith