You can also find out about the making of the series.

Click here to watch our film about the making of the series.

To make the series, Breakfast called its award-winning reporter Bill Hamilton out of retirement: his assignment, to track down real people whose lives were touched by royalty.

The job called for some "good old fashioned detective work," according to Bill. Here's his account of the making of the series, Crowning Moments:

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Jack Brown, one-time atheist, communist and hardened republican, wrote to us about his Barnsley coal mining roots which shaped his views on the monarchy.

Today he offers wholehearted support for the Queen - strange indeed, given the venom he used to hurl at the monarchy.

Jack Brown's views on the royal family have changed

An e-mail from a daughter-in-law led us to Robert Marshall, an airman who accompanied the young Princess Elizabeth on foreign visits. He says the decision to disband The Queen's Flight is a national disgrace.

When it comes to big set piece occasions, the BBC's own vast archive is a unique resource.

We discovered coverage of the Silver Jubilee in 1977 had included many street and village parties shot on viewers' own cine film

Twins Elizabeth and Philip, born on Coronation Day

Another valuable resource is one of the world's largest newspaper collections at Colindale in North West London.

Here more than 650,000 bound volumes occupy some 30 miles of shelves.

They enabled us to trace twins born on Coronation Day and named Elizabeth and Philip.,

Others filmed include a Korean War Hero and the woman who was a key conspirator in the theft - she would say retrieval - of the Coronation Stone from Westminster Abbey.

Released just in time for the coronation - and tracked down for Breakfast

The series also visits two very different villages: Little Kineton in Warwickshire where celebrations in 1977 ended in tragedy and Broughshane in County Antrim, where they're holding four full days of festivities over the Golden Jubilee weekend.

The team found very contrasting reactions to the event.

Ordinary people often have the most interesting stories to relate. But, all too frequently their accounts never come to the surface

Bill Hamilton

There was apathy in some areas, immense enthusiasm in others.

A number of people cited stressful lives and a lack of old-time community spirit as reasons for a decline in interest.

A good number also thought Britain had now become a "last minute society" and that the level of participation in events might be higher than at first anticipated.

In all, the series shows that ordinary people often have the most interesting stories to relate.

Unfortunately, all too frequently their accounts never come to the surface. Hopefully, Crowning Moments will be seen to have played an important role in redressing the balance.