And yet, in spite of her associations with composers, movie stars, royalty, and politicians, there is one connection that is often snubbed by the history books.
Two hundred years on from the birth of my great great grandmother, Queen Victoria, Prince Philip and I have been delighted to welcome our eighth great grandchild into our family.
By contrast the recent happy photographs of four generations of the Royal Family together suggest the sort of continuities the frenzy of modern politics can never supply.