Jubilee Special: 60 Years of British Blue Chips

LONDON -- Welcome to The Motley Fool's Diamond Jubilee Special!

Alongside the rest of Britain, we're celebrating the Queen's 60-year reign -- but in our own particular Foolish way.

Indeed, today we're taking you back to 1952 -- the year Her Majesty ascended the throne -- to give you some sense of how the market and the world of investing have changed over the years. Furthermore, we've assembled a series of articles charting the history of Britain's finest blue chips. We're covering oil, pharmaceuticals, consumer brands, banks, telecoms, supermarkets, and aerospace and defense -- and will recap how those sectors have evolved during the last six decades. Between them, the seven industries represent nearly 40% of today's FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) .

So as you unfurl the flags, deck out the bunting, don your special Foolish hat, and toast the Queen with a souvenir mug, just sit back this weekend and commemorate with us the power of British shares and the success of some of the country's greatest businesses!

Here are the links to the articles:

Maynard Paton looks back to when leading shares traded on price-to-earnings ratios of three and the "cult of the equity" began.

Cliff D'Arcy tracks the progress of Royal Bank of Scotland (NYS: RBS) , Lloyds Banking, and Barclays.

Roland Head summarizes key developments at BP (NYS: BP) and Royal Dutch Shell.

Malcolm Wheatley recounts the landmark events at Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.

Tony Luckett recaps the stories behind Diageo, Reckitt Benckiser, and Unilever.

Alan Oscroft describes the growth of Tesco, J Sainsbury, Wm Morrison, and ASDA.

Cliff D'Arcy follows the history of BT and Vodafone (NAS: VOD) .

Roland Head outlines the emergence of GlaxoSmithKline (NYS: GSK) and AstraZeneca as world leaders.

Happy Jubilee!

The Motley Fool Team

Are you looking to profit from shares during the next 60 years? "Ten Steps To Making A Million In The Market" is a Motley Fool report that could help. We urge you to read it today -- your potential wealth might be transformed. Click here now to request your free, no-obligation copy. The Motley Fool is helping Britain invest. Better -- even on Jubilee weekend!

At the time thisarticle was published The Motley Fool owns shares of Tesco. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Diageo, Tesco, Unilever, and Vodafone Group Public. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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