In 1953 the 9th British expedition to the top of Mount Everest finally reaches the summit.

In the final team was a New Zealander and a Nepalese Sherpa. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay come down the mountain to a blaze of publicity. They were soon to become the most famous men in the world. To the team involved and the wider world the expedition was a British one, but Britain, New Zealand, Nepal and even India would lay claim to its success.

Just as Britain was preparing Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation, the world would learn that Everest itself had been crowned.

Presenter: Wade Davis