Ronnie and Reggie Kray ruled London's East End for almost two decades - sharing a brotherly bond that could never be broken.
They desired to be both feared and famous, working their way to the top of the criminal underworld through murder, armed robbery, arson and ran protection rackets.
"In the 60s, the Beatles and the Stones ruled the music world; Carnaby Street ruled the fashion world and me and Reg ruled London. We were f***ing untouchable," admitted Ronnie.
The identical twins brothers, who are the subject of tonight's ITV documentary The Secrets of the Krays, rubbed shoulders with the rich, powerful and even big name celebrities
But the only people they ever really trusted were each other - and they always had the other one's back in times of crisis.
Having spent their entire lives together, the brothers were split up in 1956 when Ronnie was jailed for a rather gruesome crime.
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Famously the more hot-headed of the Krays, Ronnie stabbed a member of a rival gang with a bayonet.
The brothers had been involved in a tense feud with the Watney Streeters, most of whom were dockers, over their patch in the East End.
During one clash in The Streeters' pub, The Britannia, Ronnie used the weapon to attack Terry Martin while the rest of the gang fled through the back door.
This led to a full cycle of violence as The Streeters beat up a West End club owner and then one of their leaders was 'worked over' by Kray associate Bobby Ramsey
But the stabbing caught up with Ronnie and he was convicted of wounding with intent and for a firearms possession after the incident.
Ronnie was sentenced to three years in Wandsworth Prison but his mental health deteriorated while he was behind bars.
He became convinced that Bobby, who was also convicted with him, had called him a grass and gave him a severe beating.
Ronnie managed well in prison at first but was then transferred to Camp Hill on the Isle of Wight, which was lower security but far from his home of London.
It was here that his mental health began to really suffer and he was placed in a straightjacket after having a breakdown on Christmas Day in 1957.
Just two months later, Ronnie had been certified insane and transferred to Long Grove Mental Hospital in Surrey.
His condition improved while he was on medication but he discovered a major issue, the time he spent in hospital was not counting against his sentence.
Back in London, things were looking up Reggie as he continued building up their empire, taking over a club he named 'Double R' after the twins and transforming it into an upmarket venue.
Reg was suspected of carrying out a revenge attack on those he thought were responsible for putting his brother behind bars - but this was never proved and he kept his freedom.
With Ronnie wanting to escape his imprisonment, the Krays came up with an ingenious rescue plan to bust him out, according to James Mortin in the book The Final Word.
Along with their older brother Charlie, Reggie went to visit Ronnie in prison in May 1958.
The twins were both in identical suits and shirts and went to the toilet together in order to perform a switcheroo.
To complete the look, Reggie stuck on his brother's glasses and then Ronnie brazenly walked out of the hospital with Charlie.
After waiting enough time for Ronnie to escape, Reggie told the guards that his brother had gone to get him a cup of tea and also left the mental hospital.
Initially the guards were completely fooled, but the following day they called Reggie after realising what had happened.
They promised no questions would be asked if he brought his brother back immediately, but Ronnie remained on the run for the next six months.
However, Ronnie wasn't taking his medication while he was free and his mental health soon began to deteriorate again.
After five months on the run, Ronnie was finally returned to prison and put back on medication.
By November he was declared sane and returned to Wandsworth, where he served the remainder of his five month sentence before being released legally.
Their dominance over East London would not last for much longer as Ronnie went on to shoot dead a member of another rival gang in March 1966.
This sparked a chain of events that led to the Krays being imprisoned when their own loyalists started turning on them.
Detective Chief Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read of Scotland Yard frequently came up against the East End "wall of silence" when he first went after the brothers.
People were strongly discouraged from providing information to the police, but by the end of 1967 Read had built up enough evidence against the Krays with incriminating witness statements and evidence.
While not having enough for one charge, Scotland Yard eventually decided to arrest the pair and 15 other members of the Firm in May 1968 in the hope that other witnesses would be forthcoming once the Krays were in custody.
While in prison they came up with a plan for members of their gang to confess to their alleged crimes, but some refused to be cajoled into pleading guilty and a barmaid at the pub testified to seeing Ronnie kill a rival gang member.
In March 1969, the Krays were sentenced to life imprisonment over the two murders, with a non-parole period of 30 years - the longest sentences ever passed at the Old Bailey for murder.
The brothers were kept apart in prison, with Reggie first sent to HMP Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight and Ronnie locked up at HMP Durham.
Ronnie, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was certified insane and lived the remainder of his life in Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire.
He died on 17 March 1995 at the age of 61 at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, Berkshire, having suffered a heart attack at Broadmoor Hospital two days earlier.
Following his terminal bladder cancer diagnosis, Reggie was freed from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000 and died two months later at the age of 66.
*The Secrets of The Krays airs tonight on ITV at 9pm
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