latest biography of the queen

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in British history, sitting on the throne for 71 years. She was succeeded by King Charles III in 2022.

Who Was Queen Elizabeth II?

Quick facts, early life and family tree, ascension to the crown and coronation, husband prince philip, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, family scandals and losses, death and funeral, latest news: one year since her death.

On the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, King Charles shared an unreleased photo of the late queen. “In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty’s death and my Accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us,” he said in a statement. Additionally, Prince William and Princess Kate attended a private church service in Wales to commemorate her life, and Prince Harry visited the chapel at Windsor Castle , where the queen is buried. Planning for a memorial to Elizabeth is underway. The targeted unveiling is 2026, the year she would have turned 100.

Queen Elizabeth II became queen of the United Kingdom on February 6, 1952, at age 25 and was crowned on June 2, 1953. She was the mother of Prince Charles , who ascended to the throne after her death, as well as the grandmother of Princes William and Harry . As the longest-serving monarch in British history, she tried to make her reign more modern and sensitive to a changing public while maintaining traditions associated with the crown. Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022, at age 96.

FULL NAME: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary BORN: April 21, 1926 DIED: September 8, 2022 BIRTHPLACE: London, England, United Kingdom PARENTS: King George VI and Queen Mother Elizabeth SPOUSE: Prince Philip CHILDREN: King Charles III , Princess Anne , Prince Andrew , and Prince Edward ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Taurus

Queen Elizabeth II was born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, in London. Her parents were then known as the Duke and Duchess of York. Prince Albert—later known as King George VI —was the second son of Queen Mary and King George V . Her mother was Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon .

Elizabeth had ties with most of the monarchs in Europe. Her British ancestors include Queen Victoria (ruled 1837 to 1901) and King George III (ruled 1760 to 1820).

At the time of her birth, most people didn’t realize Elizabeth would someday become the queen of the United Kingdom. Nicknamed Lilibet, she got to enjoy the first decade of her life with all the privileges of being a royal without the pressures of being the heir apparent.

Elizabeth’s father and mother divided their time between a home in London and Royal Lodge, the family’s home on the grounds of Windsor Great Park. Elizabeth and her younger sister, Margaret , were educated at home by tutors. Academic courses included French, mathematics, and history, along with dancing, singing, and art lessons.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Elizabeth and her sister largely stayed out of London, having been relocated to Windsor Castle. From there she made the first of her famous radio broadcasts in 1940, with this particular speech reassuring the children of Britain who had been evacuated from their homes and families. The 14-year-old princess, showing her calm and firm personality, told them “that in the end, all will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace.”

Elizabeth soon started taking on other public duties. Appointed colonel-in-chief of the Grenadier Guards by her father, Elizabeth made her first public appearance inspecting the troops in 1942. She also began to accompany her parents on official visits within Britain.

In 1945, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service to help in the war effort. She trained side-by-side with other British women to be an expert driver and mechanic. While her volunteer work only lasted a few months, it offered Elizabeth a glimpse into a different, non-royal world. She had another vivid experience outside of the monarchy when she and Margaret were allowed to mingle anonymously among the citizenry on Victory in Europe Day .

When Elizabeth’s grandfather King George V died in 1936, his eldest son (Elizabeth’s uncle) became King Edward VIII . Edward, however, was in love with American divorcée Wallis Simpson and had to choose between the crown and his heart . In the end, Edward chose Simpson and abdicated the crown.

The event changed the course of Elizabeth’s life, making her the heir presumptive to the British crown. Her father was crowned King George VI in 1937, taking on the name George to emphasize continuity with his father. Her mother became Queen Elizabeth.

Fifteen years later, the monarchy changed hands again when King George died. The younger Elizabeth assumed the responsibilities of the ruling monarch on February 6, 1952. At that point, the 25-year-old became Queen Elizabeth II, and her mother became Queen Mother.

Elizabeth was crowned on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey, at the age of 27. For the first time ever, the coronation ceremony was broadcast on television, allowing people from across the globe to witness the pomp and spectacle of the event.

Elizabeth married her distant cousin Philip Mountbatten (a surname adopted from his mother’s side) on November 20, 1947, at London’s Westminster Abbey.

Elizabeth first met Philip, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, when she was only 13. She was smitten with him from the start. The two kept in touch over the years and eventually fell in love.

They made an unusual pair. Elizabeth was quiet and reserved, while Philip was boisterous and outspoken. Her father, King George, was hesitant about the match because, while Mountbatten had ties to both the Danish and Greek royal families, he didn’t possess great wealth and was considered by some to have a rough personality.

At the time of their wedding, Great Britain was still recovering from the ravages of World War II, and Elizabeth collected clothing coupons to get fabric for her gown.

The family took on the name Windsor, a move pushed by her mother and Prime Minister Winston Churchill that caused tension with her husband. In 1960, she reversed course, issuing orders that her descendants who didn’t carry royal titles (or needed last names for legal purposes such as weddings) would use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. Over the years, Philip inspired numerous public relations headaches with his off-the-cuff, controversial comments and rumors of possible infidelities.

Philip died on April 9, 2021, at age 99. Days later, Prince Andrew told the media Queen Elizabeth described his death “as having left a huge void in her life.” She had previously said he was her “strength and stay.”

Elizabeth and Philip wasted no time in producing an heir: Their son Charles was born in 1948, the year after their wedding, and their daughter, Anne , arrived in 1950. As queen, Elizabeth had two more children—sons Andrew and Edward —in 1960 and 1964, respectively.

King Charles III

In 1969, Elizabeth officially made Charles her successor by granting him the title of Prince of Wales. Hundreds of millions of people tuned in to see the ceremony on television.

In 1981, Charles, then 32, wed 19-year-old Diana Spencer, who became known as Princess Diana . The wedding drew enormous crowds in the streets of London, and millions watched the proceedings on television. Public opinion of the monarchy was especially strong at that time. Later, rumors surfaced that he was pressured into the marriage by his family.

Now King Charles III, he is married to Queen Camilla .

Princess Anne

Princess Anne began working as a member of the royal family when she was 18 in 1969 and continues today. She is also heavily involved in charity work. A noted equestrian, Anne competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Her mother opened the Games that year, and the rest of the royal family traveled to support Anne.

Previously married to Captain Mark Phillips, she and her current husband, Timothy Laurence, wed in 1992.

Prince Andrew

Andrew was the first child born to a reigning monarch in more than 100 years. In 1979, he joined the British Royal Navy, became a helicopter pilot, and served during the Falkland War in the early 1980s. He became the Duke of York after marrying Sarah Ferguson , though the couple later divorced. Following scandal, Andrew stepped back from public duties in his royal capacity in 2019, a decision that was made permanent in 2022.

Prince Edward

The queen’s youngest child, Edward, worked in theater and television production for many years, at one point through his own production company. Since 2002, he has worked full-time supporting his mother and now brother. Edward is married to Sophie Rhys-Jones. He became the Duke of Edinburgh—a title previously held by his father—in March 2023.

Queen Elizabeth had eight grandchildren and was great-grandmother to 12 in her lifetime.

Her most well-known grandchildren are Charles and Diana’s sons, Prince William , who became second-in-line to the throne at his birth in 1982, and Prince Harry , born in 1984. Elizabeth emerged as a devoted grandmother to her grandsons. Prince William has said that she offered invaluable support and guidance as he and Kate Middleton planned their 2011 wedding.

In addition to Princes William and Harry, the queen’s other grandchildren are: Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, born to Princess Anne; Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, born to Prince Andrew; and Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, born to Prince Edward. Peter is Elizabeth’s oldest grandchild; he was born in 1977, four years before his sister and five years before Prince William.

William and Kate have three children, who are Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren. The Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed Prince George Alexander Louis in July 2013, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana in May 2015, and Prince Louis Arthur Charles in April 2018. All three are currently in the line of succession directly after their father.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife, Meghan Markle gave the queen two more great-grandchildren with the birth of their son, Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor , and daughter, Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor , in May 2019 and June 2021, respectively.

Elizabeth’s other great-grandchildren include Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Mia Tindall, Lena Tindall, August Brooksbank, Lucas Tindall, and Sienna Mozzi.

Elizabeth’s long and mainly peaceful reign was marked by vast changes in her people’s lives, in her country’s power, how Britain is viewed abroad, and how the monarchy is regarded and portrayed. As a constitutional monarch, Elizabeth didn’t weigh in on political matters, nor did she reveal her political views. However, she conferred regularly with her prime ministers.

When Elizabeth became queen, post-war Britain still had a substantial empire, dominions, and dependencies. However, during the 1950s and 1960s, many of these countries achieved independence, and the British Empire evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations. Elizabeth II thus made visits to other countries as head of the Commonwealth and a representative of Britain, including a groundbreaking trip to Germany in 1965. She became the first British monarch to make a state visit there in more than five decades.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Elizabeth continued to travel extensively. In 1973, she attended the Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa, Canada and, in 1976, traveled to the United States for the 200 th anniversary celebration of America’s independence from Britain. More than a week later, she was in Montreal to open the Summer Olympics. In 1979, she traveled to Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, which garnered international attention and widespread respect.

In 1982, Elizabeth worried about her second son, Prince Andrew , who served as a helicopter pilot in the British Royal Navy during the Falklands War. Britain went to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, a clash that lasted for several weeks. While more than 250 British soldiers died in the conflict, Prince Andrew returned home safe and well, much to his mother’s relief.

In 2011, Elizabeth showed that the crown still had symbolic and diplomatic power when she became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since 1911 (when all of Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom).

As queen, Elizabeth modernized the monarchy, dropping some of its formalities and making certain sites and treasures more accessible to the public. As Britain and other nations struggled financially, Britain abolished the Civil List in 2012, which was a public funding system of the monarchy dating back roughly 250 years. The royal family continues to receive some government support, but the queen cut back on spending.

Also in 2012, Elizabeth celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years as queen. As part of the jubilee festivities, a special BBC concert was held on June 4 featuring the likes of Shirley Bassey , Paul McCartney , Tom Jones , Stevie Wonder , and Kylie Minogue. Elizabeth was surrounded by family at this historic event, including her husband Philip, son Charles, and grandsons Harry and William.

On September 9, 2015, she surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria as Britain’s longest-ruling monarch, who reigned for 63 years.

Despite the occasional call to step aside for Charles, Elizabeth remained steadfast in her royal obligations as she passed her 90 th birthday in 2016. She continued making more than 400 engagements per year, maintaining her support of hundreds of charitable organizations and programs.

On February 6, 2017, the queen celebrated 65 years on the throne, the only British monarch to ever celebrate her Sapphire Jubilee. The date also marks the anniversary of the death of her father. The queen chose to spend the day quietly at Sandringham, her country estate north of London, where she attended a church service. In London, there were royal gun salutes at Green Park and at the Tower of London to mark the occasion. The Royal Mint also issued eight new commemorative coins in honor of the queen’s Sapphire Jubilee.

Later that year, the monarchy took what was considered a major step toward transitioning to the next generation: On November 12, Charles handled the traditional Remembrance Sunday duty of placing a wreath at the Cenotaph war memorial, as the queen watched from a nearby balcony.

In August 2019, Elizabeth made a rare intrusion into political matters when she agreed to a request by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to suspend Parliament until October 14, less than three weeks before Britain’s planned departure from the European Union.

In 2022, the nation celebrated Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee year. Another milestone for the monarchy, it marked her 70 years on the throne.

Relationship With Prime Ministers

Elizabeth had 15 prime ministers placed into power during her reign, with the queen and PM having a weekly, confidential meeting. (Elizabeth also met about a quarter of all the U.S. presidents in history, most recently receiving Joe Biden for a state visit in June 2021.)

She enjoyed a father-figure relationship with the iconic Winston Churchill and was later able to loosen up a bit and be somewhat informal with Labour leaders Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In contrast, she and Margaret Thatcher had a very formal, distant relationship, with the PM tending to be a grating lecturer to the queen on a variety of issues.

Tony Blair saw certain concepts around the monarchy as somewhat outdated, though he did appreciate Elizabeth making a public statement after the death of Princess Diana .

Later, Conservative leader David Cameron, who was Elizabeth’s fifth cousin removed, enjoyed a warm rapport with the queen. He apologized in 2014 for revealing in a conversation that she was against the Scottish referendum to seek independence from Great Britain.

Theresa May was described as being tight-lipped about Brexit plans to leave the European Union, with a rumor circulating that Elizabeth was perturbed over not being informed about future exit strategies.

Two days before her death, Elizabeth welcomed her final prime minister, Liz Truss , at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The September 6, 2022, meeting was her final act as monarch.

Threats to Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family

Elizabeth worked tirelessly to protect the image of the monarchy and to prepare for its future. But she saw the monarchy come under attack during her lifetime. The once-revered institution weathered a number of storms, including death threats against the royal family.

In 1979, Elizabeth suffered a significant personal loss when Lord Mountbatten, her husband’s uncle, died in a terrorist bombing. Mountbatten and several members of his family were aboard his boat off the west coast of Ireland when the vessel exploded on August 27. He and three others, including one of his grandsons, were killed. The Irish Republican Army, which opposed British rule in Northern Ireland, took responsibility for the attack.

In June 1981, Elizabeth herself had a dangerous encounter. She was riding in the Trooping the Colour, a special military parade to celebrate her official birthday when a man in the crowd pointed a gun at her. He fired, but fortunately, the gun was loaded with blanks. Other than receiving a good scare, the queen wasn’t hurt.

Elizabeth had an even closer call the following year when an intruder broke into Buckingham Palace and confronted her in her bedroom. When the press got wind of the fact that Prince Philip was nowhere to be seen during this incident, they speculated about the state of the royal marriage.

The marriage of Elizabeth’s son Charles to Diana made headlines for years before the couple announced their separation in 1992, followed by their formal divorce in 1996. In the wake of Diana’s death in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, Elizabeth experienced intense media scrutiny. Her incredibly popular ex-daughter-in-law had been called the “People’s Princess.”

The queen was at her Balmoral estate in Scotland with Charles and his sons with Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry, at the time. For days, Elizabeth remained silent while the country mourned Diana’s passing, and she was sharply criticized for her lack of response.

Stories circulated that the queen didn’t want to give Diana a royal funeral, which only fueled public sentiment against the monarch. Nearly a week after Diana’s death, Elizabeth returned to London and issued a statement on the late princess.

Elizabeth also initially objected to the relationship between her son Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles . Charles and Camilla had dated years before he met his family, but the relationship ended under family pressure, only to resume during Charles and Diana’s marriage. Known to be a stickler for ceremony and tradition, she eventually showed signs of softening her stance over the years. When Charles and Camilla wed in 2005, Elizabeth and Prince Philip didn’t attend the civil ceremony but attended a religious blessing and held a reception in their honor at Windsor Castle.

In 1992, another of Elizabeth’s children, Prince Andrew, ended up in the tabloids after photos emerged of his wife, Sarah Ferguson , and another man engaged in romantic activity. The couple divorced soon after. Along with the dissolution of Charles’ and Andrew’s marriages, Princess Anne divorced her husband Mark Phillips that year. More bad news came when a fire broke out at Windsor Castle in November. The 15-hour blaze destroyed 115 rooms, though it only consumed two pieces of art from the queen’s valuable private collection. The year became known as her “annus horribilis.”

After the start of the 21 st century, Elizabeth experienced two great losses. She said goodbye to both her sister, Margaret, and her mother in 2002, the same year she celebrated her Golden Jubilee that marked her 50 th year on the throne. Margaret, known for being more of an adventurous soul than other royals and who was barred from marrying an early love, died in February after suffering a stroke. Only a few weeks later, Elizabeth’s mother died at Royal Lodge on March 30 at the age of 101.

In November 2017, the media reported the queen had some $13 million invested in offshore accounts. The news came following the leak of the so-called “Paradise Papers” to a German newspaper, which shared the documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The Duchy of Lancaster, which holds assets for the queen, confirmed that some of its investments were overseas accounts but insisted they were all legitimate.

Also in 2017, the former owner of the lingerie company Rigby & Peller, which had serviced Elizabeth for more than 50 years, wrote a tell-all autobiography that included some of her experiences with the royal family. Although the author insisted that “the book doesn’t contain anything naughty,” the queen responded in early 2018 by revoking Rigby & Peller’s royal warrant.

In 2019, Prince Andrew was forced to step down from public duties, following a media firestorm. Andrew had courted years of scandal surrounding his controversial business pursuits and friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ,

Just weeks later, in January 2020, the family again found themselves in the spotlight, following the bombshell decision by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle , the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to step away from their roles as senior royals.

For much of her life, the queen surrounded herself with dogs. She was especially known for her love of corgis, owning more than 30 descendants of the first corgi she received as a teenager, until the death of the final one, Willow, in 2018.

Elizabeth was also a horse enthusiast who bred thoroughbreds and attended racing events for many years.

Not one for the spotlight, Elizabeth liked quiet pastimes. She enjoyed reading mysteries, working on crossword puzzles, and reportedly, even watching wrestling on television.

Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on September 8, 2022, at 3:10 p.m. local time. She was 96 years old. Her official cause of death was old age, according to her death certificate.

The public was first aware of the queen’s ill health earlier that day when Buckingham Palace issued at statement around 12:30 p.m. that said, “Following further evaluation this morning, the queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision.”

Soon, members of the royal family began traveling to see the queen. At the time of her death, Prince Charles and Camilla, as well as Princess Anne were at the castle. William, Harry, Andrew, Edward, and Sophie arrived later in the evening. Kate Middleton didn’t travel to say her final goodbyes, citing the recent start of the school year for her children. Meghan Markle was also absent.

Her death was publicly announced at 6:30 p.m. After, newly minted King Charles issued a statement that said:

The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world. During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.

On September 14, Elizabeth’s coffin traveled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall by horse-drawn carriage and lay in state for four days. The day of her state funeral, September 19, was declared a bank holiday. The funeral was held at Westminster Abbey and ended with two minutes of silence, observed there and throughout the United Kingdom.

President Joe Biden , First Lady Jill Biden , French President Emmanuel Macron , and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were among the dozens of world leaders and 2,000 total people in attendance. Millions more watched or listened in; the funeral was broadcast on TV and radio and streamed on YouTube. Elizabeth’s pony and her corgis, Muick and Sandy, watched the procession, as did tens of thousands of people.

A private burial came later that day. Elizabeth was buried with Prince Philip at the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

• I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.
• 1992 is not a year I shall look back on with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an “annus horribilis.”
• When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.
• Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures. They all need to be reassured that there is so much to be gained by reaching out to others; that diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat.
• Grief is the price we pay for love.
• I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.
• In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognize how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945.
• We lost the American colonies because we lacked the statesmanship to know the right time and the manner of yielding what is impossible to keep.

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The life and legacy of Britain’s longest-serving monarch

LONDON — She was born a royal but with little hope of wearing the crown. 

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, known by her family as Lilibet , was born April 21, 1926 — third in line to the throne after her uncle and her father. But a scandalous royal love affair changed the course of Lilibet’s life and paved the way for her to become the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch, a much-admired symbol of comfort and continuity and arguably the most famous woman in the world. 

Elizabeth’s reign lasted from the industrial age to the internet age — 70 years of endurance and stoicism in which she met generations of legendary, mostly male, global leaders and helped steer Britain through the loss of its empire and its emergence as a midsized multicultural nation.

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From a young queen to the grandmother of the nation, decade after decade she smiled, waved, shook hands and chatted with a vast number of her subjects and admirers, despite family scandals and the tragedy of a dead princess.  

Her cool, reliable cheerfulness made her overwhelmingly popular with the British public.

Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday . Her eldest son, Charles, is now king.

On the eve of World War II, her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 after his marriage proposal to an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, erupted in a scandal that engulfed the royal family and embroiled the country’s politicians. 

Elizabeth’s father became a reluctant King George VI, making Elizabeth the direct heir to the crown. 

Elizabeth assumed the throne in 1952 at the age of 25 after the sudden death of her father in his sleep at 56. In the 70 years since, she worked with 15 British prime ministers and met every U.S. president during her time as queen except Lyndon Johnson. The vast majority of Britons have never known another monarch, and she remained overwhelmingly popular until her death.

She reigned against the backdrop of vast cultural and political transformations — the end of Britain’s age of deference and its empire, and the advent of globalization and the multimedia age. Throughout, she and her family experienced unprecedented levels of public exposure and, at times, a fractious relationship with the media.

Elizabeth also oversaw the monarchy’s evolution into a champion of a diminished United Kingdom at home and abroad, and she worked tirelessly to keep the crown relevant in a changing world. A source of unending fascination to many, she’s been the subject of movies, plays and TV series, including “The Crown,” “The Queen,” and “The Royal House of Windsor.”

“She has throughout her reign managed to make people feel that she is the spirit and the soul of the country,” said Clive Irving, the author of “The Last Queen: How Queen Elizabeth II Saved the Monarchy.” “She gives over a maternal feeling. She’s a safe pair of hands at the top. No one else has ever been able to convey that as she did.”

That was evident most recently during the pandemic, when early on the queen addressed the U.K. in a rare broadcast to urge her subjects to show the same “self-discipline” and “quiet good-humored resolve” that characterized previous generations.

The queen, whose image adorns stamps, money and mailboxes, is more than a mere figurehead: She played an essential role in the functioning of the U.K. as a constitutional monarchy. After an election, it is the U.K.’s monarch who calls on the political parties to form a government. The monarch also must give assent to all legislation passed by Parliament, and meets weekly with the prime minister to discuss government matters. They are legally allowed to “advise and warn” the government’s ministers.

Crucial to what is widely seen as a successful reign was Elizabeth’s ability to appear ubiquitous and at the same time remain an enigma. She accomplished this by avoiding expressing her political views or making controversial statements in public — no mean feat for someone constantly in the limelight. This meant keeping her own counsel during thousands of events, appearances and speeches, according to Philip Murphy, the director of history and policy at the University of London.

“She has an incredible capacity for repeating the same sorts of rather dull official events which clearly mean an awful lot to other people,” said Murphy. “So much of being a constitutional monarch is the repetition of boring regimes, and there’s something about her that has never rebelled against that. She would call that a sense of duty.”

During the war, Elizabeth and her sister went to live in Windsor, while their parents stayed in London despite the heavy bombardment from German bombers. She made her first radio address in 1940, speaking to other children who had been separated from their families to keep them safe. 

Toward the end of the conflict, the princess joined the all-female Auxiliary Territorial Service and trained as a mechanic. 

It was during the war that the young royal began to date her future husband.  

Philip , her third cousin, was a Greek prince but had spent most of his childhood in the U.K. His family fled Greece after a revolution and were largely penniless. The couple first crossed paths in 1934 at a family wedding and then met again in 1939 when she was 13 and he was 18. While he was stationed abroad during the war, they wrote letters to each other, but his background and her youth were a cause of concern to other members of the royal family. 

During their courtship, Philip and Elizabeth would go out driving in Philip’s tiny MG sports car, as well as dancing at London nightclubs. The couple announced their engagement in July 1947 after Elizabeth returned from her first trip abroad to South Africa. They wed that November, and Philip renounced his Greek title and became a British citizen.

Two years later, they moved to Malta, where Philip was stationed with the British Navy and she lived as an officer’s wife, far from the public eye. Royal observers have speculated that these were some of the happiest years of Elizabeth’s life, a time when she was able to drive her own car and mingle with other officers’ wives without the layers of security and protocol that have defined her reign. 

Their relative freedom was cut short when King George, who’s health had long been precarious, suddenly deteriorated. At the time of his death in February 1952, Elizabeth was in Kenya on a royal tour with Philip. After word reached an aide, Philip broke the news to Elizabeth during a walk.

Royal experts say it was Elizabeth’s husband, five years her senior, who helped guide the young queen in the early years.

“She was so young when she ascended the throne,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward said, adding that Elizabeth followed much of the tradition her father had established. “Everything was completely archaic. It was so old-fashioned. I think more than anyone, Prince Philip helped move the monarchy up.”

That was particularly evident in the way he helped revamp the royal estates — the land and holdings belonging to the crown — making their operations profitable, she said.

Philip’s influence on the monarchy as an institution was mirrored in their personal lives, as well.

In one of her more revealing speeches about her husband on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997, the queen referred to his “constant love and help” and said, “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.”

Philip, who retired from his official royal duties in 2017, died in April 2021 at the age of 99. He and Elizabeth were married for 73 years.

In addition to Prince Charles, Elizabeth is survived by two sons, Princes Andrew and Edward; a daughter, Princess Anne; four grandsons; four granddaughters; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Over her 70-year reign , the queen eased the U.K. into its new post-World War II role, which had been diminished after the loss of its colonies around the world.

The queen placed a strong emphasis on her position as the head of the Commonwealth , a loose alliance of more than 50 countries, many of which are former British colonies.

“The queen had to work out how to manage decline — the dissolution of the empire, coming to terms with diminished power — but she also understood that diminished power does not have to mean diminished quality,” Irving said.

Her extensive travels around the globe, many on her beloved royal yacht Britannia, helped raise the profile of the U.K. and brought a dose of glamor to the places she visited. In 1961, she visited the former British colony of Ghana, which had gained independence just a few years earlier in 1957. During that trip, a charm offensive in one of the first members of the Commonwealth , she was filmed dancing with the country’s leader, Kwame Nkrumah, at a time when segregation still existed in the U.S.

Like with so much else that the queen does, it was her actions and not her words that carried weight. 

“A man could not have done it,” historian Nat Nunoo Amarteifio said in the BBC documentary “The Queen: Her Commonwealth Story.” “Here is our president, being respected enough by the queen of England for her to put her arms around him.”

While she was lauded for her work abroad, she was also praised for opening up the royal household and giving the public a glimpse of the family’s life at home.

A 1969 documentary, “Royal Family,” revealed the royal couple’s private life for the first time, showing Elizabeth and Philip having dinnertime conversations and engaging in other regular activities, including barbecuing.

“People realized they weren’t gods. They were real people,” Seward said. “A lot of people said this was a turning point.”

While the queen’s steady consistency was largely considered a boon for the monarchy, her children and grandchildren’s lives have occasionally been a thorn in the side of monarchists. 

Most recently, her grandson Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan , accused an unnamed member of the royal family of asking how dark the skin of their children would be. The couple gave up their royal duties and left the U.K. in 2020. 

Just before their departure, the queen was faced with a growing scandal around her son Prince Andrew’s friendship with the accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew stepped down from his public duties in support of the queen in November 2019, and she stayed largely silent on the topic.  

Despite the recent challenges facing the monarchy, its popularity has remained high. That hasn’t always been the case. 

In the early 1990s, Charles’ rocky marriage to Princess Diana was all over the news, eventually ending in divorce in 1992. In one of the queen’s most famous speeches marking the 40th anniversary of her ascension, she referred to 1992 as an “annus horribilis,” or disastrous year. Speaking just days after a blaze destroyed a large part of her Windsor Castle residence, the queen made a plea for understanding, saying that “most people try to do their jobs as best they can, even if the result is not always entirely successful.”  

Five years later, when Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris and the world mourned, Elizabeth was criticized for staying silent for days and hunkering down at her home in Scotland with Charles and Diana’s sons, her grandsons Princes William and Harry. Satisfaction with the way she was doing her job dipped to 66 percent after that, according to the U.K. polling company Ipsos Mori. (At the time of her 60th anniversary on the throne in 2012, her popularity had risen to 90 percent.)

“I think that was an extremely challenging time for the monarchy, because people couldn’t understand why the royal family weren’t responding as they wanted to,” Seward said of Diana’s death. “In times of great tragedy, they just always lock down. ... They don’t grieve in public. And people wanted more than that.”

When the queen finally returned to London nearly a week later, she paid tribute to Diana . “I for one believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death,” Elizabeth said.

She acknowledged in a 1997 speech that the monarchy “exists only with the support and consent of the people.” 

In September 2015, she became the longest-serving monarch in British history, surpassing her great-great-grandmother Victoria’s record of 63 years, 216 days.

“Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones. My own is no exception,” the queen noted at the time.

While she carried on working until the end, meeting foreign dignitaries, visiting cities around the U.K., supporting charities and promoting her kingdom at home and abroad, she had canceled a number of appearances and events toward the end. 

Perhaps the greatest measure of Elizabeth’s success in carrying the House of Windsor into the future will be how it continues on in her absence. Charles, 73, now becomes king , a role he’s been groomed for since birth. 

At his 70th birthday celebration, in November 2018, Elizabeth called him “a dedicated and respected heir to the throne to stand comparison with any in history — and a wonderful father.”

Yet his popularity is nowhere near as high as his mother’s, coming in sixth on YouGov’s royal popularity ranking, behind his sister, Anne.

While most Britons “love” the queen, Irving said, “the question is how relevant does the monarchy remain after the queen.”

Rachel Elbaum is a London-based editor, producer and writer. 

The subtle power of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign

The longest-reigning monarch in British history maintained a “blank slate” onto which her subjects, fellow politicians, and the world could project.

by Constance Grady

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died September 8 at Balmoral Castle on her Scottish estate. She was 96 years old, and had been on the throne since the age of 25. Her death marks the end of one of the most successful reigns in any contemporary monarchy.

The 20th century saw monarchs across Europe deposed or exiled or executed. Elizabeth grew up surrounded by royal relatives fleeing their home countries amid the chaos of World War II and taking refuge in England. But under her reign, Britain’s monarchy didn’t only survive. It continued to be downright popular — and so was she.

A recent UK poll showed the queen rejoicing in a favorability rating of 75 percent . Advocates for a British republic frequently cite the queen’s popularity as the reason England remains a monarchy. In his biography Queen of Our Times , Robert Hardman quotes the Australian Labor Party leader Neville Wran as saying, “The biggest problem we’ve got is the Queen! Everybody loves her.”

The queen’s popularity comes from a source that can feel somewhat remarkable in America, with its glad-handing politics. She has been beloved for decades not for a sparkling charisma or great rhetorical flair, but for her steadfast and superhuman ability to give absolutely nothing away.

“Never complain, never explain,” is the unofficial motto of the royal family, and the queen herself served as its living embodiment. Elizabeth lived her life with ferocious discipline, pressing herself into the form of a blank slate onto whom onlookers could project practically anything. She made being a little bit dull into an art form, of which she became the world’s greatest practitioner.

As such, she provided her monarchy with its greatest asset: Queen Elizabeth II was anyone her people wanted her to be.

“Because she has spent her entire life being such a closed book, people project onto her whatever they want her to be,” a former royal adviser says of the queen in Tina Brown’s insider royal tell-all The Palace Papers . “Because she’s not showing any emotion at all, she’s not dividing that audience. She’s not on one side or the other. And that must be exhausting for her.”

“She sees the relevance of what she’s doing in a wider context.”

Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926. Television as a technology was three months old. America’s Great Depression was three years away. Just eight years before, the Russian czars had been executed. As Elizabeth was born, a politically charged coal miners’ strike had royalists fearing that the English Windsors would be next.

At the time, Elizabeth was third in line to the throne and an unlikely target for anyone’s revolutionary fervor. She was the eldest daughter of a second son, and her uncle Edward was the heir to the throne. Nonetheless, she seems to have been equipped with a strong sense of duty early on, along with a love for tidiness and thrift. When she wept during her christening at Buckingham Palace, it would, Sarah Bradford wrote in her 1996 biography Elizabeth , be “the last time that Elizabeth ever made a public scene.” Hardman reports that one of Elizabeth’s favorite nursery toys was a dustpan and brush, and that she kept a special box where she would store wrapping paper and ribbons for reuse.

In 1936, Edward abdicated the throne, and Elizabeth’s father ascended to become King George VI. Elizabeth was now abruptly heir to the throne and a key diplomatic asset. According to Hardman, the shy young princess found the shift difficult, but she applied her characteristic work ethic to her new life. The British peer Alathea Fitzalan-Howard wrote in her diary of meeting “Lilibet” — Elizabeth’s childhood nickname — at a drinks party in 1941 and being proud of her. “Lilibet finds making conversation very difficult like me; but she did very well,” she wrote. Already Elizabeth had hit upon her favorite conversational strategy: “She insisted on bringing the dogs in,” Fitzalan-Howard’s diary entry continued, “because she said they were the greatest save to the conversation when it dropped.”

In 1952, Elizabeth’s father died, and the 25-year-old ascended to the throne. Reportedly, she was at first overwhelmed by the brutal grind of life as a working monarch. On a tour of Australia in 1954, Hardman writes, “the Queen was heard to complain wearily (but uncharacteristically) that this endless diet of mayoral platitudes was ‘boring, boring, boring.’”

No one would ever catch the queen saying such a thing later in her reign. Instead, she tended to chide those who ever suggested that any of her royal duties might be uninteresting.

Hardman quotes a former private secretary who remarked to the queen that a reception for the Commonwealth Auditors’ Association would be “quite a boring one.”

“‘She shredded me,’ the secretary said. ‘The Queen said, “This is not boring. This is interesting and important because these are the people bringing up the standards and fighting corruption in some really difficult countries. They need the support and the encouragement they get from me and this operation.” In other words, she sees the relevance of what she’s doing in a wider context.’”

That stern focus on the wider context, that insistence that her work is interesting because it is necessary, is part of a sense of discipline the queen brought to the royal family. In the monarchy, such focus is necessary, because the job is unending. Being royalty means living your life in public — not just for decades, like movie stars, but always and forever.

“Celebrities flare and burn out. The monarchy plays the long game,” writes Brown in The Palace Papers . “There is no time stamp on the public’s interest in you as long as it’s clear that your interest is the public’s. As the Queen’s grandmother Queen Mary once said to a relative, ‘You are a member of the British royal family. We are never tired and we all love hospitals.’”

Elizabeth’s reticence emerged as a natural consequence of this discipline. She was “schooled,” Brown writes, “to erect inflexible, lifelong barriers around her private thoughts and feelings.” Those barriers would serve her well over her decades of work. Her refusal to ever grant a single interview throughout her reign, Brown writes, “only enhanced her mystique.”

“The Queen has the instincts of a performer.”

Elizabeth’s mystique was real. Since the early days of her reign, those who met the queen were struck by her palpable abilities as a performer. Notably, what she performed was not charm, but stateliness.

Hardman quotes the Economist on the queen during her 1971 visit to France, when the UK was trying to join the European Economic Community. “She remains a symbol in Europe, in a way the Britons barely appreciate,” the Economist wrote. A symbol of what, exactly? “That very difficult mixture of democracy and stability,” the French foreign minister told the magazine.

In 2016 , President Barack Obama compared the queen to Nelson Mandela. They were both, he said, “leaders who have seen so much, whose lives span such momentous epochs, that they find no need to posture or traffic in what’s popular in the moment; people who speak with depth and knowledge, not in sound bites. They find no interest in polls or fads.”

Danny Boyle, who directed the queen during her cameo for the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, put it more simply. “The Queen has the instincts of a performer,” he said in The Palace Papers — “she is, after all, ‘on the stage’ all the time.”

Elizabeth’s insistence on being on the stage all the time meant that she could, in a real sense, be all things to all people.

“She is supposed to be as infallible as the Pope and as neutral as Switzerland,” Hardman writes, “while also being human, interesting, broadly positive and always likable.” In a frankly astonishing achievement, the only one of those job requirements at which the queen consistently failed was being interesting. Throughout her reign, her greatest political weakness was the vague sense that she was a bit boring. “She has done and said nothing that anybody will remember,” historian David Starkey wrote in 2015 .

For a queen whose reign included more than one royal scandal, being unmemorable would in and of itself be a victory. But Elizabeth was cannier than that. Over the past decade’s flurry of royal weddings, gossip, and scandal, the queen’s blank slate has allowed onlookers to imaginatively ally her with whichever camp they pleased.

In Lifetime’s miniature franchise of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle films, the queen is a staunch ally to her grandson and his mixed-race wife. The anti-Meghan camp, meanwhile, has plenty of room to align her with the behind-the-scene traditionalists of “the Firm” who manage the palace machinery. In The Crown and The Queen , screenwriter Peter Morgan imagines Elizabeth meeting each successive scandal fraught, conflicted, but ultimately lovable. The 2021 Diana biopic Spencer imagines the queen as a twinkly-eyed enigma: the one member of the royal family Diana seems to look up to, but kept always at a remove that adds to Diana’s isolation.

The one notable exception to the queen’s ability to ride out a scandal without comment came with her commitment to her second son, Prince Andrew. In 2011, Andrew was accused of engaging in sex trafficking along with the notorious Jeffrey Epstein . Brown reports that the queen immediately sent for Andrew and asked him if it was true, and, when Andrew denied all accusations, “made it plain to the press that her second son had her full protection.” She granted him the insignia of a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order: “her highest gong,” as Brown put it.

Even after her support failed Andrew, the queen refused to fully withdraw it. In 2019, he gave a widely criticized interview about the accusations to the BBC , during which he struggled to defend his longstanding friendship with Epstein. Days later, he announced that he would be stepping down from royal life . Two days after that, he and the queen were spotted riding together on the Windsor Castle estate. The queen, Brown writes, believed that after some time had passed, she’d be able to work him back into the fold.

After all, the queen played a long game. And Andrew aside, her enigmatic presence gave her the power to do work of much more consequence than outlasting a few decades of scandals.

“That extraordinary ability she has to balance the mystique of the monarchy.”

Elizabeth had a singular role as queen. Her five immediate predecessors were all emperors or empresses. But by the time Elizabeth took the throne, the idea of a British empress was out of the question: the British Empire was no more. Instead, Elizabeth would oversee the Empire’s transition into the Commonwealth, an entity in which she held a great deal of symbolic power and absolutely no political power — not that she held much hard political power anywhere else.

“It has been her duty to cede power and transfer sovereignty with a smile and a friendly handshake,” Hardman writes. “At the start of her reign, she was still expected to hand-pick prime ministers, to decide when to dissolve Parliament, even to vet her nation’s theatrical output and sail the world in a royal yacht. No more.” Brown describes the queen as “a master throughout her reign at the art of gracious retreats while somehow preserving the aura of sovereignty.”

Because of that aura of sovereignty, the queen was able to serve as a major political asset precisely as her actual powers diminished. Hardman argues that in the 1970s, while the UK’s economic and military might lessened, the queen’s popularity kept the nation “punching above its weight on the world stage.” He cites her 1976 state visit to France, after which then-President Valery Giscard d’Estaing went from considering Britain “weak” and himself “not an anglophile” to describing the queen as “a perfect sovereign” and “rejoicing” at the prospect of a “new entente” between “the two oldest nations in Europe.”

In 1975, a newly independent Papua New Guinea asked Elizabeth to serve as their ceremonial head of state. “They liked her,” Hardman explains, “they wanted someone neutral and they liked the honours and decorations which she was able to confer.”

Elizabeth’s blank slate, once again, was her superpower: It made her appear so neutral that it would be safe to give her enormous ceremonial powers. It was as though she could only embody the full power of the sovereign if she ceded the right to offer any opinions of what should be done with it.

Antony Jay, author of Elizabeth R , a 1992 biography that would be enormously influential within the walls of Buckingham Palace, thought of the queen as having two roles, unique to her and her reign. Hardman explains the split as follows: “The Queen was head of state, a predetermined and defined role which applied to every monarch. The second role was what Jay called ‘head of the nation’; this was more personal and less specific, encompassing her role as a ‘focus of allegiance’, a champion of continuity, dutiful public service and much else.”

The queen was head of the state because the laws of succession made her one. But she was head of the nation because her peculiar political skills, her deliberate blankness and steadfast devotion to duty, and her longevity, made her so well-suited for the task.

Hardman quotes former Prime Minister Tony Blair on the queen’s abilities. “The reason why she’s been so successful is that extraordinary ability she has to balance the mystique of the monarchy whilst moving with the culture of the country over time,” Blair said. “That is her unique intelligence and that’s what she does really well. In a small ‘p’ political sense — nothing to do with party politics — she has a near genius.”

With all signs of extraneous personality ruthlessly eradicated, the queen was free to serve as a symbol — of whatever her onlookers pleased, certainly, but also and most potently, of stability. Over seven decades on the throne, she served as a link between the end of an empire and the beginning of a cosmopolitan liberal democracy.

“It matters to people that she represents wartime sacrifice,” Hardman quotes Obama as saying. “She represents the acceptance of decolonization. She represents victory in the Cold War and she represents the values of a good relationship.”

Even Cuban leader Fidel Castro could see the political value Elizabeth offered. Hardman recounts an anecdote in which the prime minister of an unnamed Caribbean island was considering exiting the British commonwealth. Castro advised him that as long as Elizabeth didn’t interfere in the island’s day-to-day affairs, that would be a bad move. “You want to be a big tourist island and she’s good for showing off your stability,” he said.

So what will happen now , without the queen’s steady, unflinching presence?

“Take Elizabeth II out of the frame at the splendor of state dinners for visiting presidents, the solemn obsequies for fallen war heroes, and the glorious theater of the opening of Parliament, when the mere glimpse of her scarlet velvet ermine robe makes even the unruliest of MPs sit up straight, how will anyone know how to be British anymore?” writes Brown in The Palace Papers . “In an age when everyone has opinions, she has maintained the discipline of never revealing hers. Her epic stoicism has come to signify the endurance of the nation.”

Over the course of her nearly 70 years on the throne, the queen has served as a bridge between past and present, essential and implacable as concrete. Whatever her successor brings to the throne, it will have to be something quite different.

Correction, September 8, 3:40 pm ET: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the year President Obama gave remarks comparing the queen to Nelson Mandela; it was 2016.

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Elizabeth II

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Elizabeth II (born April 21, 1926, London, England—died September 8, 2022, Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland) was the queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from February 6, 1952, to September 8, 2022. In 2015 she surpassed Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

Elizabeth was the elder daughter of Prince Albert, duke of York , and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon . As the child of a younger son of King George V , the young Elizabeth had little prospect of acceding to the throne until her uncle, Edward VIII (afterward duke of Windsor), abdicated in her father’s favour on December 11, 1936, at which time her father became King George VI and she became heir presumptive. The princess’s education was supervised by her mother, who entrusted her daughters to a governess, Marion Crawford; the princess was also grounded in history by C.H.K. Marten, afterward provost of Eton College , and had instruction from visiting teachers in music and languages. During World War II she and her sister, Princess Margaret Rose, perforce spent much of their time safely away from the London blitz and separated from their parents, living mostly at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and at the Royal Lodge, Windsor , and Windsor Castle .

Early in 1947 Princess Elizabeth went with the king and queen to South Africa . After her return there was an announcement of her betrothal to her distant cousin Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten of the Royal Navy , formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark . The marriage took place in Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947. On the eve of the wedding her father, the king, conferred upon the bridegroom the titles of duke of Edinburgh, earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. They took residence at Clarence House in London . Their first child, Prince Charles (Charles Philip Arthur George), was born November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace .

In the summer of 1951 the health of King George VI entered into a serious decline, and Princess Elizabeth represented him at the Trooping the Colour and on various other state occasions. On October 7 she and her husband set out on a highly successful tour of Canada and Washington, D.C. After Christmas in England she and the duke set out in January 1952 for a tour of Australia and New Zealand , but en route, at Sagana, Kenya , news reached them of the king’s death on February 6, 1952. Elizabeth, now queen, at once flew back to England. The first three months of her reign, the period of full mourning for her father, were passed in comparative seclusion. But in the summer, after she had moved from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace, she undertook the routine duties of the sovereign and carried out her first state opening of Parliament on November 4, 1952. Her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

Beginning in November 1953 the queen and the duke of Edinburgh made a six-month round-the-world tour of the Commonwealth , which included the first visit to Australia and New Zealand by a reigning British monarch. In 1957, after state visits to various European nations, she and the duke visited Canada and the United States . In 1961 she made the first royal British tour of the Indian subcontinent in 50 years, and she was also the first reigning British monarch to visit South America (in 1968) and the Persian Gulf countries (in 1979). During her “Silver Jubilee” in 1977, she presided at a London banquet attended by the leaders of the 36 members of the Commonwealth, traveled all over Britain and Northern Ireland, and toured overseas in the South Pacific and Australia, in Canada, and in the Caribbean.

On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, her son Prince Charles became heir apparent; he was named prince of Wales on July 26, 1958, and was so invested on July 1, 1969. The queen’s other children were Princess Anne (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise), born August 15, 1950, and created princess royal in 1987; Prince Andrew (Andrew Albert Christian Edward), born February 19, 1960, and created duke of York in 1986; and Prince Edward (Edward Anthony Richard Louis), born March 10, 1964, and created earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn in 1999. All these children have the surname “of Windsor,” but in 1960 Elizabeth decided to create the hyphenated name Mountbatten-Windsor for other descendants not styled prince or princess and royal highness. Elizabeth’s first grandchild (Princess Anne’s son) was born on November 15, 1977.

The queen seemed increasingly aware of the modern role of the monarchy, allowing, for example, the televising of the royal family’s domestic life in 1970 and condoning the formal dissolution of her sister’s marriage in 1978. In the 1990s, however, the royal family faced a number of challenges. In 1992, a year that Elizabeth referred to as the royal family’s annus horribilis , Prince Charles and his wife, Diana, princess of Wales , separated, as did Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah, duchess of York. Moreover, Anne divorced, and a fire gutted the royal residence of Windsor Castle. In addition, as the country struggled with a recession , resentment over the royals’ lifestyle mounted, and in 1992 Elizabeth, although personally exempt, agreed to pay taxes on her private income. The separation and later divorce (1996) of Charles and the immensely popular Diana further eroded support for the royal family, which was viewed by some as antiquated and unfeeling. The criticism intensified following Diana’s death in 1997, especially after Elizabeth initially refused to allow the national flag to fly at half-staff over Buckingham Palace. In line with her earlier attempts at modernizing the monarchy , the queen subsequently sought to present a less-stuffy and less-traditional image of the monarchy. These attempts were met with mixed success.

In 2002 Elizabeth celebrated her 50th year on the throne. As part of her “Golden Jubilee,” events were held throughout the Commonwealth, including several days of festivities in London. The celebrations were somewhat diminished by the deaths of Elizabeth’s mother and sister early in the year. Beginning in the latter part of the first decade of the 21st century, the public standing of the royal family rebounded, and even Charles’s 2005 marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles found much support among the British people. In April 2011 Elizabeth led the family in celebrating the wedding of Prince William of Wales —the elder son of Charles and Diana—and Catherine Middleton . The following month she surpassed George III to become the second longest-reigning monarch in British history, behind Victoria . Also in May, Elizabeth made a historic trip to Ireland , becoming both the first British monarch to visit the Irish republic and the first to set foot in Ireland since 1911. In 2012 Elizabeth celebrated her “ Diamond Jubilee ,” marking 60 years on the throne. On September 9, 2015, she surpassed Victoria’s record reign of 63 years and 216 days.

In August 2017 Prince Philip officially retired from public life, though he periodically appeared at official engagements after that. In the meantime, Elizabeth began to reduce her own official engagements, passing some duties on to Prince Charles and other senior members of the royal family, though the pool of stand-ins shrank when Charles’s younger son, Prince Harry, duke of Sussex , and his wife, Meghan, duchess of Sussex , controversially chose to give up their royal roles in March 2020. During this period, public interest in the queen and the royal family grew as a result of the widespread popularity of The Crown , a Netflix television series about the Windsors that debuted in 2016. Having dealt with several physical setbacks in recent years, Philip, who had been Elizabeth’s husband for more than seven decades, died in April 2021. On their 50th wedding anniversary, in 1997, Elizabeth had said of Philip, “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.” Because of social-distancing protocols brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the queen sat alone in a choir stall in St. George’s Chapel (in Windsor Castle ) at Philip’s funeral. The widely disseminated images of her tragic isolation were heartbreaking but emblematic of the dignity and courage that she brought to her reign.

In June 2022 Britain celebrated Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne with the “Platinum Jubilee,” a four-day national holiday that included the Trooping the Colour ceremony, a thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, a pop music concert at Buckingham Palace , and a pageant that employed street arts, theatre, music, circus, carnival, and costume to honour the queen’s reign. Health issues limited Elizabeth’s involvement. Concerns about the queen’s health also led to a break in tradition when, in September, she appointed Boris Johnson ’s replacement as prime minister , Liz Truss , at Balmoral rather than at Buckingham Palace, where she had formally appointed more than a dozen prime ministers.

Just days later, on September 8, Elizabeth’s death, at age 96, shocked Britain and the world. Prince Charles succeeded her on the throne as King Charles III . Ten days of national commemoration of her life and legacy—long planned as “Operation London Bridge”—followed. Notably, the queen lay in state for a day in St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh and then for three days in Westminster Hall in London, outside of which mourners stood in a line that stretched for miles, in some cases waiting for more than 24 hours to view Elizabeth’s casket. Her sombre funeral ceremony in Westminster Abbey , officiated by Archbishop Justin Welby on September 19, was attended by an estimated 100 heads of foreign governments. Following a procession to Wellington Arch, during which Big Ben tolled, the queen’s casket was borne by hearse to her final resting place in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Elizabeth was known to favour simplicity in court life and was also known to take a serious and informed interest in government business, aside from the traditional and ceremonial duties. Privately, she became a keen horsewoman; she kept racehorses, frequently attended races, and periodically visited the Kentucky stud farms in the United States. Her financial and property holdings made her one of the world’s richest women.

Queen Elizabeth's Final Hours of Her Life Revealed in New Royal Book

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Stunning new details are emerging surrounding Queen Elizabeth 's final hours before Her Majesty's tragic death in September 2022.

According to royal biographer Robert Hardman's new book, New King. New Court. Charles III. The Inside Story , there was little to no indication the queen would die on Sept. 8, 2022 . A royal staff member told the biographer that "at that stage, people were still thinking in terms of days rather than hours -- let alone an hour or two."

In the book, excerpted in The Daily Mail , those at Balmoral were preparing for the inevitable, but no one imagined the queen's death would come on that very day. According to the book, Prince Charles (now King Charles ) was out "gathering mushrooms -- and his thoughts -- while the Duchess [of Cornwall] had gone for a short walk." They had done so to let the queen rest, while Her Majesty's chaplain read to her from her Bible.

Soon after, the queen's doctor got an urgent call shortly after 3 p.m. to come upstairs to the queen's quarters. At the same time, Charles also got an urgent call, prompting him to jump into his Land Rover and race back to the castle.

"It was now a question of minutes. By the time Dr. Glass had reached the Queen's bedroom, she appeared to have stopped breathing -- though only a doctor could say for sure," Hardman writes in his book.

Meanwhile, the queen's private secretary, Sir Edward Young, waited outside the queen's bedroom.

"Finally, the doctor emerged to confirm the worst," Hardman writes. "He agreed a time of death with Sir Edward, who recorded the sequence of events in an internal memo for posterity. It is now lodged in the Royal Archives."

According to the book, the memo reads, "Dougie [Glass] in at 3.25. Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. Death has to be registered in Scotland. Agree 3.10pm. She wouldn't have been aware of anything. No pain."

Even though Charles was on his way back to Balmoral, it was Sir Edward Young's "first duty" to immediately reach the monarch by phone and inform him of his mother's death.

"Imagine if there had been some accident or a hold-up along the way," a senior official explains according to the book. "It was essential that the new King was told before anyone else."

After multiple attempts, Sir Edward Young finally reached Charles via an aide, who then handed the phone to his boss. According to Hardman, Charles knew what was coming next as he pulled into the back drive of the estate. That's when, for the first time, he was addressed as "Your Majesty," and no further explanation was needed.

As ET previously reported , Queen Elizabeth's death certificate stated she died of "old age." She was 96.

Her time of death was listed as 3:10 p.m. BST at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

New King. New Court. Charles III. The Inside Story hits bookstores next week .

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Queen Elizabeth II

By: History.com Editors

Updated: April 25, 2023 | Original: May 23, 2018

Queen Elizabeth II served from 1952 to 2022 as reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and numerous other realms and territories, as well as head of the Commonwealth, the group of 53 sovereign nations that includes many former British territories. Extremely popular for nearly all of her long reign, the queen was known for taking a serious interest in government and political affairs, apart from her ceremonial duties, and was credited with modernizing many aspects of the monarchy.

Childhood and Education of a Princess

When Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the elder daughter of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was born on April 21, 1926, she apparently had little chance of assuming the throne, as her father was a younger son of King George V.

But in late 1936, her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated to marry an American divorcée, Wallis Simpson. As a result, her father became King George VI, and 10-year-old “Lilibet” (as she was known within the family) became the heir presumptive to the throne.

Though she spent much of her childhood with nannies, Princess Elizabeth was influenced greatly by her mother, who instilled in her a devout Christian faith as well as a keen understanding of the demands of royal life. Her grandmother, Queen Mary, consort of King George V, also instructed Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret in the finer points of royal etiquette.

Educated by private tutors, with an emphasis on British history and law, the princess also studied music and learned to speak fluent French. She trained as a Girl Guide (the British equivalent of the Girl Scouts) and developed a lifelong passion for horses.

As queen, she kept many thoroughbred racehorses and frequently attended racing and breeding events. Elizabeth’s famous attachment to Pembroke Welsh corgis also began in childhood, and she owned more than 30 corgis over the course of her reign.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth and Margaret spent much of World War II living apart from their parents in the Royal Lodge at Windsor Castle, a medieval fortress outside London. In 1942, the king made Elizabeth an honorary colonel in the 500 Grenadier Guards, a Royal Army regiment.

Two years later, he named her as a member of the Privy Council and the Council of State, enabling her to act on his behalf when he was out of the country.

In 1947, soon after the royal family returned from an official visit to South Africa and Rhodesia, they announced Elizabeth’s engagement to Prince Philip of Greece, her third cousin (both were great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) and a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. She had set her sights on him when she was only 13, and their relationship developed through visits and correspondence during the war.

Though many in the royal circle viewed Philip as an unwise match due to his lack of money and foreign (German) blood, Elizabeth was determined and very much in love. She and Philip wed on November 20, 1947 , at Westminster Abbey .

Their first son, Charles (Prince of Wales, then King Charles III ) was born in 1948; a daughter, Anne (Princess Royal) arrived two years later. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's third child and second son, Prince Andrew, was born in 1960 and the couple's youngest child, Prince Edward, was born in 1964.

Elizabeth and Phillip were married for an extraordinary 73 years, until the Prince died in April 2021 at the age of 99.

Queen Elizabeth's Coronation

With her father’s health declining in 1951, Elizabeth stepped in for him at various state functions. After spending that Christmas with the royal family, Elizabeth and Philip left on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, making a stopover in Kenya en route.

They were in Kenya on February 6, 1952, when King George VI succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 56, and his 25-year-old daughter became the sixth woman in history to ascend to the British throne. Her formal coronation as Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey.

In the first decade of her reign, Elizabeth settled into her role as queen, developing a close bond with Prime Minister Winston Churchill (the first of 15 prime ministers she would work with during her reign), weathering a foreign affairs disaster in the Suez Crisis of 1956 and making numerous state trips abroad.

In response to pointed criticism in the press, the queen embraced steps to modernize her own image and that of the monarchy, including televising her annual Christmas broadcast for the first time in 1957.

Elizabeth and Philip had two more children, Andrew (born 1960) and Edward (born 1964). In 1968, Charles was formally invested as the Prince of Wales , marking his coming of age and the beginning of what would be a long period as king-in-waiting.

Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, marking her 25 years on the throne, proved a bright spot in an era of economic struggles. Always a vigorous traveler, she kept a punishing schedule to mark the occasion, traveling some 56,000 miles around the Commonwealth, including the island nations Fiji and Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, the British West Indies and Canada.

Royal Scandals

In 1981, all eyes were on the royal family once again as Prince Charles wed Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Though the couple soon welcomed two sons, William and Harry , their marriage quickly imploded, causing considerable public embarrassment for the queen and the entire royal family.

In 1992, Elizabeth’s 40th year on the throne and her family’s “Annus Horribilis” (according to a speech she gave that November) both Charles and Diana and Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, separated, while Princess Anne and her husband, Mark Phillips, divorced.

A fire also broke out at Windsor Castle that same year, and amid public outcry over the use of government funds to restore the royal residence, Queen Elizabeth agreed to pay taxes on her private income. This was not required by British law, though some earlier monarchs had done so as well.

At the time, her personal fortune was estimated at $11.7 billion. In another modernizing measure, she also agreed to open the state rooms at Buckingham Palace to the public for an admission fee when she was not in residence.

Response to Lady Diana's Death

After Charles and Diana divorced in 1996, Diana remained incredibly popular with the British (and international) public. Her tragic death the following year triggered a tremendous outpouring of shock and grief, as well as outrage at the royal family for what the public saw as its ill treatment of the “People’s Princess.”

Though Queen Elizabeth initially kept the family (including Princes William and Harry) out of the public eye at Balmoral, the unprecedented public response to Diana’s death convinced her to return to London, make a televised speech about Diana, greet mourners and allow the Union Jack to fly at half-mast above Buckingham Palace.

A Modern Monarchy

The queen’s popularity, and that of the entire royal family, rebounded during the first decade of the 21st century. Though 2002 marked Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee—50 years on the throne—the death of her mother (the beloved Queen Mum) and sister early that year cast a pall on the celebrations.

In 2005, the queen enjoyed public support when she gave her assent to Prince Charles’ once-unthinkable marriage to his longtime love Camilla Parker Bowles.

In her seventh decade on the throne, Queen Elizabeth presided over the pomp and circumstance of another royal wedding at Westminster Abbey, that of Prince William to Catherine Middleton in April 2011. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are in line to become Britain’s next king and queen, continued the line of succession with their children, Prince George (born 2013), Princess Charlotte (born 2015) and Prince Louis (born 2018).

In September 2015, Elizabeth surpassed the record of 63 years and 216 days on the throne set by Queen Victoria (her great-great-grandmother) to become the longest-reigning British monarch in history. A consistent presence by his wife’s side and one of Britain’s busiest royals for much of her reign, Prince Philip stepped down from his royal duties in 2017, at the age of 96. That same year, the royal couple celebrated 70 years of marriage, making theirs the longest union in the history of the British monarchy. Philip died in 2021, at the age of 99. 

In May 2018, Prince Harry wed the American actress Meghan Markle , a biracial divorcée. The couple had a son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2019, and a daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2021. Harry and Meghan announced they would be stepping back from senior royal duties in January 2020 and subsequently relocated to Los Angeles.

Rumors swirled at various times that Queen Elizabeth would step aside and let Prince Charles take the throne. In 2017, she delegated some of her royal obligations, such as the official Remembrance Day ceremony, to him, fueling speculation that she was preparing to bequeath the throne to her eldest son. Instead, she remained a consistent, stable presence at the head of Britain’s reigning family until her peaceful death on September 8, 2022 at her beloved country residence, Balmoral Castle. 

In the final years of her reign, she continued many of her official duties, public appearances and spent plenty of time outside with her beloved dogs and horses. Two days before her death, she officially installed a new prime minister, Liz Truss.

HISTORY Vault: Profiles: Queen Elizabeth II

Chart the unexpected rise and record-breaking reign of Queen Elizabeth II, which unfolded in the turbulent modern history of the English monarchy.

Her Majesty the Queen, The Royal Household website . Sally Bedell Smith, Elizabeth the Queen ( Penguin Random House, 2012 ). Queen Elizabeth II – Fast Facts, CNN . “Will Queen Elizabeth Give Prince Charles the Throne in 2018?” Newsweek .

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A New Biography of Queen Elizabeth II is Among the Very Best Books to Read This Month

Hotels, high rises, mansions—Richard Mishaan has seen them all. The in-demand designer has worked on stunning projects both residential and commercial around the world, and in this gorgeous new book shares not only some of his most impressive projects but also notes on his process, making this book a delightful blend of eye candy and inspiration that'll be at home on any design aficionado's coffee table.

A story of risk, reward, power, money, celebrity, and the fate of modern media so delicious that it could be pulled straight from a Sunday-night prestige drama–no wonder, it's the no-hold-barred history of HBO . In this fascinating look at one of the defining entertainment juggernauts of our time, John Koblin and Felix Gillette get to the heart of what made HBO the towering success it became, how that success was almost thwarted by the very people who built it, and what the future holds for one of the most recognizable brands in culture.

Legendary royals biographer Andrew Morton turns his focus to the late Queen Elizabeth II in this comprehensive new look at her life and reign. From the moment the young princess ascended to the throne at 25 years old, she had a distinctive take on using her power, and here Morton charts the way she wielded her influence and built a legacy that will last for generations to come.

There's more to every Broadway show that just what an audience sees on stage—and no hit demonstrates that better than Pippin . In her revealing new book, T&C contributor Elysa Gardner marks the 50th anniversary of the influential musical with a deep dive into how it got made, the clashing personalities behind it, and what really went on behind the curtain. It's a dishy, fascinating look at how creative powerhouses can change the world, and the dirty work it can take to produce truly meaningful art.

Misty Copeland, the first African American principal ballerina at the American Ballet, will tell you that success is a joint effort. Throughout her rise to the top, Copeland had the support of her mentor Raven Wilkinson, a former ballerina of the 1950s who broke through glass ceilings as Black woman. The Wind at My Back is a beautiful memoir that captures the friendship between Copeland and Wilkinson, and shares the impact that their stories continue to have on the world of dance.

A must-read for any lover of art, Pulitzer Prize winner Jerry Saltz’s Art is Life documents a tumultuous history of the art world across two decades. Through the use of surveys, Saltz’s chronicles a variety of perspectives and illustrates how incredible artists have used their work to create a continuous dialogue with culture.

The highs and lows of life as a celebrity art forger are front and center in Tony Tetro's engrossing, delicious memoir about his life behind a paintbrush. The artist—who made headlines when some of his works were discovered in King Charles III's collection—recounts the hard living, fast cars, and big money that came from knocking off Chagall, Dalí, and Picasso.

The late Bunny Mellon was particularly allergic to the spotlight, which was unfortunate given her noteworthy contributions to the realms of design, gardening, and philanthropy —not to mention her close connections to some of the world's best-known people. This new biography from Mac Griswold gets to the heart of who Mellon truly was, how she built the incredible life she did, and why her legacy has (sorry, Bunny!) made her an ongoing subject of fascination for so many of us.

What's better than one society scandal? Two! In Roseanne Montillo's delicious book, she tells the dual stories of Ann Woodward (who shot her husband, whom she claimed to mistake for a prowler, to death) and Truman Capote (who thinly fictionalized Woodward's story in the short story "La Côte Basque," which effectively had him evicted from New York's most rarefied circles), and examines the similarities between the two tragic figures. It's a fascinating read even for those who know the sordid tale, and paints a thrilling picture of a secretive world and two msifits who found their way in and paid a staggering price.

If corporations can be said to have personalities then journalist William C. Cohan is one his generation’s most adept analysts of the quirks, neurosis, and pathologies that drive them to success or failure. He’s written well-regarded books about large financial firms, including ones on Goldman Sachs and Lazard Frères , and now he has turned his focus onto the General Electric Company, which he deems “once the world’s most valuable and respected company.” Yes, the rise and fall of GE’s recent top executives, especially Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt, is well-trod territory, but Cohan brings new insight to their reigns. He also delves much deeper and further back than others have for clues in what shaped this company and how it, in turn, shaped our corporate culture.

Kathy Acker was well known for pushing the boundaries as a writer, creating space for complicated conversations about capitalism, colonialism, sex, and gender. What many of us don't know is that her life was just as radical as her work. In the first ever full-scale authorized biography about the late writer, author Jason McBride dives into Acker's tumultuous past, building a collection of private journals, personal work, and even unveiling interviews featuring Acker's intimates.

Tony Award winner Derek McLane and Eila Mell know there's more to a Broadway hit than just an actor's performance. In this new book, the pair—with help from friends including Kenny Leon, Ethan Hawke, Lynn Nottage, and John Leguizamo—explore the power of design on stage and remind us of all the different skills it takes to bring truly powerful theater to life.

From the outside, Paulina Porizkova may appear to have her life all figured out. She once reached the heights of being one of the highest-paid models in the world, gracing glossy covers of magazines and forging strong ties with luxury brands. But as we all know, life is full of ups and downs, and Porizkova has decided to finally open up about her journey, which is vulnerable story that highlights heartbreak, aging, and finding her purpose

If you enjoy indulging in the world of art, The Paper Dolls of Zelda Fitzgerald might just be next on your reading list. This vibrant book showcases a collection of work by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife who lived in her husband's shadow and created art in secret. Written by Fitzgerald's granddaughter Eleanor Lanahan, Paper Dolls explores the fascinating life of Zelda and the marvelous collection of her creations.

Close to 400 film industry luminaries, from Steven Spielberg to Jordan Peele and Meryl Streep, weigh in on the history and present of Hollywood and what it's really like to work in the movies. Assembled from interviews in the archives of the American Film Institute, this book from film historians Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson is an incredible look inside one of the world's most storied industries, and gives honest, surprising, and delightful details about what life is like on and off camera.

Russian-born choreographer George Balanchine— nicknamed Mr. B and the Shakespeare of dancing— had an unequivocal impact on the world of ballet, co-founding the New York City Ballet and helping to shape the way in which society viewed the performance dance. Balanchine also lived a fascinating life that coincided with some of the most monumental events of our time, such as World War I, the Russian Revolution, World War II, and the Cold War. In a must-read biography, author Jennifer Homans sets forth an extensive history of the twentieth century through the frame of Balanchine’s life.

Founded in 1827, Delmonico's became one of the world's best known restaurants thanks to inventing iconic dishes—hello, wedge salad!—as well as bulletproof trends like the power lunch. Now a hefty tome by Max Tucci, grandson of an early owner, is sharing more than 70 of the eatery's most beloved recipes (cocktails, thank goodness, included) as well as stories from its glamorous past, and tips on entertaining in the book's namesake style.

Books about Britain's royal family aren't all gossipy tell-alls. In this charming new collection, 101 short stories showcasing the wit and wisdom of Queen Elizabeth—on topics including her family, international travel, high society, and the scandals of her day—are compiled to make a case for the late Queen Mother as one of the monarchy's great characters.

Cary Grant's experiments with LSD have been a jumping off point for a number of projects over the years, but this fictional biography of the actor might be among the most successful. Edward Delaney imagines a world in which Grant, at the top of the Hollywood heap and beginning to dabble in acid, begins to consider the life he's lived and the directions in which he still wants it to go. The Acrobat might be a work of fiction, but it's an exciting, fascinating way to get inside the head of a legend whose experience went so far beyond anything we ever saw on screen.

They don't make lives like Nancy Olson Livingston's anymore. She earned an Oscar nomination for Sunset Boulevard , married at least one mastermind (Alan Jay Lerner, who dedicated his My Fair Lady to her), and survived Hollywood's Golden Age with the battle scars (and stories) to prove it. Her memoir is a charming, revealing look at a life lived in and out of the spotlight, including brushes—pleasant and, sometimes even more fun, not—with the likes of Billy Wilder, Marilyn Monroe, and Frank Sinatra.

Clocking in at nearly 400 pages, this new monograph shares not only never-before-seen works by the late artist but also writings by his children, Christopher and Kate, to share with readers not just art but also a glimpse at the man who made it. For those who've yet to make the pilgrimage to those most holy of Rothko sites, there are also foldouts highlighting work at both the Rothko Chapel in Houston and the Rothko Room at the Phillips Collection's in Washington, D.C. If you can't have a Rothko on your wall, this might be the next best thing.

This month, dive into a history of one of Broadway's best known musicals, devour a biography of a monarch who changed the world forever, discover the inner workings of moviemaking from the Hollywood stars who've lived in the spotlights, or tear through stories about Succession , Truman Capote, or an art forger who fooled a king.

Our picks for the 21 standout new releases of the month.

20 of the Best Books About Queen Elizabeth II

From exhaustive biographies, to illustrated coffee table books, and dishy accounts from former palace staffers.

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

On the one year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's passing, you may find yourself wanting to deepen your knowledge of the longest-reigning female monarch in world history. There's a wealth of books out there to delve into. From exhaustive biographies, to illustrated coffee table books, to dishy accounts from former palace staffers, here are 20 of the best books you can read about the queen.

Sally Bedell Smith Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch

Angela Kelly The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe

To be fascinated by the Queen is to be fascinated by her wardrobe, and The Other Side of the Coin is a must-read for anyone wanting the inside scoop on those impeccably coordinated suits. Angela Kelley is the Queen’s personal dresser , and was given permission to share this exclusive glimpse into the royal costuming process, complete with never-before-seen images.

Hearst Home Town & Country: The Queen: A Life in Pictures

This carefully curated coffee table book from T&C was created by longtime royal reporter Victoria Murphy. The photographic tribute to Queen Elizabeth II features more than 300 photographs from the seven decades of her reign, spotlighting significant moments from both her public and private spheres, all accompanied by commentary and context from Murphy. The collection encompasses her coronation, her marriage to Prince Philip, her numerous royal tours around the world, her evolving wardrobe through the years, the births of her children and grandchildren, and much more.

Ingrid Seward My Husband and I: The Inside Story of the Royal Marriage

If you were gripped by season two of The Crown ’s deep dive into Elizabeth and Philip’s once-troubled marriage , you’ll want to prioritize this one. Seward delves into the couple’s 70-year long marriage with a lightness of touch, detailing their courtship and ups and downs as well as their formidable bond.

Robert Lacey The Crown, The Official Companion

If while watching The Crown , you're simultaneously fact-checking each episode, this is the book for you. Written by the show's historical consultant, Robert Lacey, it offers an in-depth look at the true story behind the drama. While this volume only addresses seasons two and three, hopefully Lacey will offer a season four version soon.

Elizabeth and Philip: A Royal Love Story

Similar to Seward's text, this special edition of Town & Country centers on the Queen and Prince Philip's romance, and features the true story of their courtship and 70+ year marriage alongside rarely seen photos of the royal couple.

Sali Hughes Our Rainbow Queen: A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and Her Colorful Wardrobe

This beautiful coffee table book by Welsh journalist Sali Hughes offers a photographic voyage through nine decades of the Queen’s wardrobe, and more importantly her color schemes .

Brian Hoey Not in Front of the Corgis: Secrets of Life Behind the Royal Curtains

Admit it, this one had you at the title. Though this book isn’t exclusively about Queen Elizabeth’s famous collection of corgis (disappointing), it’s still a fun, deliberately lightweight collection of trivia and tidbits about royal life.

Sarah Bradford The Reluctant King: The Life and Reign of George VI, 1895-1952

In order to fully understand Queen Elizabeth, and the turbulent circumstances of her ascension to the throne, you need to understand her father, King George VI. Now most famous as the subject of 2010's The King's Speech , George was forced to become King after his brother abdicated the throne, a saga which Sarah Bradford chronicles in fascinating detail.

The Queen Mother: The Official Biography

As important as King George VI is to Queen Elizabeth's story, the Queen Mother played a far more central role in her daughter's reign, having lived to see its first five decades. William Shawcross’s official biography, published seven years after the Queen Mother's death in 2002, is a weighty tome packed with details and insight into her daily life.

Carol Ann Duffy Jubilee Lines: 60 Poets for 60 Years

Though not technically a book about Queen Elizabeth at all, Jubilee Lines is nevertheless an evocative portrait of her reign. In this collection, published in 2012 for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, 60 poets are each assigned one of the 60 Jubilee years, and write a poem related in some way to the events or reality of that year.

Ben Pimlott The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II

Originally published in 1996, this definitive and acclaimed biography of Queen Elizabeth was updated in 2002 to mark her Golden Jubilee. Written by the late, highly respected historian Ben Pimlott, The Queen was described by The Independent newspaper as “the standard work on its sovereign subject, while The New York Times Book Review called it a “superbly judicious biography of Elizabeth II.”

Pegasus Books Queen of the World: Elizabeth II: Sovereign and Stateswoman

Veteran royal chronicler Robert Hardman focuses his 2019 biography on a specific aspect of Queen Elizabeth – her role as the head of Commonwealth of Nations—and thus avoids retreading familiar ground. Queen of the World was described by the BBC as “an intimate portrait of the Royal commitments at home and abroad.”

Andrew Marr The Diamond Queen: Elizabeth II and Her People

Scottish journalist Andrew Marr has a unique perspective as royal biographer, having once been a diehard republican (i.e. opposed to the existence of monarchy). Now an admirer of the Queen, Marr argues in this biography that “Britain without her would have been a greyer, shriller, more meagre place."

Sarah Bradford Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life In Our Times

In this relatively recent biography of the Queen—published in 2012—Sarah Bradford places the Queen’s life in a broader historical context. Per The Telegraph , the book represents “a familiar story being sparked into new life by a skilled practitioner.”

Marion Crawford The Little Princesses

For a truly one-of-a-kind perspective on the Queen’s formative years, look no further than this extraordinary biography by Marion Crawford, who was governess to the young Elizabeth and her sister Margaret for 17 years (they called her “Crawfie”). The 1950 publication of The Little Princesses caused a stir, and Crawford was reportedly shunned by the royal family for writing it.

Gyles Brandreth Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage

Another option for those fascinated by the Elizabeth/Philip dynamic, this biography by Gyles Brandreth is unusual for being focused primarily on Philip’s perspective.

Catherine Ryan The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II

This beautifully presented coffee table book takes a photo-centric approach to chronicling Queen Elizabeth’s life and reign.

Dickie Arbiter On Duty With The Queen

In his part-autobiography and part-royal biography, former palace spokesman Dickie Arbiter recounts how he went from working in broadcast journalism to being appointed as press secretary to the Royal family in 1988. Given Arbiter’s unparalleled access to the Queen—not to mention Princess Diana—it’s no surprise that this is a compelling, if restrained, read.

Cecil Beaton Queen Elizabeth II: Portraits by Cecil Beaton

Society photographer Cecil Beaton was chosen to take the official photographs of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953, and his portraits became some of the most iconic images from her entire reign. Along with the pictures themselves, this book offers insight into Beaton’s long relationship with the royals, and the role his work played in their public image.

Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.

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New biography about Queen Alexandra to hit the bookshelves in February

In February of 2022, a new biography of Queen Alexandra will be hitting bookshelves. 

On 28 February, Frances Dimond’s Queen Alexandra: Loyalty and Love will be available. This is the first major Queen Alexandra biography that covers both her public and private lives. Although Alexandra was a popular Princess of Wales, Queen, and Dowager Queen, there have been few biographies written about her. 

Dimond worked in the Royal Archives for several decades, and was the first Curator of the Royal Photograph Collection. She has already published one book on Alexandra, Developing the Picture: Queen Alexandra and the Art of Photography , looking at the late Queen’s photography work. 

The Queen herself gave Dimond permission to complete the research for this book in the Royal Archives, rare for a royal biography. While many biographies are based on private letters and diaries, most of Alexandra’s were destroyed in the tradition of Queen Victoria’s, making Dimond’s access to the Royal Archives even more important. 

Queen Alexandra left her mark on Britain and the Empire (now Commonwealth) in a variety of ways. Countless landmarks, sites, and roads are named for Alexandra, such as the Alexandra Palace in London. Alexandra Rose Day is held every day in June in the UK to raise money to tackle food poverty, after Alexandra launched the day in 1912 to raise money for her charities. 

Alexandra was born in Denmark, to the future King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. One of six children, she led a relatively happy childhood but the family larged lived in aristocratic poverty. She was close to her siblings, particularly her sister Dagmar (who would go on to be the Empress of Russia). 

She was chosen to be the wife of the Prince of Wales, and the couple married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor in 1863. While Bertie, the Prince of Wales, carried on numerous affairs, Alexandra ignored the gossip and dedicated herself to her children and her charities. A beautiful woman, the British public adored Alexandra and women everywhere sought to emulate her. 

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Queen Elizabeth II's life in pictures

Updated 1500 GMT (2300 HKT) April 19, 2023

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, was 96 years old when she died in September 2022.

The Queen reigned for 70 years , celebrating her Platinum Jubilee a few months before her death. She was 25 years old when she ascended to the throne in 1952.

Her long reign saw Britain transformed from a war-weary declining imperial power into a modern multi-cultural state that rarely looked to its monarch for leadership but still held her in high esteem. Her rule also weathered many storms, both public and personal, as the monarchy tried to keep pace with changing times.

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Weekend Break: Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum in Oak Park

by: Michael Johnson , Christine Flores

Posted: Jun 23, 2024 / 01:07 PM CDT

Updated: Jun 23, 2024 / 01:07 PM CDT

OAK PARK, Ill. — Nestled just outside the city, in Chicago’s western suburbs, you’ll find a Queen Ann-style home that’s also known as the birthplace of one of America’s most famous authors.

The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum is located in Oak Park, at the home where Hemingway was born in a second-floor bedroom on July 21, 1899, beginning his life as an iconic short-story writer and novelist.

The Oak Park home, explains Hemingway Foundation Executive Director Keith Strom, was built in 1890 by Hemingway’s maternal grandfather. Hemingway spent the first six years of his life at what is now 339 North Park Avenue before going on to become the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who penned classics like “A Farewell to Arms,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “The Old Man and the Sea.”

Beginning in 1992, Hemingway’s birth home was restored to its 1890s Victorian heritage. Strom says the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum, which is free and open to the public, aims to allow visitors to step back in time to Hemingway’s childhood and get a feel for what Oak Park was like at the turn of the 20th century.

“That’s the feeling we want to give to you, is that you’re kind of walking back into time,” Strom says. “It’s important to know that Ernest Hemingway was basically born in the Victorian age.

“He came of age in the Victorian age. When he was born, it was horse and buggies still out on the front street. By the time he graduated from high school, we’re now into the automobile, the Model T.”

Strom also says Hemingway’s birth home has been brought back to be a “living museum,” hosting events like concerts, poetry readings and art galleries. The Hemingway Foundation’s support for the arts stems from Hemingway being immersed in the arts from childhood. His mother was a painter and an opera singer, his father a doctor.

“We want to celebrate the life and legacy of Ernest Hemingway, but at the same time provide an opportunity for new and emerging artists in what we do with our programming,” Strom says.

The museum, along with the Hemingway Business District in Oak Park and other local partners, will honor Hemingway’s 125th birthday beginning Friday, July 19, with a number of events, including readings from his works, live concerts, kids’ activities — like a special “running with the bulls” event on Saturday, July 20 — prizes and scavenger hunts. There will also be a sidewalk sale the entire weekend.

The event’s organizers would like to make it an annual thing and hope it will help shed light on Hemingway’s work while also helping and supporting new and emerging artists.

“What we’d like to do is have people come here and get the truth, in a sense, and understand that he was a true craftsman, and he was a dedicated writer, that was first and foremost,” Strom says.

Visit hemingwaybirthplace.com for more information.

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Elin Hilderbrand, queen of beach reads, has more to say

Here's what the ‘queen of beach reads’ will be doing in her next chapter in life, as she brings her 24-year tradition of summer nantucket books to an end..

By Annie Jonas

Since the publication of her first novel in 2000, Elin Hilderbrand has penned nearly 30 popular novels set on Nantucket. She’s a regular on the New York Times bestseller list, and with more than 20 million books sold worldwide, she’s more than earned her title as the “queen of the beach read.”

For two decades, Hilderbrand has delivered a summer novel set on Nantucket every June to her dedicated fanbase, the “Hilderbabes.”

But the summer tradition is coming to an end this year, as Hilderbrand embarks on her next chapter in life: retirement.

“ Swan Song ” is the last of Hilderbrand’s Nantucket novels. The book, published last week, is a “meta” mystery story that follows a retiring police chief as he tries to solve a mysterious fire.

We talked with Hilderbrand about what’s next for the Nantucket literary legend, her new Netflix show, her favorite summer reads, and more.

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Boston.com: In 2021, you announced you would retire in 2024. What influenced your decision?

Hilderbrand: I’ve written 27 novels set on Nantucket. There’s been a new summer novel every year for the past 24 years. And I have run out of compelling, fresh takes on Nantucket. The last three or four books have been harder and harder to write because I sense – or I fear – that I’m repeating myself. I decided back in 2021 that I was going to retire this year, and so the business plan that I’ve been on (which is one Nantucket summer book coming out every June) is coming to an end. I’m calling it a “retirement” so that readers acknowledge that is no longer happening, that their summers are no longer going to include a new Nantucket summer book. But I will still write.

Elin Hilderbrand on living in Nantucket: ‘What I write about in my novels is also what’s in my life.’

I’ve been on a brutal schedule, like a hamster wheel of deadlines for years and years and years, and I want to get off. I do 40 speaking events a year, and it’s just so much, it’s so much time away from my kids. My kids are at that age (they’re between 18 and 24) where they’re not yet launched, they’re still living with me at my house. I want to be able to spend time with them before they move out and have their own families. I’m still going to be writing all the time. I just need at least a year without any kind of looming, pending deadline.

The news of your retirement came as a surprise to many in your loyal fanbase, the Hilderbabes. What will your retirement mean for your fans? 

I care for them very, very deeply, and that is one of the main reasons why I’m retiring. We’ve all followed and read an author [for a long time], and then one book just isn’t as good as the others. I never want to be that person, that is my worst nightmare. And I can sense it. I can sense that it’s not sustainable what I’m doing. I want to retire before anyone picks up a book and says, ‘You know what? It just wasn’t as good as her last one,’ or ‘It reminded me too much of this book.’ I never want that to happen. I also didn’t want to pivot without giving everybody a warning, because it has been a long time and I’ve been very, very consistent.

What are you currently writing? 

I have a two-book deal with my daughter, we’re writing two novels set at boarding school. The first book, “The Academy,” is coming out September 2025, and book two will come out in September of 2026. That is loosely based on her experience at St. George’s School in Newport, [Rhode Island]. 

What other projects are you working on?

My novel, “ The Perfect Couple ,” which came out in 2018, has been made into a six-episode Netflix series. They’re going to announce the release date in July. It was shot in Chatham and it stars Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, Eve Hewson and Meghann Fahey from “The White Lotus.”

It’s an incredible cast, one of the best ensembles, honestly, of all time. It has an amazing director, Susanne Bier, who did ‘The Undoing, “The Night Manager,” and “Bird Box.” She’s incredible, so I’m super excited about that.

I have a bunch of other projects, too. “ The Five Star Weekend ” is in development with Peacock right now, and “ Swan Song ” has been optioned (I can’t tell you by who). “ The Winter Street ” book series has been optioned and “ 28 Summers ” [has been optioned] with a movie company. I’m going to hope and pray that “The Perfect Couple” is successful enough that those all end up getting greenlit. That would be so much fun, and I can be as involved or as uninvolved as I want to be on those.

I’m executive producer on all my projects, but I’m not writing them, so the pressure is minimal. My involvement with “The Perfect Couple” has been so much fun, like I got dinner with Nicole Kidman. It’s just been incredible.

Many Boston.com readers spend their summers on Nantucket. Can you speak more about the depiction of the island they can expect to see in “The Perfect Couple?” 

Because the majority of “The Perfect Couple” was filmed on location in Chatham, the production will have an authentic Cape and island feel. The second unit shot extensively on Nantucket itself, and the script includes inside references to places like Bartlett’s Farm . Hollywood legend Fred North took overhead footage in his helicopter, and he later messaged me and said it was one of the most beautiful places he’s ever shot.

In an interview with The Washington Post, you said “the phenomenon of ‘Big Little Lies’ cannot be understated.” What did you mean by that, and why was the TV show important for you and your work? 

“Big Little Lies” changed the game, as far as taking women’s stories and making them into commercial properties on the screen. As soon as that started winning awards, my phone started ringing. That’s when a lot of my stuff got optioned. What I’m hoping is that after “The Perfect Couple” comes out, Nantucket and beach reads will then be considered fodder for Hollywood.

Let’s talk about the categorization of the beach read. It is often not taken seriously, or is not considered high-brow literature. What do you make of its categorization?

I went to the University of Iowa Writers Workshop, it’s very fancy and extremely literary. And then I went on to write beach reads. I bring all of those tools in my toolbox to my beach reads. I think that’s why they’re so popular, because they are really character based. I use everything that I learned at Iowa, and I apply it to a genre that is considered more commercial – it is more commercial, because I sell a ton of books. But I’m also trying to elevate the genre. I’m trying to elevate the genre so that people expect really good storylines, really in-depth characters, and really interesting twists in a beach read.

What books do you recommend for Boston.com readers headed to the beach this summer?

15 beach reads that should be on your list this summer

I loved “ Real Americans ” by Rachel Khong , it is absolutely amazing. In my opinion, if you’re taking your vacation time on the beach, you want something that’s going to engage you. So anything that’s going to engage you counts as a beach read for me.

There’s a book coming out next week by Claire Lombardo called “ Same As It Ever Was ,” and it is unbelievable, definitely one of my top books of the year. And then “ All Fours ” by Miranda July . I loved, loved, loved it.

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Queen Modjadji's representatives proud of the series and ready for the world to watch their queen

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The family representing Queen Modjadji visited MultiChoice City, Randburg, on Tuesday, to celebrate the upcoming premiere of a prime-time drama inspired by the real-life events from the story of the Balobedu rainmaking queen.

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