Queen Elizabeth II has been a role model for decades. Her poise, her grace, her calm in the face of scandal, family issues, political upheaval, you name it. The Queen has all those attributes we wish we had. Her time on the throne has been marked by tragedy, scandal, and terrorists. She has maintained her poise though out them all. If you are a admirer, fan, or just plain curious about Her Majesty, this is a book for you to read.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ⢠This âexcellent, all-embracingâ (The New York Times) biography of Queen Elizabeth II is a magisterial study of the woman known only from a distanceâand a captivating window into her decades-long reign.
From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II was the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well did we really know the world's most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last twentieth and twenty-first centuries with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.
In Elizabeth the Queen, we meet the young girl who suddenly becomes âheiress presumptiveâ when her uncle abdicates the throne. We meet the thirteen-year-old Lilibet as she falls in love with a young navy cadet named Philip and becomes determined to marry him, even though her parents prefer wealthier English aristocrats. We see the teenage Lilibet repairing army trucks during World War II and standing with Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on V-E Day. We see the young Queen struggling to balance the demands of her job with her role as the mother of two young children.
Sally Bedell Smith brings us inside the palace doors and into the Queen's daily routinesâthe âred boxesâ of documents she reviewed each day, the weekly meetings she had with twelve prime ministers, her physically demanding tours abroad, and the constant scrutiny of the pressâas well as her personal relationships: with her husband, Prince Philip, the love of her life; her children and their often-disastrous marriages; her grandchildren and friends.
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From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II was the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well did we really know the world's most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last twentieth and twenty-first centuries with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.
In Elizabeth the Queen, we meet the young girl who suddenly becomes âheiress presumptiveâ when her uncle abdicates the throne. We meet the thirteen-year-old Lilibet as she falls in love with a young navy cadet named Philip and becomes determined to marry him, even though her parents prefer wealthier English aristocrats. We see the teenage Lilibet repairing army trucks during World War II and standing with Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on V-E Day. We see the young Queen struggling to balance the demands of her job with her role as the mother of two young children.
Sally Bedell Smith brings us inside the palace doors and into the Queen's daily routinesâthe âred boxesâ of documents she reviewed each day, the weekly meetings she had with twelve prime ministers, her physically demanding tours abroad, and the constant scrutiny of the pressâas well as her personal relationships: with her husband, Prince Philip, the love of her life; her children and their often-disastrous marriages; her grandchildren and friends.
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A positive biography, certainly. Both she and I don't pluck our eyebrows, so I guess I have one thing in common with her.
I learned a lot I did not know about the life of Queen Elizabeth in this book. I walked away with a lot respect for her and the dignity with which she has symbolized an empire for decades. However, I think a lot could have been edited out. I don't need to know in depth details about what was served at events, for example. I also felt it was extremely biased. I understand that a biography is going to primarily give the subjects version of events. But, at times this felt like it was written to promote the queen more than to give an honest account of her life. The portrayal of Princess Diana was particularly harsh. While I understand that she was a flawed person, and the royal family has many reasons to dislike her; Smith almost completely disregarded the reasons that the public loved her and all the good she did. I find it particularly concerning that in this time, an author would essentially blame a person for their mental illness. She didn't need to make Diana out to be a saint, but there were a lot of snide comments about her that were not needed. Despite the flaws, I would still recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how the monarchy works, and the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
