Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II

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For the Jubilee, I also watched a few documentaries about Queen Elizabeth. My favorite was, The Unseen Queen, 2022. This is one of the best biographies I have ever read and after 25 hours of spending time in the Queen’s world, I was truly sad to reach the end. The author did a magnificent job of covering her reign and her character. The book was wonderfully paced with multiple interviews and primary sources that painted a full and clear picture for me. It was also a great reminder of how little the media gets right and how much is always going on behind the scenes. The care and detail to get things right almost always gets lost in our 24-7 news cycle. I ended the book with a deep appreciation for a woman who lived steadfastly and faithfully to her principles and left a beautiful legacy for us to emulate. The definitive portrait of Queen Elizabeth IIby a renowned royal biographer in an updated Commemorative Edition following Her Majesty's passing, 1926-2022. Hardman distils Elizabeth's complex life in to a must-read study of dynastic survival and renewal. It is a portrait of a world leader who remains as intriguing today as the day she came to the Throne at age twenty-five. The book also charts the way in which the Queen raised the future King Charles III as both son and heir.

Simon Sebag Montefiore Robert Hardman has written a truly exceptional biography of an equally exceptional monarch, rich in new material, wit and original thought. With intimate and unrivalled access to those who really know the story. Queen Elizabeth's reign is the longest by any British monarch and the longest by any female head of the State. The world has changed a lot from 1952 when she became the Queen, and she will always be remembered for her sense of duty and dedication for more than 70 years when she was the Queen.The book was initially written before the sad death of the Queen so has been updated with an Epilogue written afterwards. Hardman takes the story right up to today and the Platinum Jubilee. The later parts of the book, which are dependent on interviews, will be invaluable to historians. By the second decade of the 21st century, the Queen had become the focal point of a revival of monarchy, driven by the two princes William and Harry. As ever, however, the danger came from within, in this case the war between the Sussexes and the Cambridges. The Queen acted with characteristic decisiveness over the Sussexes, insisting that they must choose to be either “in or out”. Die Zitate von verschiedenen Personen, die die Queen trafen und kannten Verleihen dem Buch nochmal mehr Authentizität.

While I’m not interested in the celebrity of monarchy, I am interested in the governance/ geopolitical precedent of the English system. Most of my reading of the Royal Family has taken place in context of history and biography. I also watch a few documentaries. Though I write more of my musings about the ethics of the system in my review, the only other book I have also read/ reviewed is the inferior: The author is also telling us about the glorious relationship queen had with the American people in this book.The Duke had voiced similar love and affection the previous day during a wedding anniversary luncheon hosted by the City of London. After paying an unexpectedly tender tribute to their children, he turned to the Queen herself: ' I think the main lesson that we have learned is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage. You can take it from me that the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance." Perhaps the Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII) and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, have strengthened the monarchy by leaving. They have demonstrated that your fate is not completely sealed by birth into the State system because, whether already King or merely in the line of succession, you can step away from public service to the monarchy. Likewise, perhaps the expulsion of Prince Andrew for his long-documented abuses of status indicates the family can be self-monitoring to maintain their beneficent role? Meanwhile, the success of the Queen, her husband Prince Philip, her daughter Princess Anne and son Prince Edward (with his wife Sophie), and Prince William (and his wife, Katherine) highlight that the role can be fulfilled well. Queen Elizabeth II was one of the main reasons for the recent changing relations between the UK and Ireland. Her historic visit to Ireland and her Gaelic (Irish) opening line in her speech all played a major role in it.

Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen tells the story of the Queen's life through BBC exclusive access to never-before-seen home videos and footage of Elizabeth’s private moments, making it the most complete look at her life in existence to date.Queen Of Our Times is the definitive biography of Queen Elizabeth II by one of Britain’s leading royal authorities, Robert Hardman. This commemorative edition includes an epilogue reflecting upon Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, her passing and her funeral. Shy but with a steely self-confidence; inscrutable despite ten decades in the public eye; unflappable; devout; indulgent; outwardly reserved, inwardly passionate; unsentimental; inquisitive; young at heart. To celebrate this unprecedented anniversary, events and initiatives will take place throughout the year, culminating in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June. Hardman calls the first decade of Elizabeth’s era the “unfinished reign” of George VI, when the old guard of the previous Household remained in charge. By the late 1960s, the old men had gone. The Queen was firmly installed, and she embarked on a programme of modernisation. Mit einem angenehmen Schreibstil führt Robert Hardmann uns sachlich, aber informativ durch einen Querschnitt des Lebens der Queen.

Elizabeth was not born to be queen, being third in line to the throne. Yet from her accession as a young mother of two in 1952 to the age of Covid-19, she proved an astute and quietly determined figure, leading her family and her people through more than seventy years of unprecedented social change. She faced constitutional crises, confronted threats against her life, unified the Commonwealth, saw fifteen British prime ministers come and go, charmed world leaders, and steered her family through a lifetime in the public eye. Her Platinum Jubilee was celebrated in June 2022 and her death mourned months later, both events a reminder of the huge impact she had made. Many of the biographies of Queen Elizabeth and other royals have been written in a way that makes the author appear to have an axe to grind. In other words, they can be catty and written in manner that makes the royal look bad. However, this book is so refreshing in that I didn’t find that to be the case here. This book was written in a positive manner and included so many things that I have never learned before. Yes, there are some difficult times and some good times too. I don't know why I was expecting neutral opinion. Don't get me wrong, this was interesting representation of facts and some recollections from close environment and I am not sorry I listened through it all. However, the general tone and position of author was very one sided. All the facts were spun in favor of the Queen or royal family and not once there was any doubt raised or any thought given about any other possibility. And I like the Queen, I am much inclined to follow facts in her benefit, but I did want some options to ponder about, some different accounts so I could choose whom to believe. None of that is here.Robert has written this book in the best possible way without showing any bias, including all the controversies that the Queen had to face. Diana's funeral and controversies related to Prince Andrew and Prince Harry-Meghan Markle are all discussed in detail here. The author also doesn't forget to give us some never before heard details about Queen's sense of duty and humor sense. With fascinating revelations from those who knew her best and special access to unseen royal papers granted by Elizabeth II herself, author and royal expert Robert Hardman explores the full, astonishing life of our longest reigning monarch in this authoritative yet intimate biography. She invited the US ambassador, Will Farish, to attend as her guest of honour. The gesture was not only profoundly comforting for expatriate Americans stranded in the UK, but resonated powerfully across the United States. So, too, did the Queen's message to the American people. To this day, her conclusion – 'Grief is the price we pay for love' – remains one of her most widely quoted statements." It’s worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change."