ElizabeththeQueen:TheLifeofaModernMonarch

Inthismagisterialnewbiography,NewYorkTimesbestsellingauthorSallyBedellSmithbringstolifeoneoftheworld’smostfascinatingandenigmaticwomen:QueenElizabethII.Fromthemomentofherascensiontothethronein1952attheageoftwenty-five,QueenElizabethIIhasbeentheobjectofunparalleledscrutiny.Butthroughthefogofglamourandgossip,howwelldowereallyknowtheworld’smostfamousmonarch?Drawingonnumerousinterviewsandnever-before-revealeddocuments,acclaimedbiographerSallyBedellSmithpullsbackthecurtaintoshowinintimatedetailthepublicandprivatelivesofQueenElizabethII,whohasledhercountryandCommonwealththroughthewarsandupheavalsofthelastsixtyyearswithunparalleledcomposure,intelligence,andgrace.InElizabeththeQueen,wemeettheyounggirlwhosuddenlybecomes“heiresspresumptive”whenheruncleabdicatesthethrone.Wemeetthethirteen-year-oldLilibetasshefallsinlovewithayoungnavycadetnamedPhilipandbecomesdeterminedtomarryhim,eventhoughherparentspreferwealthierEnglisharistocrats.WeseetheteenageLilibetrepairingarmytrucksduringWorldWarIIandstandingwithWinstonChurchillonthebalconyofBuckinghamPalaceonV-EDay.WeseetheyoungQueenstrugglingtobalancethedemandsofherjobwithherroleasthemotheroftwoyoungchildren.SallyBedellSmithbringsusinsidethepalacedoorsandintotheQueen’sdailyroutines—the“redboxes”ofdocumentsshereviewseachday,theweeklymeetingsshehashadwithtwelveprimeministers,herphysicallydemandingtoursabroad,andtheconstantscrutinyofthepress—aswellasherpersonalrelationships:withPrincePhilip,herhusbandofsixty-fouryearsandtheloveofherlife;herchildrenandtheiroften-disastrousmarriages;hergrandchildrenandfriends.Compulsivelyreadableandscrupulouslyresearched,ElizabeththeQueenisaclose-upviewofawomanwe’veknownonlyfromadistance,illuminatingthelivelypersonality,senseofhumor,andcannyintelligencewithwhichshemeetsthemostdemandingworkandfamilyobligations.Itisalsoafascinatingwindowintolifeatthecenterofthelastgreatmonarchy.