Overview

At the time of Elizabeth II's accession, Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Harry S. Truman was President of the United States and Joseph Stalin still governed the Soviet Union. It has often been said that she never put a foot wrong during her seven decades as monarch, and even those ideologically opposed to Britain and its governments have lauded her. Remarkably, she retained her relevance as sovereign well into her nineties, remaining a reassuring constant in an ever-changing world. Royal biographer Ian Lloyd reveals the woman behind the legend over seventy themed chapters. Drawing on interviews with relatives, friends and courtiers, he explores her relationship with seven generations of the royal family, from the children of Queen Victoria to Elizabeth's own great-grandchildren. He also sheds light on some lesser-known aspects of her character, such as her frugality and her gift for mimicry. In addition, we see her encounters with A-listers, from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna, and her adept handling of several of the twentieth century's most difficult leaders. Above all, Lloyd examines how the Queen stayed true to the promise she made to the nation at the age of 21, 'that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service'. AUTHOR: Ian Lloyd has spent twenty years as a full-time writer and photographer, specialising in the British Royal Family. He has had two books in the Sunday Times bestseller list (both 2011) and writes regular features for the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Hello Magazine and Majesty Magazine. Ian is also the Royal Correspondent for The Sunday Post and a regular royal pundit on Sky News, BBC News and BBC Radio 5 Live. He lives in Oxford. For the recent death of the Queen, he appeared in over 50 hours of TV coverage for Sky News, including three newspaper reviews as well as two appearances on BBC Breakfast and three on GB News. He was also interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live, Times Radio and TV networks in the USA, Australia, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and Qatar. 29 b/w illustrations

Full Product Details

Author:   Ian Lloyd
Publisher:   The History Press Ltd
Imprint:   The History Press Ltd
Edition:   New edition
ISBN:  

9781837053414

ISBN 10:   1837053413
Publication Date:   09 April 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Title Copyright Contents Foreword 1 Mayfair Baby 2 ‘My Beloved Papa’ 3 Elizabeth and a Flying Ace 4 Grandpapa England 5 A Terrifying Grandmama 6 A Best Friend 7 Granny and Grandpa, Non-Royal 8 Pilgrim’s Progress 9 Vic’s Chicks 10 ‘The Most Famous Little Girl in the World’ 11 Bobo 12 Crawfie 13 Heir and Spare 14 Manners Maketh the Monarch 15 Phoney Times 16 VE and VJ 17 Sisterly Love 18 Dancing Queen 19 Handbags and Gladrags 20 Traditionally Speaking 21 First Meeting 22 Courting Cousins 23 Tour de Force 24 Elizabeth’s Austerity Wedding 25 What Are We Going to Do with all These? 26 A Longed-for Brother 27 ‘Your Majesty, Mummy’: The Queen and Prince Charles 28 Malta and a Normal Life 29 Princess Anne: The Son they Never Had 30 Well-Endowed 31 The Special Relationship 32 Accession 33 The Other Queen Elizabeth 34 And to Crown it All 35 Forever Faithful: The Queen and Religion 36 The Queen and Churchill 37 Dropping the Curtsies 38 TV Queen 39 Four-Legged Friends 40 ‘It Gives Me Great Pleasure to Declare Open …’ 41 Picking a Winner: Two Controversial Elections 42 The Human Side 43 One’s Hand-One-Downs 44 The Admirable Perkins 45 Monarch of the Glen 46 Royal Variety – Not Always the Spice of Life 47 A Room with a View 48 Awkward Customers: The Queen and Idi Amin 49 Lights, Camera, Action: Royal Film Performance 50 Regina vs Celebrities 51 Looking after the Pennies 52 ‘I Name This Ship …’ 53 Queen on Screen 54 We Are Amused: The Queen’s Sense of Humour 55 Daughters-in-Law 56 Coo, What a Hobby! 57 Jam and Jerusalem: The Queen and the WI 58 The Royal Stamp of Approval 59 Handbags at Dawn: The Queen and Mrs Thatcher 60 The Royal Family on the Queen 61 Two Awkward State Visits 62 Death of a Princess 63 Her Godchildren 64 How the Queen was Hoaxed 65 Elizabeth and the Other Windsors 66 Techno-Queen 67 My Husband and I 68 Anni Horribiles 69 On Being Queen, in Her Own Words 70 A Credit to the Nation Bibliography

Reviews

‘Ian Lloyd lovingly crafts each chapter into an intimate look at her life.’ * <i>The Lady</i> *

Author Information

IAN LLOYD has spent twenty years as a full-time writer and photographer, specialising in the British Royal Family. He has had two books in the Sunday Times bestseller list (both 2011) and writes regular features for the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Hello and Majesty. Ian is also the Royal Correspondent for The Sunday Post and a regular royal pundit on Sky News, BBC News and BBC Radio 5 Live. For the death of the Queen, he appeared in over 50 hours of TV coverage for Sky News, as well as two appearances on BBC Breakfast and three on GB News. He was also interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live, Times Radio and TV networks in the USA, Australia, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and Qatar.

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