Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II

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This is a delightful book that follows Queen Elizabeth from her birth to today. We see so much about the family here than in other books I have read. While the book is rather long, it is also filled with so many events I’ve not read about before so I enjoyed every bit of it.

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. 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. 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.Robert Hardman, one of Britain’s most acclaimed royal biographers, now wraps up the full story of one of the undisputed greats in a thousand years of monarchy. Hardman distills Elizabeth's complex life into 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. You can get a feel for Hardman’s style and content in this article, published by the Daily Mail on June 1, 2022, the eve of the Queens Jubilee Celebrations announced in the opening statement of this review: On February 6th, 2022 ,she marks 70 years on the Throne. Robert Hardman, the acclaimed and respected author of Her Majesty and Queen of the World has already examined the Queen as a modern monarch and her role as a stateswoman abroad. Now, he wraps up the full story of one of the undisputed greats in a thousand years of monarchy.

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”.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. Hardman briskly dismisses the suggestion that the Queen neglected her children Charles and Anne when small. As for the affair of Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend, Hardman claims that the story of “star-crossed lovers” was a myth invented by Princess Margaret after the event. In fact, Margaret herself made the decision not to marry Townsend, and the Queen supported her throughout. As for Lord Altrincham’s magazine article criticising the Queen, whom he described as a “priggish schoolgirl”, Hardman considers that its impact has been wildly exaggerated. Queen Of Our Times, read by the author, 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. Robert Hardman, one of Britain’s most acclaimed royal biographers, now wraps up the full story of one of the undisputed greats in a thousand years of monarchy. Hardman distills Elizabeth’s complex life into 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.