biography of queen elizabeth book

20 of the Best Books About Queen Elizabeth II

From exhaustive biographies, to illustrated coffee table books, and dishy accounts from former palace staffers.

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On the one year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's passing, you may find yourself wanting to deepen your knowledge of the longest-reigning female monarch in world history. There's a wealth of books out there to delve into. From exhaustive biographies, to illustrated coffee table books, to dishy accounts from former palace staffers, here are 20 of the best books you can read about the queen.

Sally Bedell Smith Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch

Sally Bedell Smith has written biographies of towering figures on both sides of the pond, including Princess Diana, John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and most recently Prince Charles . Her take on the queen was praised as “an excellent, all-embracing new biography” by the New York Times .

Angela Kelly The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe

To be fascinated by the Queen is to be fascinated by her wardrobe, and The Other Side of the Coin is a must-read for anyone wanting the inside scoop on those impeccably coordinated suits. Angela Kelley is the Queen’s personal dresser , and was given permission to share this exclusive glimpse into the royal costuming process, complete with never-before-seen images.

Hearst Home Town & Country: The Queen: A Life in Pictures

This carefully curated coffee table book from T&C was created by longtime royal reporter Victoria Murphy. The photographic tribute to Queen Elizabeth II features more than 300 photographs from the seven decades of her reign, spotlighting significant moments from both her public and private spheres, all accompanied by commentary and context from Murphy. The collection encompasses her coronation, her marriage to Prince Philip, her numerous royal tours around the world, her evolving wardrobe through the years, the births of her children and grandchildren, and much more.

Ingrid Seward My Husband and I: The Inside Story of the Royal Marriage

If you were gripped by season two of The Crown ’s deep dive into Elizabeth and Philip’s once-troubled marriage , you’ll want to prioritize this one. Seward delves into the couple’s 70-year long marriage with a lightness of touch, detailing their courtship and ups and downs as well as their formidable bond.

Robert Lacey The Crown, The Official Companion

If while watching The Crown , you're simultaneously fact-checking each episode, this is the book for you. Written by the show's historical consultant, Robert Lacey, it offers an in-depth look at the true story behind the drama. While this volume only addresses seasons two and three, hopefully Lacey will offer a season four version soon.

Elizabeth and Philip: A Royal Love Story

Similar to Seward's text, this special edition of Town & Country centers on the Queen and Prince Philip's romance, and features the true story of their courtship and 70+ year marriage alongside rarely seen photos of the royal couple.

Sali Hughes Our Rainbow Queen: A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and Her Colorful Wardrobe

This beautiful coffee table book by Welsh journalist Sali Hughes offers a photographic voyage through nine decades of the Queen’s wardrobe, and more importantly her color schemes .

Brian Hoey Not in Front of the Corgis: Secrets of Life Behind the Royal Curtains

Admit it, this one had you at the title. Though this book isn’t exclusively about Queen Elizabeth’s famous collection of corgis (disappointing), it’s still a fun, deliberately lightweight collection of trivia and tidbits about royal life.

Sarah Bradford The Reluctant King: The Life and Reign of George VI, 1895-1952

In order to fully understand Queen Elizabeth, and the turbulent circumstances of her ascension to the throne, you need to understand her father, King George VI. Now most famous as the subject of 2010's The King's Speech , George was forced to become King after his brother abdicated the throne, a saga which Sarah Bradford chronicles in fascinating detail.

The Queen Mother: The Official Biography

As important as King George VI is to Queen Elizabeth's story, the Queen Mother played a far more central role in her daughter's reign, having lived to see its first five decades. William Shawcross’s official biography, published seven years after the Queen Mother's death in 2002, is a weighty tome packed with details and insight into her daily life.

Carol Ann Duffy Jubilee Lines: 60 Poets for 60 Years

Though not technically a book about Queen Elizabeth at all, Jubilee Lines is nevertheless an evocative portrait of her reign. In this collection, published in 2012 for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, 60 poets are each assigned one of the 60 Jubilee years, and write a poem related in some way to the events or reality of that year.

Ben Pimlott The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II

Originally published in 1996, this definitive and acclaimed biography of Queen Elizabeth was updated in 2002 to mark her Golden Jubilee. Written by the late, highly respected historian Ben Pimlott, The Queen was described by The Independent newspaper as “the standard work on its sovereign subject, while The New York Times Book Review called it a “superbly judicious biography of Elizabeth II.”

Pegasus Books Queen of the World: Elizabeth II: Sovereign and Stateswoman

Veteran royal chronicler Robert Hardman focuses his 2019 biography on a specific aspect of Queen Elizabeth – her role as the head of Commonwealth of Nations—and thus avoids retreading familiar ground. Queen of the World was described by the BBC as “an intimate portrait of the Royal commitments at home and abroad.”

Andrew Marr The Diamond Queen: Elizabeth II and Her People

Scottish journalist Andrew Marr has a unique perspective as royal biographer, having once been a diehard republican (i.e. opposed to the existence of monarchy). Now an admirer of the Queen, Marr argues in this biography that “Britain without her would have been a greyer, shriller, more meagre place."

Sarah Bradford Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life In Our Times

In this relatively recent biography of the Queen—published in 2012—Sarah Bradford places the Queen’s life in a broader historical context. Per The Telegraph , the book represents “a familiar story being sparked into new life by a skilled practitioner.”

Marion Crawford The Little Princesses

For a truly one-of-a-kind perspective on the Queen’s formative years, look no further than this extraordinary biography by Marion Crawford, who was governess to the young Elizabeth and her sister Margaret for 17 years (they called her “Crawfie”). The 1950 publication of The Little Princesses caused a stir, and Crawford was reportedly shunned by the royal family for writing it.

Gyles Brandreth Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage

Another option for those fascinated by the Elizabeth/Philip dynamic, this biography by Gyles Brandreth is unusual for being focused primarily on Philip’s perspective.

Catherine Ryan The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II

This beautifully presented coffee table book takes a photo-centric approach to chronicling Queen Elizabeth’s life and reign.

Dickie Arbiter On Duty With The Queen

In his part-autobiography and part-royal biography, former palace spokesman Dickie Arbiter recounts how he went from working in broadcast journalism to being appointed as press secretary to the Royal family in 1988. Given Arbiter’s unparalleled access to the Queen—not to mention Princess Diana—it’s no surprise that this is a compelling, if restrained, read.

Cecil Beaton Queen Elizabeth II: Portraits by Cecil Beaton

Society photographer Cecil Beaton was chosen to take the official photographs of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953, and his portraits became some of the most iconic images from her entire reign. Along with the pictures themselves, this book offers insight into Beaton’s long relationship with the royals, and the role his work played in their public image.

Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.

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9 Books to Read About Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth, famously reticent during her decades in the public eye, was a source of fascination for many. These books offer a deeper understanding of her life, family and world.

By The New York Times Books Staff

During the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, through times of turbulence and peace, celebration, controversy and scandal, the monarchy has been an object of fascination.

Elizabeth, who died on Thursday at 96 , became Britain’s sovereign in 1952. Her reign, which spanned 15 British prime ministers and 14 American presidents, coincided with tremendous social and cultural change at home and abroad, as its empire overseas fell away.

Her duties were largely ceremonial, but supporters felt that she, and the monarchy, played an important and stabilizing role as the anchor of the country. Critics, on the other hand, considered the institution expensive and increasingly irrelevant in modern life.

Her coronation in 1953 was the first in Britain to be broadcast on television almost from beginning to end, and she struggled throughout her life to balance the norms and traditions with 24-hour news cycles and a far more public age. All the while, she worked to keep intact the public consensus the monarchy needed to survive.

Here are nine books we recommend for a deeper understanding of Elizabeth, her family and her time as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. — Elizabeth A. Harris

‘Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch,’ by Sally Bedell Smith

This thorough but deferential biography was published to coincide with the queen’s diamond jubilee. Smith — who has also written books about Princess Diana, Prince Charles and various American presidents — “curtsies before the British throne as deeply as a lady-in-waiting,” as wrote Alan Riding in The Times in 2012. Smith consulted public sources, friends and former courtiers of the queen who shared “intimate tidbits (all too often about horses and corgis). But despite that,” Riding goes on, “She faces a problem encountered, I suspect, by other royal biographers. Elizabeth has lived a remarkable life yet one that, quite frankly, is a bit dull to recount. Put differently, her somewhat dysfunctional family has provided far livelier copy.” — Elisabeth Egan

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Five of the best books about the Queen to read now

Offering fascinating insights into Her Majesty's life

As national mourning continues, extensive coverage of the Queen's life and legacy does too. For anyone interested in going deeper into the longstanding monarch's life, there are myriad biographies and history books offering fascinating insights: from seasoned royal journalists to some of the people closest to her.

Here are five of the best to read now.

Queen of our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II, Robert Hardman

This 2022 biography, by acclaimed royal historian Robert Hardman, is one of the most recent and comprehensive books about the late queen. Published in March this year, ahead of the Platinum Jubilee, what would be the last of her reign, it looks back on a lifetime of achievements and struggles, both personal and public. Hardman himself has made a career – as a journalist, broadcaster and author – from his expertise on the royal family, so expect an extensively researched and meticulously crafted poignant final portrait of Elizabeth II.

The Palace Papers, Tina Brown

Tina Brown has made a reputation as a smart and entertaining chronicler of royal life. Her bestselling book, The Diana Chronicles is followed by this 2022 look at the power struggles and relationships within the Queen's court and family. It has a remarkable degree of inside access and looks at some of the most relevant crises of the royals today – from #megxit to the fall of Prince Andrew. A gripping read which centres on the Queen's resolve through all.

The Queen, Matthew Dennison

Published in 2021, this balanced and brilliantly written biography is an extremely detailed depiction of the Queen's life. It paints a picture of her childhood – her at-times oddly spartan existence that was nonetheless filled with toys gifted to her from foreign states. In this way, it deftly handles the central contradictions of her life: a profoundly down-to-earth and humble woman who lived an extraordinary life in some of the grandest palaces in Britain.

The Queens Speech, Ingrid Seward

Ingrid Seward is editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, making her one of the most prominent writers on the royals, and the most prolific. With over a dozen books on this subject to her name, The Queen's Speech is perhaps one of the most intriguing. Complied from nearly 70 years of her public speeches, it analyses the monarch's emotions, personality and motivation through each one. It is an impressive attempt to gauge a sense of an innately public yet curiously personal person, in her own words.

The Other Side of the Coin, Angela Kelly

While many royal biographers may claim grand insight into the Queen, there are perhaps few who know her in quite the same way as her longstanding and loyal dresser, Angela Kelly. Her 2019 book received royal approval and is a touching and warm tribute to the person behind the crown, taken from some of the monarch's funniest and most personal moments. The book makes even more poignant reading today.

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VOYAGE AROUND QUEEN HB: The new laugh-out-loud and Sunday Times bestselling biography of Queen Elizabeth II, from the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize Hardcover – 29 Aug. 2024

From one of the funniest writers of our time, the award-winning and bestselling author of One Two Three Four and Ma'am Darling turns his attention to Queen Elizabeth II in an unforgettable and fascinating biography.

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Enthralling … deliciously gossipy' MAIL ON SUNDAY

'A crown jewel among royal biographies' OBSERVER

'Wonderfully absurd’ SPECTATOR

'Brilliant' SARAH VINE

Virginia Woolf compared her to a caterpillar; Anne Frank kept pictures of her on the wall of her annex; Jimi Hendrix played her tune; Haile Selassie gave her a gold tiara; Dirk Bogarde watched Death in Venice with her; Andy Warhol envied her fame; Donald Trump offended her; E.M. Forster confessed he would have married her, if only she had been a boy.

Queen Elizabeth II was famous for longer than anyone who has ever lived. When people spoke of her, they spoke of themselves; when they dreamed of her, they dreamed of themselves. She mirrored their hopes and anxieties. To the optimist, she seemed an optimist; to the pessimist, a pessimist; to the awestruck, charismatic; and to the cynical, humdrum. Though by nature reserved and unassuming, her presence could fill presidents and rock gods with terror. For close to a century, she inhabited the psyche of a nation.

Combining biography, essays, cultural history, dream diaries, travelogue and satire, the bestselling and award-winning author of Ma'am Darling and One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time presents a kaleidoscopic portrait of this most public yet private of sovereigns.

'An enthralling reverie on memory, identity, coincidence and meaning – testing, teasing, charming, moving and deceptively wise' RORY STEWART

'Completely and utterly brilliant and exquisitely funny and fascinating. This book is, dare I say, majestic. Craig Brown has no peers – I would curtsey to him if I met him' MARINA HYDE

'You wouldn’t think the world needed another book about Queen Elizabeth – but how wrong you’d be. Craig Brown’s wholly original and enthralling biography is absolute heaven from start to finish’ INDIA KNIGHT

'Craig Brown continues to reinvent the art of biography… utterly fascinating' JASON COWLEY

'Wonderfully readable – to both lovers and haters of monarchy' MATTHEW PARRIS, LITERARY REVIEW

'Brown’s wry, gossipy style has made him one of the UK’s best-loved biographers' LUCY KNIGHT, GUARDIAN

A JAZZ FM SUMMER BOOK CLUB PICK

Craig Brown's book One Two Three Four won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in 2020.

• Print length 672 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Fourth Estate
• Publication date 29 Aug. 2024
• Dimensions 15.9 x 3.43 x 24 cm
• ISBN-10 0008557497
• ISBN-13 978-0008557492
• See all details

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‘Brown sees, correctly, that comedy is a part of all that is serious, and by laughing at things we have a better understanding of their nature … Most of all in this magnificent book we have a sense of the monarch being looked at freshly, without any prejudice or point to prove, and with a real understanding of human complexity … It is hard to think that a more thoughtful book on its subject will be published for many years’ PHILIP HENSHER, SPECTATOR

'A very unusual masterpiece … teems with facts, humour and intelligence … I enjoyed A Voyage Around the Queen so much that I wished it were longer than its 672 pages' CHRISTOPHER HOWSE, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'Brown gives an astute account of the wellnigh unaccountable public life of an intensely private person … In any case, he has performed the task with admirable zeal. The book is crammed with facts, statistics, anecdotes, and much of it is gloriously bizarre…' JOHN BANVILLE, GUARDIAN

'Rich in vignettes, but also has a revelatory depth … thought-provoking, perhaps even deep … a vivid and remarkably telling study of our late head of state, and even more so of the people she reigned over for 70 years' STEPHEN SMITH, OBSERVER

'Brown is as sharp and dryly funny as his subject … fun, fizzy and told in Brown’s inimitable insidery, gossipy style' HARRIET ADDISON, EVENING STANDARD

'Wonderfully readable … At once sympathetic but clear-eyed, kind but sharp, Brown has given us a serious reflection on the nature of power and why institutions such as the monarchy, in the right hands, can provide a society with stability and a sense of continuity, especially in turbulent times' MARGARET MACMILLAN, NEW STATESMAN

'Celebrated author Craig Brown delves into the fascinating public and private life of the late monarch in this biography that’s witty, sharp and unforgettable' WOMAN’S OWN

Book Description

The new laugh-out-loud and Sunday Times bestselling biography of Queen Elizabeth II, from the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize

About the Author

Craig Brown has been writing the parodic celebrity diary for Private Eye since 1989. He has written for a widevariety of publications, including the Daily Mail , the Guardian , the New Statesman and the Spectator . His books include One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time , which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, and Ma’am Darling , which won the James Tait Black award.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fourth Estate (29 Aug. 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 672 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008557497
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008557492
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.9 x 3.43 x 24 cm
• 1 in Social & Urban History Biographies
• 1 in Women in History
• 1 in Cultural History of London

About the author

Craig brown.

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The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II

ISBN: 978-0-471-28330-0

September 1998

Ben Pimlott

"One of the many merits of Ben Pimlott's superbly judicious biography of Elizabeth II is that it understands this connection between monarchy and masses, and carefully evokes its political importance." — The New York Times Book Review

"The best all-around study of the Queen so far, showing understanding as well as amused irony." — Sunday Telegraph

Written by Ben Pimlott, considered Britain's most respected political biographer, The Queen brings us the most authentic life yet of the reigning monarch. For the first time, Buckingham Place opened its doors and those closest to the queen provided compelling new information into Elizabeth's life and reign. New sources include the unpublished diaries of Jock Colville, public secretary to both Churchill and Elizabeth, as well as interviews with Princess Margaret, Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Runcie, and longtime private secretary Lord Charteris.

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14 Delightful Books About Queen Elizabeth II to Remember Her Reign

Jackie and I are heartbroken over the loss of Her Majesty, The Queen. We wanted to book together a list of books about Queen Elizabeth II to commemorate the life of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

I’ve been a longtime fan of royal history and an avid reader of royal books. Jackie is a citizen of The Commonwealth having been born and raised in Canada.

Between the two of us, our love for royal books goes deep. We are processing the loss of The Queen by putting together this post and reading more books about QEII.

*The books about Queen Elizabeth II post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you.

Article Contents

Non-Fiction Books about Queen Elizabeth II

HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style

Author : Elizabeth Holmes

Year : 2020

Genre : Nonfiction

Age Range : 12+

I’m an avid follower of  Elizabeth Holmes’ account  (you should be too) where she explains the significance of the Royal Family’s wardrobe. The nuance and attention to detail the Royals use when dressing is fascinating to me. I knew I needed to read this book about royals and fashion!

Why Kirsten loves it

Elizabeth breaks it down in an accessible and understandable way. ⁣ I’m thrilled that her book delivers everything I’ve come to expect from her and more. This in-depth look at The Queen, Diana, Catherine, and Meghan is informative and beautiful. It is the perfect coffee table book for any fashion lover.

Find this book in : Good Nonfiction Books for Beginners / Fashion Books / Books about the Royal Family / Books about Queen Elizabeth II

The Other Side of the Coin

Author : Angela Kelly

Year : 2019

More info: Sunday Times Bestseller

Age Range : 16+

Angela Kelly is the Queen’s headdresser and long-time companion. She details her process for dressing the queen, talks about some of her most iconic looks, and even reveals a few personal stories about her time with Her Majesty.

I had palace fever this month while working on our Royal Reads post, so it’s no surprise that when my library hold for this autobiographical audiobook came through, I dove right into it. I absolutely loved this inside look about life with the Queen. I really felt like I learned about the Queen’s personality through this book.

Find this book in : Books About Queen Elizabeth II / Books about the Royal Family / Good Nonfiction Books for Beginners / Nonfiction Books about Fashion /

Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith

After reading Prince Harry’s memoir, I was keen to read a book about Queen Elizabeth II. Sally Bedell Smith examines not just the events of the Queen’s life but the people she was surrounded by as a way to explain how Elizabeth was shaped into a beloved monarch.

While the book was originally published in 2012, I found the background knowledge within the pages to be helpful in framing the events Harry explores in his own book about the royal family.

Long Live the Queen by Bryan Kozlowski

I absolutely adore this non-fiction book about Queen Elizabeth II’s life. Told in 23 chapters each about a rule the Queen lives by, it’s one of the most unique looks into the Queen’s life I’ve ever read. Instead of a boring biography, we are treated to moments and stories of the Queen’s life relevant to the “rule” being discussed.

When looking at why one’s life needs order, we see the various influences which created a structure for the Queen throughout her life. Or on the section about defending the honor of the crown, appropriately called Off With Their Heads, we read about tidbits of the Queen’s tough love philosophy. This is a lighter book about the royal family for sure.

The Palace Papers by Tina Brown

This was like reading a JUMBO issue of People magazine. All gossip in the best way! It’s perfect for our beach reads 2023 list! Tina Brown goes deep into the scandals of the British Royal Family over the past 40 or so years.

I didn’t learn anything new, but I loved hearing the hot gossip laid out in book form. This is perfect for our list of books like The Crown and our Royal Reads roundup. This is definitely one of our favorite books about the royal family to take on vacation.

Historical Fiction Books about Queen Elizabeth II

Before the Crown by Flora Harding

After all the royal reads I’ve read over the years, I can’t believe this is my first story about The Queen’s romance with Prince Philip. With the Jubilee coming up now in England, this was a perfect fictionalized biography to read!

I was wondering about how Philip won the heart of then Princess Elizabeth, and this fictional story filled in some fun details. Think of it as a prequel to the first episode of The Crown in the best way!

Every royal-obsessed person needs to add this pick from Books about Queen Elizabeth II to their TBR list and check out our list of books like the crown !

The Royal Governess by Wendy Holden

Well, this was a juicy bit of royal historical fiction!!! I had no idea that Crawfie, Queen Elizabeth II’s governess wrote a book about their time together later in her life, essentially banning her from the royal fold.

This work of historical fiction is based on the information gleaned from that book as well as Mary Crawford’s own history. It was so interesting to see the lives of the Queen and her sister through the eyes of their governess. This is perfect for royal lovers!

The Royal Correspondent by Alexandra Joel

I found this story about an Australian journalist’s rise in an all-male industry to be quite informative. I love historical fiction novels that look at groundbreaking women.

This novel had mystery, romance, and fierce female leads set against the backdrop of the 60s. The royal in the title is a little misleading as the royals come up as only minor characters.

Instead, we get to learn about the newspaper industry and just how hard it was for females to be accepted in journalism at the time.

Contemporary Fiction Books about Queen Elizabeth II

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn

Not a romance fan? This one is for you then. Imagine what would happen if Queen Elizabeth decided to just stroll out of the palace and hop on the train. This is a hilarious pick from our list of books about Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth is feeling particularly stressed out and wishes to visit her old pleasure yacht for the day. Watching her try to navigate the world on her own was quite amusing.

This novel was right on the mark and I adored it! For our Ultimate List of Feel Good Books, click HERE!

The Windsor Knot by S. J. Bennett

This cozy murder mystery was an absolute treat. I loved the Queen Elizabeth is the investigator in this mystery book (the first in a series) along with her assistant, Rosie.

Together they figure out who was behind the murder at Windsor Castle during one of the Queen’s Dine-and-Stays. This pick from books about Queen Elizabeth II is perfect for fans of Maggie Hope, Maise Dobbs, and the Royal Family.

More Books About Queen Elizabeth II as a Secondary Character

The Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson

The coronation is happening at just the right time for Edie Howard to save her beloved hotel. But things start going awry with threats to the hotel and the Queen herself that have Edie and her long-term residents in the middle of the danger.

With interesting facts about the coronation, a romance sub-plot, and the thrilling race to ward off danger, this is the perfect royal read for fans of QEII!

The Gown by Jennifer Robson

I thought this was going to be a wedding book about Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip based on the cover, but I was wrong. Instead, it was about a couple of seamstresses who worked on the now-Queen’s wedding dress.

Part historical fiction, part romance, part mystery – this pick from books about Queen Elizabeth II reminded me a bit of The Lost Vintage. This story is definitely not a royal romance but instead offers brief glimpses into the wedding dress-making process.

The Other Windsor Girl by Georgie Blalock

I knew a little about Princess Margaret from what I gleaned from The C rown, but it was nice to focus on her as the main character. I can’t imagine what it would have been like had she been the Queen of England.

She actually reminded me a lot of Wallace Simpson. She was most definitely a royal rebel. She’s still not my favorite royal but this historical fiction biography helped me understand her life, personality, and pressures. This book about QEII will give you a different perspective on being a royal.

We included this pick as one of our favorite books about the royal family for book clubs ! So it obviously needed to be in our list of books for book clubs as well.

Princess Elizabeth’s Spy (A Maggie Hope Mystery) by Susan Elia McNeal

I adored this story which takes place in Windsor Castle during the war when the Queen, then a princess, was a young girl. I loved the look at her as a young princess navigating WWII.

The second in the series is also a stand-alone but I recommend reading book 1 first.

Have you read any of these books about Queen Elizabeth II?

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As a mother of two boys, Kirsten rediscovered her life-long love for reading while choosing appropriate books for her children. She started this website with Jackie to share their passion for literacy with other moms and kids. She uses her years of experience in marketing and public relations to create quarterly magazines, implement social media strategy, and ensure the website content is relevant and beautiful.

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8 best queen elizabeth ii biographies to get to know the woman behind the crown.

by Julia Teti

Entertainment Writer

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For so many generations, there has been one constant public figure who has stood the test of time and weathered some of history’s most important moments. For 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II has been an icon, sovereign, and the matriarch of the House of Windsor , leading the monarchy through decades of change and the ebbs and flows of popularity. The queen has led such a rich life: full of triumph, heartache, and a resolute disposition at every turn. It’s no wonder there have been so many books written about her and the royal family , and we’ve rounded up some of the very best to mark Her Royal Majesty’s passing on September 8, 2022.

With unprecedented access to royal records, personnel of the palace, and so much more, the authors of these biographies offer unique perspectives on Queen Elizabeth II you won’t find anywhere else. Some follow the queen’s reign from the very beginning following the shocking death of her father, while others chart her overseas tours, family drama, and more. Still more look at the queen’s relationship with key members of her family, like Andrew Morton’s Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters . Then there are long-spanning biographies like Queen of Our Times , which take readers from Queen Elizabeth’s life as a princess to the next chapter in the monarchy’s ever-evolving legacy.

There’s so much still to uncover about this global icon, and we hope that, for royal family fans old and new, these biographies will start to fill your bookshelf with everything you need to know about Queen Elizabeth II — long may she reign.

A version of this story was originally published in June 2022. 

‘Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch’ by Sally Bedell Smith

Sally Bedell Smith’s New York Times bestseller,  Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch , is an absolute essential for any longtime royal fan and novice royal House of Windsor historian. Bedell Smith’s biography of the long-reigning monarch takes readers all the way back to when a young Elizabeth learned she was the “heiress presumptive,” through her coronation, milestones in her reign, and so much more. From daily routines to the relationships in Queen Elizabeth II’s inner circle, this book offers the highlights of the sovereign’s decades on the throne and more. 

‘Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth II’ by Robert Hardman

Noted royal biographer Robert Hardman chronicles the entirety of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and beyond in his 2022 biography Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth II . Everything from overseas tours to royal dinners, family struggles , and more comes under Hardman’s critical, well-researched eye. With access to records, palace personnel, and more, Hardman paints a full picture of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign — and where the monarchy goes from here. 

‘The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II’ by Catherine Ryan

In our lifetime, we’ll likely never see another monarch quite like Queen Elizabeth II, and that’s the exact sentiment Catherine Ryan focuses on in  The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II . From her uncle’s abdication of the throne to her foray into the spotlight and more, Ryan’s biography chronicles the highs and lows of Queen Elizabeth II’s life — both public and private. The biography includes chapters on her time as a girl, navigating royal life, and the difficult time immediately following the death of Princess Diana . 

‘The Last Queen: Elizabeth II’s Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor’ by Clive Irving

Clive Irving’s  The Last Queen: Elizabeth II’s Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor  takes an incredibly unique approach to the royal biography form. Using the lens of an investigative journalist, Irving unpacks the highs and lows of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, and how the queen has led the House of Windsor through decades of change.

‘The Faith of Queen Elizabeth: The Poise, Grace, and Quiet Strength Behind the Crown’ by Dudley Delffs

Dudley Delffs’  The Faith of Queen Elizabeth: The Poise, Grace, and Quiet Strength Behind the Crown takes readers behind the veil of the long-reigning monarch. Delffs’ biography explores Queen Elizabeth II’s faith, and how the monarch has led the United Kingdom for 70 years. It’s an intimate portrait of the sovereign. 

‘Queen of the World: Elizabeth II: Sovereign and Stateswoman’ by Robert Hardman

Another biography by Robert Hardman,  Queen of the World: Elizabeth II: Sovereign and Stateswoman , takes a step back and looks at the reign of Queen Elizabeth II on a global level. Hardman’s unprecedented access to royal archives gives readers a full picture of how the monarch has ruled the United Kingdom for so many decades, and the icon’s impact on the world. 

‘Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters’ by Andrew Morton

Famed royal biographer Andrew Morton gives us a wholly different chapter of Queen Elizabeth II’s life in  Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters . Morton’s book chronicles the sisters’ relationship through the years, from their time as little princesses to Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne and the moments that defined their bond. This biography gives readers a completely different side of Queen Elizabeth — that of a sister. 

‘Queen Elizabeth II: A Glorious 70 Years’ by Alison James

Alison James’  Queen Elizabeth II: A Glorious 70 Years takes readers on a visual journey through the life of the long-reigning monarch. Photographs and portraits detail specific moments from the queen’s life and highlight special occasions that left an indelible impact on thenation. It’s the perfect new biography to add to you bookshelf to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. 

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The 20 Best Books About Queen Elizabeth II

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If you're watching the latest season of The Crown and finding yourself wanting to deepen your knowledge of the longest-running female monarch in world history, there's a wealth of books out there to delve into. From exhaustive biographies, to illustrated coffee table books, to dishy accounts from former palace staffers, here are 20 of the best books you can read about Queen Elizabeth II .

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch

Sally Bedell Smith has written biographies of towering figures on both sides of the pond, including Princess Diana, John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and most recently Prince Charles . Her take on the queen was praised as “an excellent, all-embracing new biography” by the New York Times .

More: The Best Books to Read About the Royal Family

The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe

To be fascinated by the Queen is to be fascinated by her wardrobe, and The Other Side of the Coin is a must-read for anyone wanting the inside scoop on those impeccably coordinated suits. Angela Kelley is the Queen’s personal dresser , and was given permission to share this exclusive glimpse into the royal costuming process, complete with never-before-seen images.

Town & Country: The Queen: A Life in Pictures

This carefully curated coffee table book from T&C was created by longtime royal reporter Victoria Murphy. The photographic tribute to Queen Elizabeth II features more than 300 photographs from the seven decades of her reign, spotlighting significant moments from both her public and private spheres, all accompanied by commentary and context from Murphy. The collection encompasses her coronation, her marriage to Prince Philip, her numerous royal tours around the world, her evolving wardrobe through the years, the births of her children and grandchildren, and much more.

Town & Country: The Queen: A Life in Pictures

My Husband and I: The Inside Story of the Royal Marriage

If you were gripped by season two of The Crown ’s deep dive into Elizabeth and Philip’s once-troubled marriage , you’ll want to prioritize this one. Seward delves into the couple’s 70-year long marriage with a lightness of touch, detailing their courtship and ups and downs as well as their formidable bond.

The Crown, The Official Companion

If while watching The Crown , you're simultaneously fact-checking each episode, this is the book for you. Written by the show's historical consultant, Robert Lacey, it offers an in-depth look at the true story behind the drama. While this volume only addresses seasons two and three, hopefully Lacey will offer a season four version soon.

Elizabeth and Philip: A Royal Love Story

Similar to Seward's text, this special edition of Town & Country centers on the Queen and Prince Philip's romance, and features the true story of their courtship and 70+ year marriage alongside rarely seen photos of the royal couple.

Our Rainbow Queen: A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and Her Colorful Wardrobe

This beautiful coffee table book by Welsh journalist Sali Hughes offers a photographic voyage through nine decades of the Queen’s wardrobe, and more importantly her color schemes .

Not in Front of the Corgis: Secrets of Life Behind the Royal Curtains

Admit it, this one had you at the title. Though this book isn’t exclusively about Queen Elizabeth’s famous collection of corgis (disappointing), it’s still a fun, deliberately lightweight collection of trivia and tidbits about royal life.

The Reluctant King: The Life and Reign of George VI, 1895-1952

In order to fully understand Queen Elizabeth, and the turbulent circumstances of her ascension to the throne, you need to understand her father, King George VI. Now most famous as the subject of 2010's The King's Speech , George was forced to become King after his brother abdicated the throne, a saga which Sarah Bradford chronicles in fascinating detail.

The Queen Mother: The Official Biography

As important as King George VI is to Queen Elizabeth's story, the Queen Mother played a far more central role in her daughter's reign, having lived to see its first five decades. William Shawcross’s official biography, published seven years after the Queen Mother's death in 2002, is a weighty tome packed with details and insight into her daily life.

Jubilee Lines: 60 Poets for 60 Years

Though not technically a book about Queen Elizabeth at all, Jubilee Lines is nevertheless an evocative portrait of her reign. In this collection, published in 2012 for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, 60 poets are each assigned one of the 60 Jubilee years, and write a poem related in some way to the events or reality of that year.

The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II

Originally published in 1996, this definitive and acclaimed biography of Queen Elizabeth was updated in 2002 to mark her Golden Jubilee. Written by the late, highly respected historian Ben Pimlott, The Queen was described by The Independent newspaper as “the standard work on its sovereign subject, while The New York Times Book Review called it a “superbly judicious biography of Elizabeth II.”

Queen of the World: Elizabeth II: Sovereign and Stateswoman

Veteran royal chronicler Robert Hardman focuses his 2019 biography on a specific aspect of Queen Elizabeth – her role as the head of Commonwealth of Nations—and thus avoids retreading familiar ground. Queen of the World was described by the BBC as “an intimate portrait of the Royal commitments at home and abroad.”

The Diamond Queen: Elizabeth II and Her People

Scottish journalist Andrew Marr has a unique perspective as royal biographer, having once been a diehard republican (i.e. opposed to the existence of monarchy). Now an admirer of the Queen, Marr argues in this biography that “Britain without her would have been a greyer, shriller, more meagre place."

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life In Our Times

In this relatively recent biography of the Queen—published in 2012—Sarah Bradford places the Queen’s life in a broader historical context. Per The Telegraph , the book represents “a familiar story being sparked into new life by a skilled practitioner.”

The Little Princesses

For a truly one-of-a-kind perspective on the Queen’s formative years, look no further than this extraordinary biography by Marion Crawford, who was governess to the young Elizabeth and her sister Margaret for 17 years (they called her “Crawfie”). The 1950 publication of The Little Princesses caused a stir, and Crawford was reportedly shunned by the royal family for writing it.

Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage

Another option for those fascinated by the Elizabeth/Philip dynamic, this biography by Gyles Brandreth is unusual for being focused primarily on Philip’s perspective.

The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II

This beautifully presented coffee table book takes a photo-centric approach to chronicling Queen Elizabeth’s life and reign.

On Duty With The Queen

In his part-autobiography and part-royal biography, former palace spokesman Dickie Arbiter recounts how he went from working in broadcast journalism to being appointed as press secretary to the Royal family in 1988. Given Arbiter’s unparalleled access to the Queen—not to mention Princess Diana—it’s no surprise that this is a compelling, if restrained, read.

Queen Elizabeth II: Portraits by Cecil Beaton

Society photographer Cecil Beaton was chosen to take the official photographs of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953, and his portraits became some of the most iconic images from her entire reign. Along with the pictures themselves, this book offers insight into Beaton’s long relationship with the royals, and the role his work played in their public image.

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A Voyage Around the Queen

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Virginia Woolf compared her to a caterpillar; Anne Frank kept pictures of her on the wall of her annex; Jimi Hendrix played her tune; Haile Selassie gave her a gold tiara; Dirk Bogarde watched Death in Venice with her; Andy Warhol envied her fame; Donald Trump offended her; E.M. Forster confessed he would have married her, if only she had been a boy.

Queen Elizabeth II was famous for longer than anyone who has ever lived. When people spoke of her, they spoke of themselves; when they dreamed of her, they dreamed of themselves. She mirrored their hopes and anxieties.

To the optimist, she seemed an optimist; to the pessimist, a pessimist; to the awestruck, charismatic; and to the cynical, humdrum. Though by nature reserved and unassuming, her presence could fill presidents and rock gods with terror. For close to a century, she inhabited the psyche of a nation.

Combining biography, essays, cultural history, dream diaries, travelogue and satire, the bestselling and award-winning author of Ma'am Darling and One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time presents a kaleidoscopic portrait of this most public yet private of sovereigns.

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RS Recommends: Sales of Queen Elizabeth II Books Soar Online Following the Monarch’s Death

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John Lonsdale

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The day after Queen Elizabeth II’s death at 96, a collection of books about the long-reigning monarch have shot to the top of the charts on Amazon .

“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” her son, now King Charles III, shared in a message following her passing. “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”

Among the trending titles rounding out the top 10 spots on Amazon, Life’s Queen Elizabeth: 70th Jubilee has soared to the top of the Movers & Shakers book list at the time of this writing. The title is a 96-page special collector’s edition that celebrates the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and her 70-year reign. The book, which has a sales rank of 230 on Amazon right now, shot up a massive 289,721 percent over the last day. You can buy it right now for $14.99, and it’s also available on Kindle.

Editor’s picks

Every awful thing trump has promised to do in a second term, the 250 greatest guitarists of all time, the 500 greatest albums of all time, 25 most influential creators of 2024, t.i. and tiny accuse toy titan of being 'willful infringer' in third omg girlz trial, donald trump has to stop playing 'hold on, i'm coming' at rallies, judge rules, 'half-breed' and 'brown sugar' vanished: why classic artists are censoring themselves, see lady gaga's harley quinn sing a judy garland song to the joker in 'folie à deux'.

Of course, these top-selling titles barely scratch the surface of books about the Queen. Along with the special editions above, fans have also picked up a handful of other biographies about Her Majesty, including the new release Queen of Our Time , published in March 2022. It’s already become a bestseller in the History of Books category on Amazon, alongside illustrated children’s books, including Queen Elizabeth II: A Little Golden Book .

You can shop all of the top-selling Queen Elizabeth books right now on Amazon, and check out the complete list of the Amazon’s Movers & Shakers here .

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Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in British history, sitting on the throne for 71 years. She was succeeded by King Charles III in 2022.

Latest News: One Year Since Her Death

Who was queen elizabeth ii, quick facts, early life and family tree, ascension to the crown and coronation, husband prince philip, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, family scandals and losses, death and funeral.

On the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, King Charles shared an unreleased photo of the late queen. “In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty’s death and my Accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us,” he said in a statement. Additionally, Prince William and Princess Kate attended a private church service in Wales to commemorate her life, and Prince Harry visited the chapel at Windsor Castle , where the queen is buried. Planning for a memorial to Elizabeth is underway. The targeted unveiling is 2026, the year she would have turned 100.

Queen Elizabeth II became queen of the United Kingdom on February 6, 1952, at age 25 and was crowned on June 2, 1953. She was the mother of Prince Charles , who ascended to the throne after her death, as well as the grandmother of Princes William and Harry . As the longest-serving monarch in British history, she tried to make her reign more modern and sensitive to a changing public while maintaining traditions associated with the crown. Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022, at age 96.

FULL NAME: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary BORN: April 21, 1926 DIED: September 8, 2022 BIRTHPLACE: London, England, United Kingdom PARENTS: King George VI and Queen Mother Elizabeth SPOUSE: Prince Philip CHILDREN: King Charles III , Princess Anne , Prince Andrew , and Prince Edward ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Taurus

Queen Elizabeth II was born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, in London. Her parents were then known as the Duke and Duchess of York. Prince Albert—later known as King George VI —was the second son of Queen Mary and King George V . Her mother was Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon .

Elizabeth had ties with most of the monarchs in Europe. Her British ancestors include Queen Victoria (ruled 1837 to 1901) and King George III (ruled 1760 to 1820).

At the time of her birth, most people didn’t realize Elizabeth would someday become the queen of the United Kingdom. Nicknamed Lilibet, she got to enjoy the first decade of her life with all the privileges of being a royal without the pressures of being the heir apparent.

Elizabeth’s father and mother divided their time between a home in London and Royal Lodge, the family’s home on the grounds of Windsor Great Park. Elizabeth and her younger sister, Margaret , were educated at home by tutors. Academic courses included French, mathematics, and history, along with dancing, singing, and art lessons.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Elizabeth and her sister largely stayed out of London, having been relocated to Windsor Castle. From there she made the first of her famous radio broadcasts in 1940, with this particular speech reassuring the children of Britain who had been evacuated from their homes and families. The 14-year-old princess, showing her calm and firm personality, told them “that in the end, all will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace.”

Elizabeth soon started taking on other public duties. Appointed colonel-in-chief of the Grenadier Guards by her father, Elizabeth made her first public appearance inspecting the troops in 1942. She also began to accompany her parents on official visits within Britain.

In 1945, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service to help in the war effort. She trained side-by-side with other British women to be an expert driver and mechanic. While her volunteer work only lasted a few months, it offered Elizabeth a glimpse into a different, non-royal world. She had another vivid experience outside of the monarchy when she and Margaret were allowed to mingle anonymously among the citizenry on Victory in Europe Day .

When Elizabeth’s grandfather King George V died in 1936, his eldest son (Elizabeth’s uncle) became King Edward VIII . Edward, however, was in love with American divorcée Wallis Simpson and had to choose between the crown and his heart . In the end, Edward chose Simpson and abdicated the crown.

The event changed the course of Elizabeth’s life, making her the heir presumptive to the British crown. Her father was crowned King George VI in 1937, taking on the name George to emphasize continuity with his father. Her mother became Queen Elizabeth.

Fifteen years later, the monarchy changed hands again when King George died. The younger Elizabeth assumed the responsibilities of the ruling monarch on February 6, 1952. At that point, the 25-year-old became Queen Elizabeth II, and her mother became Queen Mother.

Elizabeth was crowned on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey, at the age of 27. For the first time ever, the coronation ceremony was broadcast on television, allowing people from across the globe to witness the pomp and spectacle of the event.

Elizabeth married her distant cousin Philip Mountbatten (a surname adopted from his mother’s side) on November 20, 1947, at London’s Westminster Abbey.

Elizabeth first met Philip, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, when she was only 13. She was smitten with him from the start. The two kept in touch over the years and eventually fell in love.

They made an unusual pair. Elizabeth was quiet and reserved, while Philip was boisterous and outspoken. Her father, King George, was hesitant about the match because, while Mountbatten had ties to both the Danish and Greek royal families, he didn’t possess great wealth and was considered by some to have a rough personality.

At the time of their wedding, Great Britain was still recovering from the ravages of World War II, and Elizabeth collected clothing coupons to get fabric for her gown.

The family took on the name Windsor, a move pushed by her mother and Prime Minister Winston Churchill that caused tension with her husband. In 1960, she reversed course, issuing orders that her descendants who didn’t carry royal titles (or needed last names for legal purposes such as weddings) would use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. Over the years, Philip inspired numerous public relations headaches with his off-the-cuff, controversial comments and rumors of possible infidelities.

Philip died on April 9, 2021, at age 99. Days later, Prince Andrew told the media Queen Elizabeth described his death “as having left a huge void in her life.” She had previously said he was her “strength and stay.”

Elizabeth and Philip wasted no time in producing an heir: Their son Charles was born in 1948, the year after their wedding, and their daughter, Anne , arrived in 1950. As queen, Elizabeth had two more children—sons Andrew and Edward —in 1960 and 1964, respectively.

King Charles III

In 1969, Elizabeth officially made Charles her successor by granting him the title of Prince of Wales. Hundreds of millions of people tuned in to see the ceremony on television.

In 1981, Charles, then 32, wed 19-year-old Diana Spencer, who became known as Princess Diana . The wedding drew enormous crowds in the streets of London, and millions watched the proceedings on television. Public opinion of the monarchy was especially strong at that time. Later, rumors surfaced that he was pressured into the marriage by his family.

Now King Charles III, he is married to Queen Camilla .

Princess Anne

Princess Anne began working as a member of the royal family when she was 18 in 1969 and continues today. She is also heavily involved in charity work. A noted equestrian, Anne competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Her mother opened the Games that year, and the rest of the royal family traveled to support Anne.

Previously married to Captain Mark Phillips, she and her current husband, Timothy Laurence, wed in 1992.

Prince Andrew

Andrew was the first child born to a reigning monarch in more than 100 years. In 1979, he joined the British Royal Navy, became a helicopter pilot, and served during the Falkland War in the early 1980s. He became the Duke of York after marrying Sarah Ferguson , though the couple later divorced. Following scandal, Andrew stepped back from public duties in his royal capacity in 2019, a decision that was made permanent in 2022.

Prince Edward

The queen’s youngest child, Edward, worked in theater and television production for many years, at one point through his own production company. Since 2002, he has worked full-time supporting his mother and now brother. Edward is married to Sophie Rhys-Jones. He became the Duke of Edinburgh—a title previously held by his father—in March 2023.

Queen Elizabeth had eight grandchildren and was great-grandmother to 12 in her lifetime.

Her most well-known grandchildren are Charles and Diana’s sons, Prince William , who became second-in-line to the throne at his birth in 1982, and Prince Harry , born in 1984. Elizabeth emerged as a devoted grandmother to her grandsons. Prince William has said that she offered invaluable support and guidance as he and Kate Middleton planned their 2011 wedding.

In addition to Princes William and Harry, the queen’s other grandchildren are: Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, born to Princess Anne; Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, born to Prince Andrew; and Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, born to Prince Edward. Peter is Elizabeth’s oldest grandchild; he was born in 1977, four years before his sister and five years before Prince William.

William and Kate have three children, who are Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren. The Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed Prince George Alexander Louis in July 2013, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana in May 2015, and Prince Louis Arthur Charles in April 2018. All three are currently in the line of succession directly after their father.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife, Meghan Markle gave the queen two more great-grandchildren with the birth of their son, Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor , and daughter, Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor , in May 2019 and June 2021, respectively.

Elizabeth’s other great-grandchildren include Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Mia Tindall, Lena Tindall, August Brooksbank, Lucas Tindall, and Sienna Mozzi.

Elizabeth’s long and mainly peaceful reign was marked by vast changes in her people’s lives, in her country’s power, how Britain is viewed abroad, and how the monarchy is regarded and portrayed. As a constitutional monarch, Elizabeth didn’t weigh in on political matters, nor did she reveal her political views. However, she conferred regularly with her prime ministers.

When Elizabeth became queen, post-war Britain still had a substantial empire, dominions, and dependencies. However, during the 1950s and 1960s, many of these countries achieved independence, and the British Empire evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations. Elizabeth II thus made visits to other countries as head of the Commonwealth and a representative of Britain, including a groundbreaking trip to Germany in 1965. She became the first British monarch to make a state visit there in more than five decades.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Elizabeth continued to travel extensively. In 1973, she attended the Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa, Canada and, in 1976, traveled to the United States for the 200 th anniversary celebration of America’s independence from Britain. More than a week later, she was in Montreal to open the Summer Olympics. In 1979, she traveled to Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, which garnered international attention and widespread respect.

In 1982, Elizabeth worried about her second son, Prince Andrew , who served as a helicopter pilot in the British Royal Navy during the Falklands War. Britain went to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, a clash that lasted for several weeks. While more than 250 British soldiers died in the conflict, Prince Andrew returned home safe and well, much to his mother’s relief.

In 2011, Elizabeth showed that the crown still had symbolic and diplomatic power when she became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since 1911 (when all of Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom).

As queen, Elizabeth modernized the monarchy, dropping some of its formalities and making certain sites and treasures more accessible to the public. As Britain and other nations struggled financially, Britain abolished the Civil List in 2012, which was a public funding system of the monarchy dating back roughly 250 years. The royal family continues to receive some government support, but the queen cut back on spending.

Also in 2012, Elizabeth celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years as queen. As part of the jubilee festivities, a special BBC concert was held on June 4 featuring the likes of Shirley Bassey , Paul McCartney , Tom Jones , Stevie Wonder , and Kylie Minogue. Elizabeth was surrounded by family at this historic event, including her husband Philip, son Charles, and grandsons Harry and William.

On September 9, 2015, she surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria as Britain’s longest-ruling monarch, who reigned for 63 years.

Despite the occasional call to step aside for Charles, Elizabeth remained steadfast in her royal obligations as she passed her 90 th birthday in 2016. She continued making more than 400 engagements per year, maintaining her support of hundreds of charitable organizations and programs.

On February 6, 2017, the queen celebrated 65 years on the throne, the only British monarch to ever celebrate her Sapphire Jubilee. The date also marks the anniversary of the death of her father. The queen chose to spend the day quietly at Sandringham, her country estate north of London, where she attended a church service. In London, there were royal gun salutes at Green Park and at the Tower of London to mark the occasion. The Royal Mint also issued eight new commemorative coins in honor of the queen’s Sapphire Jubilee.

Later that year, the monarchy took what was considered a major step toward transitioning to the next generation: On November 12, Charles handled the traditional Remembrance Sunday duty of placing a wreath at the Cenotaph war memorial, as the queen watched from a nearby balcony.

In August 2019, Elizabeth made a rare intrusion into political matters when she agreed to a request by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to suspend Parliament until October 14, less than three weeks before Britain’s planned departure from the European Union.

In 2022, the nation celebrated Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee year. Another milestone for the monarchy, it marked her 70 years on the throne.

Relationship With Prime Ministers

Elizabeth had 15 prime ministers placed into power during her reign, with the queen and PM having a weekly, confidential meeting. (Elizabeth also met about a quarter of all the U.S. presidents in history, most recently receiving Joe Biden for a state visit in June 2021.)

She enjoyed a father-figure relationship with the iconic Winston Churchill and was later able to loosen up a bit and be somewhat informal with Labour leaders Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In contrast, she and Margaret Thatcher had a very formal, distant relationship, with the PM tending to be a grating lecturer to the queen on a variety of issues.

Tony Blair saw certain concepts around the monarchy as somewhat outdated, though he did appreciate Elizabeth making a public statement after the death of Princess Diana .

Later, Conservative leader David Cameron, who was Elizabeth’s fifth cousin removed, enjoyed a warm rapport with the queen. He apologized in 2014 for revealing in a conversation that she was against the Scottish referendum to seek independence from Great Britain.

Theresa May was described as being tight-lipped about Brexit plans to leave the European Union, with a rumor circulating that Elizabeth was perturbed over not being informed about future exit strategies.

Two days before her death, Elizabeth welcomed her final prime minister, Liz Truss , at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The September 6, 2022, meeting was her final act as monarch.

Threats to Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family

Elizabeth worked tirelessly to protect the image of the monarchy and to prepare for its future. But she saw the monarchy come under attack during her lifetime. The once-revered institution weathered a number of storms, including death threats against the royal family.

In 1979, Elizabeth suffered a significant personal loss when Lord Mountbatten, her husband’s uncle, died in a terrorist bombing. Mountbatten and several members of his family were aboard his boat off the west coast of Ireland when the vessel exploded on August 27. He and three others, including one of his grandsons, were killed. The Irish Republican Army, which opposed British rule in Northern Ireland, took responsibility for the attack.

In June 1981, Elizabeth herself had a dangerous encounter. She was riding in the Trooping the Colour, a special military parade to celebrate her official birthday when a man in the crowd pointed a gun at her. He fired, but fortunately, the gun was loaded with blanks. Other than receiving a good scare, the queen wasn’t hurt.

Elizabeth had an even closer call the following year when an intruder broke into Buckingham Palace and confronted her in her bedroom. When the press got wind of the fact that Prince Philip was nowhere to be seen during this incident, they speculated about the state of the royal marriage.

The marriage of Elizabeth’s son Charles to Diana made headlines for years before the couple announced their separation in 1992, followed by their formal divorce in 1996. In the wake of Diana’s death in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, Elizabeth experienced intense media scrutiny. Her incredibly popular ex-daughter-in-law had been called the “People’s Princess.”

The queen was at her Balmoral estate in Scotland with Charles and his sons with Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry, at the time. For days, Elizabeth remained silent while the country mourned Diana’s passing, and she was sharply criticized for her lack of response.

Stories circulated that the queen didn’t want to give Diana a royal funeral, which only fueled public sentiment against the monarch. Nearly a week after Diana’s death, Elizabeth returned to London and issued a statement on the late princess.

Elizabeth also initially objected to the relationship between her son Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles . Charles and Camilla had dated years before he met his family, but the relationship ended under family pressure, only to resume during Charles and Diana’s marriage. Known to be a stickler for ceremony and tradition, she eventually showed signs of softening her stance over the years. When Charles and Camilla wed in 2005, Elizabeth and Prince Philip didn’t attend the civil ceremony but attended a religious blessing and held a reception in their honor at Windsor Castle.

In 1992, another of Elizabeth’s children, Prince Andrew, ended up in the tabloids after photos emerged of his wife, Sarah Ferguson , and another man engaged in romantic activity. The couple divorced soon after. Along with the dissolution of Charles’ and Andrew’s marriages, Princess Anne divorced her husband Mark Phillips that year. More bad news came when a fire broke out at Windsor Castle in November. The 15-hour blaze destroyed 115 rooms, though it only consumed two pieces of art from the queen’s valuable private collection. The year became known as her “annus horribilis.”

After the start of the 21 st century, Elizabeth experienced two great losses. She said goodbye to both her sister, Margaret, and her mother in 2002, the same year she celebrated her Golden Jubilee that marked her 50 th year on the throne. Margaret, known for being more of an adventurous soul than other royals and who was barred from marrying an early love, died in February after suffering a stroke. Only a few weeks later, Elizabeth’s mother died at Royal Lodge on March 30 at the age of 101.

In November 2017, the media reported the queen had some $13 million invested in offshore accounts. The news came following the leak of the so-called “Paradise Papers” to a German newspaper, which shared the documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The Duchy of Lancaster, which holds assets for the queen, confirmed that some of its investments were overseas accounts but insisted they were all legitimate.

Also in 2017, the former owner of the lingerie company Rigby & Peller, which had serviced Elizabeth for more than 50 years, wrote a tell-all autobiography that included some of her experiences with the royal family. Although the author insisted that “the book doesn’t contain anything naughty,” the queen responded in early 2018 by revoking Rigby & Peller’s royal warrant.

In 2019, Prince Andrew was forced to step down from public duties, following a media firestorm. Andrew had courted years of scandal surrounding his controversial business pursuits and friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ,

Just weeks later, in January 2020, the family again found themselves in the spotlight, following the bombshell decision by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle , the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to step away from their roles as senior royals.

For much of her life, the queen surrounded herself with dogs. She was especially known for her love of corgis, owning more than 30 descendants of the first corgi she received as a teenager, until the death of the final one, Willow, in 2018.

Elizabeth was also a horse enthusiast who bred thoroughbreds and attended racing events for many years.

Not one for the spotlight, Elizabeth liked quiet pastimes. She enjoyed reading mysteries, working on crossword puzzles, and reportedly, even watching wrestling on television.

Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on September 8, 2022, at 3:10 p.m. local time. She was 96 years old. Her official cause of death was old age, according to her death certificate.

The public was first aware of the queen’s ill health earlier that day when Buckingham Palace issued at statement around 12:30 p.m. that said, “Following further evaluation this morning, the queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision.”

Soon, members of the royal family began traveling to see the queen. At the time of her death, Prince Charles and Camilla, as well as Princess Anne were at the castle. William, Harry, Andrew, Edward, and Sophie arrived later in the evening. Kate Middleton didn’t travel to say her final goodbyes, citing the recent start of the school year for her children. Meghan Markle was also absent.

Her death was publicly announced at 6:30 p.m. After, newly minted King Charles issued a statement that said:

The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world. During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.

On September 14, Elizabeth’s coffin traveled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall by horse-drawn carriage and lay in state for four days. The day of her state funeral, September 19, was declared a bank holiday. The funeral was held at Westminster Abbey and ended with two minutes of silence, observed there and throughout the United Kingdom.

President Joe Biden , First Lady Jill Biden , French President Emmanuel Macron , and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were among the dozens of world leaders and 2,000 total people in attendance. Millions more watched or listened in; the funeral was broadcast on TV and radio and streamed on YouTube. Elizabeth’s pony and her corgis, Muick and Sandy, watched the procession, as did tens of thousands of people.

A private burial came later that day. Elizabeth was buried with Prince Philip at the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

• I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.
• 1992 is not a year I shall look back on with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an “annus horribilis.”
• When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.
• Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures. They all need to be reassured that there is so much to be gained by reaching out to others; that diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat.
• Grief is the price we pay for love.
• I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.
• In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognize how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945.
• We lost the American colonies because we lacked the statesmanship to know the right time and the manner of yielding what is impossible to keep.

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

Adrienne directs the daily news operation and content production for Biography.com. She joined the staff in October 2022 and most recently worked as an editor for Popular Mechanics , Runner’s World , and Bicycling . Adrienne has served as editor-in-chief of two regional print magazines, and her work has won several awards, including the Best Explanatory Journalism award from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. Her current working theory is that people are the point of life, and she’s fascinated by everyone who (and every system that) creates our societal norms. When she’s not behind the news desk, find her hiking, working on her latest cocktail project, or eating mint chocolate chip ice cream. 

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Culture | Books

Happy and glorious - or a little bit bland? Craig Brown tells all about the Queen, but she remains an enigma.

How much do you know about your grandmother’s life? When she was young, what would she have for breakfast? When she was 40, what did her friends think of her? In Craig Brown’s new book , Voyage around the Queen , he points out Her Maj’s life has been so faithfully chronicled, that even anti-monarchists probably know more about the late Queen than their own grandparents. “Like it or not — like them or not— the royal family are under our skin”, Brown says.

In this new book, published this week,  he puts Elizabeth II’s life into historical context , presenting a portrait of the monarch by exploring the recollections of those who orbited and encountered her, from the civilians to the politicians to the celebrities. It also, oddly, has a section reporting people's dreams about the Queen. Ignoring that, and moving back to actual events, the tidbits are random and varied and cover the scope of her life and reign. Some of these stories are fabulous, from Margaret Thatcher being mocked in-house (in-palace) for the depth of her curtsey to the Christmas present Prince Philip gave her in 1944. Marilyn Monroe was so nervous at the prospect of meeting the Queen that she spent all day “curtseying all over the house and even trying to talk in an English accent”. When they did meet, “within a few seconds the Queen has moved on to the next in line”. The Queen reported later that she“ felt sorry for her, because she was so nervous that she had licked all her lipstick off”. 

There is a mad, amazing tale about Elton John, Princess Anne and the Queen dancing together at “the world’s quietest disco”. And a bitchy retort from 1987, where Andy Warhol reportedly said, “Prince Andrew has gotten so ugly, he’s looking like his mother”. Some tales are less markedly less interesting, and Brown works hard to ascribe them relevance. As a child, he explains, even the way that the young princess Elizabeth ate sweets (methodically and daintily, apparently) illustrated how she was already “embarking on a lifetime's habit of delayed gratification”. Did it really? Was she… possibly… just a bit bland? “I don’t know how to break this…”, remarked Paul McCartney after being presented to the Queen in 2002, “but she didn’t have a lot to say”. And this was from someone who admitted to having an enormous crush on her when he was in his teens, and she in her early 20s. “She was a babe… we used to say ‘just look at the heat on her’”. But how else, Brown recognises, could she act in her position?

Brown’s last Royal insider book Ma’am Diaries, about Princess Margaret, was a juicy account of her life, and we all gleefully lapped up the stories about her morning routine of cigarettes and breakfast in bed, before a 12.30pm vodka pick-me-up. This is more tame. But then, of course, the subject matter is not (and could not be) anywhere near as droll. It is clear, with the restraints upon what she can and can’t say, that the Queen simply “found it a little difficult to make conversation”, was “a sitting target for bores”, and had to rely upon the endless repetition of “how  very  interesting”.

Behind closed doors (though still observed), she minced her words somewhat less. When asked what she would have done if Idi Amin had turned up to her silver Jubilee celebrations , she nodded in the direction of the Lord Mayor's pearl sword and said “I’d have hit him hard over the head with it”. She suggested that President Trump “‘must have some sort of arrangement’ with his wife Melania or else why would she have remained married to him? And when it came to the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, she referred to him as “a frightful little man”. When he and his wife were staying at Buckingham Palace , she spotted them while out walking the corgis and “disappeared behind a bush” until they’d safely passed by. 

This is a portrait of a very odd life, and much is given to the normality vs not-normality. Did the Queen think that the whole world smelt like fresh paint, as everywhere was spruced up before her arrival? There is a very long and laboured point over several chapters with myriad examples that people's behaviour “goes into a different gear” in front of her, that people lose their minds and start spouting utter nonsense. In one example, simply saying “you work here full time? Really?” to a hospital orderly resulted in everyone “falling about in merriment”. The actor Miriam Margolyes reports that the Queen once told her to “be quiet!”, with a “crisp emphasis on the final ‘t’, after Margolyes got slight verbal diarrhoea when meeting her and dared to chip into a conversation she was having with someone else. 

No subject is off limits, and Brown hungrily recounts little details as though he’s been told all the stories himself. He reports that her childhood friend  Alathea Fitzsalan Howard said “Annabelle thinks Lilibet has an enormous chest!”; this slightly ‘Ripleyesque’ character also asks “Will she stand out in history as another great Elizabeth or will she merely be a commonplace puppet in a rapidly degenerating monarchy?” Indeed, the Queen was not confident in the monarchy’s longevity. ‘The thing you must realise about the Royal Family is that they live in a constant state of fear,’ a source told Brown. Prince Harry described it in Spare as being defined by paranoia: “Fear of the public. Fear of the future. Fear of the day the nation would say: OK shut it down”. Inevitably, as the years of her long life went by, the country’s royalist support diluted. We hear that when two youths in Fleet St refused to observe the two minute silence after the Kings death were “nearly lynched”. Yet years later when reporting how a bunch of north London school children reacted to being asked about the Queen , at the time of her jubilee, they replied “she’s never done a day's work in her life”.

Her accent diluted over time, too. In 1953 “had” rhymes with “bed”. Thirty years later it rhymes with “bad“. In 1954 she wished people a “heppy” new year, in 1980 it rhymed with “nappy”. Brown is as sharp and drily funny as his subject, and seemingly less sycophantic and genuflective than the majority of Royal biographers. While I wasn’t blown away by the exciting revelations, I was certainly amused by them. This is the Queen within the historical and sociological context of the past hundred years – with some added nuggets drip-fed throughout. I probably could have done with fewer chapters about corgis, but by persevering I do now know that Princess Anne has a criminal record because of one of these vicious-sounding ankle-biters. I like knowing that the Queen’s weekly £5 (only £5!) donation to the church collection was folded and pressed flat with an iron. 

This collection of recollections, as it were, is fun, fizzy and told in Brown’s inimitable insidery, gossipy style. They are shared without judgement, and I think it’s a useful book, certainly very readable, though it does at times go on a bit. Would a non-royalist want to read it? Probably not. But there are still plenty of us who will.  Harriet Addison is Features Director at The Evening Standard

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Queen Elizabeth II: The Queen Who Chose To Serve (Hardback, illustrated biography of the Queen, including her Christian faith, perfect gift for children 4-7) (Do Great Things for God) Hardcover – Picture Book, May 31, 2022

Inspiring children’s biography of Queen Elizabeth II highlighting the Christian faith that underpinned her remarkable reign.

Princess Elizabeth never expected to be Queen. But when she was ten, her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated and everything changed… Her father took over as King, but after 15 years on the throne, he died. So when she was just 25 years old, Elizabeth was crowned Queen and became the longest-serving monarch in British history.

This inspiring children’s biography of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) chronicles key moments in her life. It also highlights her Christian faith, in particular what she has said in her Christmas Day speeches.

Young children will learn more about the incredible life and faith of Britain’s longest-serving monarch and they will be inspired about the great things they can do for God.

Suitable for children aged 4-7.

• Reading age 4 - 7 years
• Part of series Do Great Things For God
• Print length 24 pages
• Language English
• Grade level 1 - 2
• Dimensions 7.95 x 0.28 x 9.56 inches
• Publisher The Good Book Company
• Publication date May 31, 2022
• ISBN-10 1784987522
• ISBN-13 978-1784987527
• See all details

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By exploring the lives of faithful Christians, this series shows kids that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Encourage children to learn about the many ways Christians have served God throughout the world and how kids can join in today, wherever they are or whatever they dream of doing.

From the Publisher

Alison Mitchell

Alison Mitchell is a Senior Editor at The Good Book Company, where she has worked on a range of products including Bible-reading notes for children and families, and the Christianity Explored range of resources. She is the author of the award-winning Jesus and the Lions' Den and The One O'Clock Miracle.

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About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Good Book Company (May 31, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 24 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1784987522
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784987527
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 - 7 years
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 1 - 2
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.95 x 0.28 x 9.56 inches
• #45 in Children's Christian Biographies (Books)
• #78 in Children's Social Activists Biographies (Books)
• #247 in Children's Women Biographies (Books)

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About the authors

Alison Mitchell is a Senior Editor at The Good Book Company, where she has worked for over 20 years on a range of products including Bible-reading notes for children and families, and the Christianity Explored range of resources. She is the author of the award-winning "Jesus and the Lions' Den" and "The One O'Clock Miracle", and has written several other children's books including a biography of Queen Elizabeth II.

Emma Randall

Hello, I am a UK based freelance illustrator specialising in children’s book illustration, both fiction and non-fiction. Each piece of work is conjured up over multiple cups of green tea, then carefully planned and realised from my studio in the village of Long Ashton, which is situated on the outskirts of Bristol. I love designing characters, detailed patterns and using bright colour palettes. I work firstly with lines, and then bring them to life using an eclectic array of paint, pens, pencil crayons and digital media.

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