The Queen: 1926–2022

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Ho trovato il libro tutto sommato interessante, arricchito di aneddoti sulla famiglia reale e confessioni di ex cortigiani, impiegati di palazzo e cronaca delle varie vicissitudini della royal family. I particularly enjoyed the chapters depicting the Queen’s childhood and the glamorous and vivid years before her coronation. The queen’s sense of humour, love for her family and sense of duty are consistent themes throughout the book. After the retirement of the more elderly courtiers, and especially after the death of the Queen’s mother, progressive changes happened more frequently. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother was no longer around to remind Elizabeth of precedent and tradition. Family crises forced Her Majesty to take a welcome break from the drudgery of the interminable arrival of red boxes and the reading of official papers: Princess Margaret wishing to marry her divorced equerry, Group Captain Peter Townsend; the publicity surrounding Prince Charles and his long-term mistress; Princess Margaret again and Roddy Llewelyn; and the death of Princess Diana, the most emotional part of this biography. When very young, she listened gravely to ‘Grandpa England’ (King George V) as he extolled the virtues of duty, decency and hard work. Her mother taught the future Queen to be kind, courteous and to appreciate the benefits of Christian values. Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, believed a decent character, a moral compass and a sensitive awareness of the needs of others were as important, if not more so, than intellectual endeavours.

Queen: 1926–2022 by Andrew Morton | Goodreads The Queen: 1926–2022 by Andrew Morton | Goodreads

Although the Queen is the head of the monarchy and our ruling sovereign, she is also an extraordinary woman. She plays the role of Queen but her other simultaneous roles include daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother, great grandmothers etc. She continues to work and at the same time raise and guide a family. Morton describes how the Queen navigates the choppy waters of life with grace, dignity and poise, weathering the scandals her family has been plagued with across the generations. The book covers Elizabeth's life from birth through to the present day. The royals have been a fascination of many and this book would make a great keepsake for any fan or follower of the monarchy. We learn about queen Elizabeth’s life from birth to the present day, there is a lot of information to take in, much of it I knew nothing of before reading this book. It’s striking how the monarchy and the way it is regarded has changed throughout the Queen’s lifetime. There is such a difference from the press silence over Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson in contrast to Diana, Princess of Wales and the Sussexes.Political crises are the highlights of the biography: the Profumo scandal; Anthony Blunt, long-serving Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, being exposed as a Soviet spy; and the appointment of a new prime minister after Harold Macmillan retired. Appointing Alec Douglas-Home rather than Macmillan’s deputy, Rab Butler, meant she was imposing her choice as Leader of the Conservative Party. The rules of the political party were changed very soon after to ensure this did not happen again. It was a more digestible read than I was expecting. Books like this are usually hard going for me with information overload but this one works. It was a very fair and honest look at her reign and her life and her mistakes as well as her many triumphs

book released for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee New book released for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

The book is dvided into broad sections that deal with key events in her life – her childhood, marriage and coronation are covered in detail. There’s less detail as you get closer to current events. In this entertaining and insightful biography, writer Andrew Morton, author of Diana, Her True Story and Elizabeth & Margaret, takes you behind the scenes to uncover the woman and her world.Elizabeth was set firmly on the road to becoming sovereign because of the D word – divorce. In 1936, her uncle David, King Edward VIII, wanted to marry a twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. When he couldn’t, he abdicated. After that national trauma, divorce and the fall-out from divorce shaped her reign. She witnessed her sister Margaret, three of her children and several grandchildren divorce. And she lived long enough to see the wheel turn full circle, watching as another American divorcee, Meghan Markle, walked down the aisle with her grandson Prince Harry. Manca la trattazione dell'ultimo periodo di vita della Queen, in quanto il libro è stato terminato nel primi mesi del 2022 e certamente destinato alla pubblicazione una volta morta la sovrana.

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Sicuramente non è alla portata della più celebra opera letteraria di Andrew Morton, ovvero la biografia di Diana tratta dalle sue dirette confessioni. I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Lovebookstours. I found the chapter about Prince Charles and the Duchess if Cornwall really interesting, particularly the focus on how to introduce her to the public.

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I enjoyed the way the book was written, easy and free flowing and not stuffy and full of pointless dates and things that were not relevant, I also enjoyed a look at her extended ( massive ) family and who they are etc What a life she has lived, what a story this is, and I’m very pleased to have it in my collection. I hope she has many years left yet so that we can have an updated version of this, (maybe even on another jubilee?!), but for now this is a fabulous biography of a fabulous Queen. I highly recommend this to any royal fans or anyone who just wants to learn more about the longest reigning monarch in British history.