A unique and deeply researched portrait of our best-loved monarch

Queen Elizabeth II occupies a unique place in the hearts of her people. She was elegant, self-contained, and enigmatic. After a supremely happy childhood, gravitas descended with the death of her beloved grandfather and after the Abdication she accepted her destiny. When she was 21 in 1947, she made a promise to serve and kept it for a remarkable 75 years. She was steadfast and conciliatory and presided calmly over decades of change, political upheaval and family tragedy. Tommy Lascelles described her as 'the most remarkable woman' he had ever met.

Hugo Vickers has been described by the Financial Times as 'the most knowledgeable royal biographer on the planet.' This major new biography is based on sixty years of close observation and research, and uses never-before-seen sources and personal recollections to illuminate her life as never before.

Details

ISBN13: 9781529355208
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 672
Edition:
Publication Date: 14 Apr 2026
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication City, Country: United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

Hugo Vickers is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and an acknowledged expert on the British Royal Family. He has written biographies of the Queen Mother, Cecil Beaton, Vivien Leigh, Princess Andrew of Greece and the Duchess of Windsor. His book The Kiss won the

1996 Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction. His recent bestsellers have included Malice in Wonderland and The Sphinx - the life of Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough. He collaborated with HRH The Duke of Kent on A Royal Life. He is a Deputy Lieutenant for Berkshire.

Reviews

'Based on six decades of close observation . . . the royal historian presents a portrait of the steadfast woman who long wore the crown.' * The Times *
Royal historian Hugo Vickers brings together a lifetime's worth of anecdotes in this "personal" biography, which draws on 60 years' worth of research as well as never-before-seen sources. -- Telegraph
In his impeccably researched biography of the late Queen, Hugo Vickers offers us his piercing insights into the innermost workings of the Royal family * Daily Mail *
The closest thing to an authorised life one is likely to read. Intelligent, intuitive and scrupulously researched * Quadrant Magazine *