Ben Pimlott – The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II Academic historian and Labor Party intellectual, Pimlott was not the obvious person to undertake the task of writing the Queen’s life. We should be thankful that he did. With access to many new parts of the royal archive and interviews with everyone from Princess Margaret to Hardy Amis, Pimlott offers a clear analysis not only of the woman but of the entire phenomenon of the modern monarchy. He is particularly good at the queen’s relations with her prime ministers. He could clearly spot nonsense at 50 paces. Angela Kelly – The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe Royal servants aren’t supposed to get too close to the royal family and they certainly shouldn’t be writing books about them. But Kelly, who worked as the Queen’s dresser for almost 30 years, is the exception. Kelly became a very trusted personal assistant to the Queen, not only coordinating all those hats and coats in primary colors, but also designing outfits from scratch. Her achievement was to ensure that her employer was quite simply the most instantly recognizable person in the world. Marion Crawford – The Little Princesses: The Story of the Queen’s Childhood by Her NannyIn 1950, Crawford experienced the full horror of being cast out of royal favor into total darkness. She published an account of her life as a governess to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret without the royal family’s full permission. Crawfie’s book may seem slightly uncomfortable to us today, but it contains gossip about George VI and the Duchess of Windsor that horrified the Queen Mother, who had warned her that royal servants had to be “totally oysters”. Crawfie was removed from grace and favor and was never spoken to again by any member of the royal family. Robert Hardman – Queen of the World The Queen has spent more time traveling the world than any other monarch, constantly negotiating political minefields with the lightest of steps. Hardman tells the story of this untold diplomatic career, interspersing examples of how HM developed ‘soft power’ with plenty of gossip. He met some nasties along the way, like Ceausescu and Amin, as well as Mandela and JFK. And he charmed them all without giving anything away. Hardman is particularly good at the wacky gifts she’s received, from a pair of Brazilian jaguars to a baby crocodile in a cookie cutter. Jane Stevenson – The Empress of Last Days What if the rightful heir to the British throne was actually a young black scientist living in Barbados? This is the premise of Jane Stevenson’s exquisite novel, part historical account, part piercingly contemporary analysis of spin. Stevenson uses her vast historical knowledge to explore how colonial legacies still affect the royal family in the early 21st century, and will no doubt continue to do so. Furry friends… Elizabeth II and a corgi called Candy. Photo: Steve Parsons/AFP/Getty Images Penny Junor – All the Queen’s Corgis After all the guests had gone home and the servants retired for the evening, the Queen had her corgis. In reality, these Welsh Sheepdogs aren’t the easiest of companions, and Junor has the scoop here on all their misbehavior, from biting pedestrians to biting ambassadors. And then there’s sex. A corgi mated with Princess Margaret’s daschund and the result was a clutch of “dorgis”. Despite this, the queen adored them all, feeding, walking and even traveling with them. And they, in turn, loved her without having a clue about her work. Jacqueline Wilson – Queenie It’s 1953 and Elsie Kettle is excited at the thought of going to London to see the coronation. But disaster strikes and Elsie ends up in a children’s ward with tuberculosis. Her best friend is the hospital cat named Queenie, who has some great tricks up her sleeve to make the hours fly by. Wilson uses the thrill and glamor of the coronation as a counterpoint to a portrait of a children’s hospital in the early years of the NHS. It’s a poignant reminder of how the world has changed since Elizabeth came to the throne. Andrew Marr – Elizabethans: How Modern Britain Was ForgedMarr traces the people who made the second Elizabethan era what it was. These are the activists, artists, sporting heroes, scientists and performers who shaped modern Britain as it emerged from the black and white post-war world of the Queen’s father, George VI. This is not a neat or smooth story, but it is full of energy and a kind of wonder about what was achieved under the rule of a woman who, like the first Queen Elizabeth, was never expected to be queen. Craig Brown – Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret You might not think that satirist Brown’s brilliant, edgy biography of Princess Margaret could tell us much about her sister. But Elizabeth is on every page, the logic that acts as a foil to the sleazy, sexy and monumentally selfish Margaret. This should make the Queen look dull, but in fact what emerges is a picture of her extraordinary self-restraint and sense of duty. It is also touching that the princess, despite her many unpleasant moments, remained a devoted sister and loyal servant to the queen, whom she clearly adored. Victoria Murphy – Town & Country: The Queen: A Life in Pictures So much of the Queen’s life and career was about pictures. This luscious coffee table book is filled with photo after photo of Elizabeth in her multiple roles: as a happy-go-lucky princess, an official heir to the throne, a bride, an incredibly young monarch, and until her final days as a grandmother on earth. Journalist Murphy provides helpful contextual notes, but the images are the stars. They tell us everything we need to know about exactly what we missed.
