The extraordinary public and private life of the world’s most famous monarchIn honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee—60 years on the throne—TASCHEN celebrates the extraordinary private and public life of Her Majesty. Born in 1926, married in 1947, crowned as Queen in 1953, for over six decades she has steadfastly and loyally carried out her duty on behalf of her country, never speaking out of turn or putting a foot wrong. The book tells her remarkable royal story through hundreds of stunning photographs, many previously unseen and sourced from multiple archives in the United Kingdom (including the Royal Collection), Continental Europe, and the United States. These images have it all: history, politics, glamour, fashion, culture, travel, and, of course, hats.
As the Queen, she has endlessly traveled the globe, been introduced to every leading icon of the 20th century, including the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, and JFK, attended thousands of receptions and state functions; while concurrently being a mother to four children under the constant glare of public scrutiny. These photographs cover every aspect of her reign: the early years, coming of age during World War II, becoming a wife, Queen and mother, the Royal Tours, the palaces, the crowds, the weddings, the Royal Family, the Silver Jubilee in 1977, and the later years. God save her indeed!
Photographers included: Cecil Beaton, Studio Lisa, Dorothy Wilding, Karsh, Lord Snowdon, Patrick Lichfield, as well as more contemporary work from the likes of Wolfgang Tillmans, Rankin, Annie Leibovitz, and many others.
If you are an ardent Republican (in the British sense) or so far left that everything is class struggle and inequality to you, this is not the book for you.
For everyone else, Her Majesty is a lovely, informative, enriching book of photos showing almost 100 years of royal history. Perhaps there is less "behind the scenes" than there could have been, perhaps with too many official portraits and staged "family moments," but what is here is gorgeous and fascinating. If you are looking for a photographic journey through the life of Elizabeth II, there is simply no better option.
It is a little expensive but usually somewhat on sale on Amazon. It is also big and heavy, but it's a coffee table book, so one should expect that. This is a book worth displaying, leaving somewhere so others can page through it, and worth owning.
This is, as I said, a photo book; there isn't a lot of text. At the beginning, there is a four-page (large pages) spread of text that hits some high points, and that's about aside from the descriptions of the photos. But those descriptions! Each image has a strong caption: when, where, why, and by whom. Through this you can extract a lot of information about what was going on at the time. A thought I had: What text there is appears in English, German and French, so someone looking to buff up their vocabulary in any of them could use this book as a sort of Rosetta Stone. (It weighs about the same.)
Her Majesty is highly recommended for anyone with an interest.
Gorgeous! I looked at all the pictures and read almost all the captions, but skipped some of the Appendix at the end. I think Queen Elizabeth is awesome, and so is this book. What an amazing life she has had. Long live the Queen!
Sehr viel zu lesen gibt es nicht, aber was da steht, ist kurz, prägnant und informativ und vermittelt dennoch ein Bild der Königin. Die Fotos, wunderschön und gut ausgesucht - eine tolle Mischung. Im Anhang viele Informationen noch einmal wie Reisen, wichtige Titelblätter aus Printmedien und auch kurze Biografien der FOtografen. Alles in Allem ein sehr schöner Bildband mit genügend Informationen zum EInsteigen. Wer mehr wissen möchte, findet sicher tolle Biografien über die faszinierende Frau, die Elizabeth ist.
Una visione unica sulla vita di uno dei personaggio più importanti della Storia contemporanea. Un'ottima scelta fotografica... didascalie appropriate... un'introduzione forse un po' troppo scontata e superficiale.
I am a fan of Queen Elizabeth. I share my birth year with her coronation! So I have some affinity and I love good royalty and pageantry! A beautiful souvenir.