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The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II
"There will be no better biography of Elizabeth II as a figure of state until her official one appears―and perhaps not even then."
― The Independent "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 New sources include the unpublished diaries of Jock Colville, public secretary to both Churchill and Elizabeth, as well as interviews with Princess Margaret, Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Runcie,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.
― The Independent "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 New sources include the unpublished diaries of Jock Colville, public secretary to both Churchill and Elizabeth, as well as interviews with Princess Margaret, Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Runcie,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.
672 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 1996
116 people are currently reading
584 people want to read
About the author
Ben Pimlott
23 books6 followersA professor of modern British political history, Ben Pimlott was professor of contemporary history at Birkbeck College, London, from 1987 to 1998, and warden of Goldsmith's College from 1998 until his death in 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 3, 2024
A fascinating exploration of the evolution of the British Monarchy throughout the 20th century. Although one had to occasionally wade through sloughs of British politics and constitutional arguments, it was interesting to observe the shifts in the relationship between the royalty and the press/public that took place throughout the twentieth century
Overall Her Majesty the Queen seems to have been a pretty cool lady
But I'd be happy to not think about British royalty for another decade
Overall Her Majesty the Queen seems to have been a pretty cool lady
But I'd be happy to not think about British royalty for another decade
November 15, 2022
Some parts were really excellent. I wanted a biography to understand the late Queen better (without tabloid drama) and it was that, but it was also at times a terribly boring textbook on English politics that this American woman didn’t have enough context for. I skimmed through what I just couldn’t possibly understand. I knew a few prime ministers, like 2. And I did find a lot of the political history aspects interesting. Also, the relationship between the monarchy and the media was fascinating. And the growing sense of dissatisfaction in the monarchy as an institution. Because it ends in 1997, I’m curious about what happened in the commonwealth since then. I’ll google it and not find a full book on the topic. I need a break. ;)
February 18, 2018
An terrific and mostly exciting book about an outstanding person.
September 19, 2018
This book was a mixed bag for me, alternating between compulsively readable and an utter slog. The personal history of the queen was meant to be the framework of this combination modern British history/contemplation of the monarchy/study of twentieth century British politics. Yet too often the personal got drowned by a sea of political and social context, not to mention the author's personal interpretation of all the above. Instead of providing the thematic thread of humanity, HRH came across as a paper doll, flat and lifeless.
Despite the many good points of this book, I had three major problems which kept me from enjoying it more and giving it a much higher rating. First, the author on occasion displayed a near-Soviet level of sticking to the party line. Certain major events were passed over lightly (exactly as the Palace wished them to be), most notably the breezy, barely-ruffled-the-waters, hardly-worth-mentioning treatment given The Abdication.
Second, the author's tendency to expound on a thought to the point of insensibility. Having made the point, he kept bring it up throughout the book, re-explaining it each time. I, for example, immediately understood the problems with the Civil List and the queen not disclosing her personal wealth; I didn't require an explanation every time it was brought up. And it was brought up many times. (Thanks for that, Parliament.)
The final problem I had with this book was the unholy, saccharine fatuousness that was Chapter 26, regarding the aftermath of Princess Diana's death. Princess Charlotte Augusta? Royal touching? I still suspect that someone else wrote that chapter, perhaps a teenaged niece of the author's.
All in all, there are better biographies and political histories that aren't mixed with biographies. I'd recommend you find one of those.
Despite the many good points of this book, I had three major problems which kept me from enjoying it more and giving it a much higher rating. First, the author on occasion displayed a near-Soviet level of sticking to the party line. Certain major events were passed over lightly (exactly as the Palace wished them to be), most notably the breezy, barely-ruffled-the-waters, hardly-worth-mentioning treatment given The Abdication.
Second, the author's tendency to expound on a thought to the point of insensibility. Having made the point, he kept bring it up throughout the book, re-explaining it each time. I, for example, immediately understood the problems with the Civil List and the queen not disclosing her personal wealth; I didn't require an explanation every time it was brought up. And it was brought up many times. (Thanks for that, Parliament.)
The final problem I had with this book was the unholy, saccharine fatuousness that was Chapter 26, regarding the aftermath of Princess Diana's death. Princess Charlotte Augusta? Royal touching? I still suspect that someone else wrote that chapter, perhaps a teenaged niece of the author's.
All in all, there are better biographies and political histories that aren't mixed with biographies. I'd recommend you find one of those.
May 21, 2024
In this biography, Pimlott brings out the complexity of the roles Elizabeth II played as monarch and as head of the royal family. Each component involved both public and private aspects and engaged many different personalities. There is a constant concern in her role as monarch and relationships to parts of the government and the commonwealth in terms of what she can/should do and say which is further reflected in changes to the law and her public addresses. The biography spans her childhood through 1997, covering a tumultuous time in the world during which many things change in Britain and the Commonwealth/Empire but also profound changes in society and international relations driven largely by the media. Media coverage, reflecting changes in the technology as well as values, progressed from a formal attitude toward both the monarch and the royal family to an economic evaluation of the role of the monarch and a treatment of the royal family as common and ordinary, seen in "looking for the scoop and the dirt." Altogether this shift resulted in the loss of the traditional mores with respect to the monarchy and the royal family and seems to underlie the younger generation's lack of commitment to the role of leadership and propriety as once understood. While not disclosing much about Elizabeth personally, Pimlott makes clear the complex roles of the Queen and how she navigated them.
The book includes a List of Plates, Cartoons, a Preface, 23 chapters (with some subsections and years covered noted at the tops of the pages), a section of Notes, a section of Sources and Select Bibliography, and an Index.
The book is a bit tedious and repetitive but overall worth a read and enlightening.
The book includes a List of Plates, Cartoons, a Preface, 23 chapters (with some subsections and years covered noted at the tops of the pages), a section of Notes, a section of Sources and Select Bibliography, and an Index.
The book is a bit tedious and repetitive but overall worth a read and enlightening.
October 30, 2022
As a warning to other, potential readers: if you are looking for a straightforward biography of the Queen, look elsewhere. The author takes the last three words of the title quite seriously. The book is as much about how the role of the monarchy changed during her reign as it is about her.
The book is almost schizophrenic. It starts out like a standard biography when covering the years prior to her accession. From that point on, it shifts into a treatise on the monarchy and becomes less biographical as the book goes on. As Elizabeth spent over three-quarters of her life as Queen, you can see that covers a large portion of the book.
Tangents abound. For example, after he talks about Diana's famous shaking of hands with an AIDS patient, he goes into a rather long-winded discussion about how monarchs were historically believed to be able to heal by touch.
Don't get me wrong; it is a well-written and researched book. As I lived there for five years, I was familiar with many of the events described within and learned some things that put them into contexts of which I was unaware. Even so, there were times my eyes glazed over and I found myself wondering how (and when) he was going to wrap it all up. As stated at the top, if all you have is a passing interest in the late Queen, this book is probably not for you.
The book is almost schizophrenic. It starts out like a standard biography when covering the years prior to her accession. From that point on, it shifts into a treatise on the monarchy and becomes less biographical as the book goes on. As Elizabeth spent over three-quarters of her life as Queen, you can see that covers a large portion of the book.
Tangents abound. For example, after he talks about Diana's famous shaking of hands with an AIDS patient, he goes into a rather long-winded discussion about how monarchs were historically believed to be able to heal by touch.
Don't get me wrong; it is a well-written and researched book. As I lived there for five years, I was familiar with many of the events described within and learned some things that put them into contexts of which I was unaware. Even so, there were times my eyes glazed over and I found myself wondering how (and when) he was going to wrap it all up. As stated at the top, if all you have is a passing interest in the late Queen, this book is probably not for you.
July 17, 2017
The Queen by Ben Pimlott is a book that I have consulted for research on numerous occasions and I recently reread it in preparation for an article that I am writing about the Queen in Canada. The book does an excellent job of presenting how the Queen's image has evolved since her childhood - the combination of grandeur and royal tradition with evidence of an "ordinary" life behind palace walls that allows the public to relate to the royal family. There is also excellent material about the Queen's rapport with her British Prime Ministers over the decades and the different approaches these political figures have adopted to their weekly meetings with the monarch. The Commonwealth is not given as much attention - Philip Murphy's Monarchy and the End of Empire is a better resource for the Queen's role as Head of the Commonwealth - and the book is now outdated as it ends just before the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother in 2002. Nevertheless, the Queen is one of the strongest biographies of the Queen as Pimlott takes her political role and public image seriously and provides in depth analysis of her evolving role over the course of the twentieth century.
June 25, 2023
I read “The Queen” in preparation for a class on Queen Elizabeth II. I found it to be a thorough biography up to its writing in 1996. I appreciate it for several reasons. If provides the insights such as that, although the presumption was that her Uncle David, then Prince of Wales, would father an heir, Elizabeth was always something special because of the possibility that he would not. As daughter of the King’s second son, she and her sister Margaret enjoyed a lower profile than did her children, but was still more in the public eye than would be the case with the children of her father’s brothers.
Author Ben Pimlott has balanced the substantial with the trivial. He documents the Queen’s relationships with government officials, British, Dominion, Commonwealth and foreign. He examines domestic problems and scandals, in their personal, political and public relations aspects, without descending into tabloid style writing.
Although dated, I recommend the “Queen” to readers desiring a serious and even-keeled account of its subject’s first seventy years.
Author Ben Pimlott has balanced the substantial with the trivial. He documents the Queen’s relationships with government officials, British, Dominion, Commonwealth and foreign. He examines domestic problems and scandals, in their personal, political and public relations aspects, without descending into tabloid style writing.
Although dated, I recommend the “Queen” to readers desiring a serious and even-keeled account of its subject’s first seventy years.
March 7, 2019
This book is not easy reading, that's why I gave it four stars instead of five! It is however a must-read if you are genuinely interested in the subject matter. This book is over 700 pages long and those are 'wordy' pages. You will get all sides of the story from this book, conflicting views from different party politicians, royal writers from over the centuries, broadsheet and tabloid journalists... this book is not biased to any particular opinion, monarchists and republicans alike will find it an informative read. Many beautiful pictures are included. A thorough biography, expertly written.
October 30, 2023
this is so so tedious. i mean what do you expect from a biography but still. so many things that i didn't care about. so many things that you already know if you've read a few other queen biographies. i skimmed through a lot. however as you can see it IS very detailed and if you've never read anything about the queen, her family, horses, politics or other people in her life - this might be for you.
April 26, 2018
A bit heavy on the political relationships, I found it a bit slogging at times. Because self- proclaimed as a biography I expected more on her and family relationships and events but learned a great deal about the historical/political relationships and the how her role changed through the years.
May 25, 2021
Nice, comprehensive look at Queen Elizabeth II. If you like The Crown on Netflix, you'll like this. It appears much of the series is drawn from this book. I gained a better understanding of her world, in particular, the Commonwealth, which I'd previously never known much about.
Want to read
November 15, 2024Reminded of this book reading, The New Yorker (October 7, 2024), "Royal Treatment: The unrivalled omnipresence of Queen Elizabeth II" by Rebecca Mead on her review of the book, Q: A Voyage Around the Queen by Craig Brown.
March 21, 2020
Twice as long as it should have been
February 28, 2016
This gives the history of Queen Elizabeth's reign only up to 1997. It's a very sympathetic portrait of a queen who has been so criticized and lampooned by the press along with her family since my generation can remember.
The book goes into great detail about how the monarchy's relationship with the press has changed since Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and how the press began to make life so difficult for certain members of the royal family.
One is left with a picture of the queen as a pretty, serious-minded young girl who married a man she loved and had four children with him and proved to be a good, if somewhat distant mother, all the while having to carry the weight of being queen of the commonwealth.
The book can be a little plodding at times. I found the first part of her life to be the most interesting (perhaps, because being in my twenties, I was only familiar with the image of an older queen).
It goes into great detail about her and Margaret Thatcher's mutual aversion to each other, but hardly speaks at all about her relationship with her husband or how she was as a mother to her children. It also goes into great detail about things I found rather insignificant- such as the long debate about whether or not to keep her picture on the postage stamp in the U.K. Surely, these people have something better to think about.
The biography shows her to be a simple and not very exceptional person. She doesn't take much interest in things like art and literature. She likes the outdoors, her horses and dogs and one gets the sense that had this position not been thrust upon her, she wouldn't be someone who would be of much interest to people, though she was better prepared for it than her father.
I wanted the book to go into greater detail about her character and ideas. So much of how I've always seen her portrayed was as a cold, out-of-touch, dour, dull woman. This book shows her to be charming and kind if a bit like a relic from another time.
In a way, she is dull because she doesn't want to court controversy and reveals very little about herself, but to be pilloried by the press is as unfair as the idolization of Princess Diana was too much. This is a fair portrait of an average woman who has led a very privileged life.
The book goes into great detail about how the monarchy's relationship with the press has changed since Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and how the press began to make life so difficult for certain members of the royal family.
One is left with a picture of the queen as a pretty, serious-minded young girl who married a man she loved and had four children with him and proved to be a good, if somewhat distant mother, all the while having to carry the weight of being queen of the commonwealth.
The book can be a little plodding at times. I found the first part of her life to be the most interesting (perhaps, because being in my twenties, I was only familiar with the image of an older queen).
It goes into great detail about her and Margaret Thatcher's mutual aversion to each other, but hardly speaks at all about her relationship with her husband or how she was as a mother to her children. It also goes into great detail about things I found rather insignificant- such as the long debate about whether or not to keep her picture on the postage stamp in the U.K. Surely, these people have something better to think about.
The biography shows her to be a simple and not very exceptional person. She doesn't take much interest in things like art and literature. She likes the outdoors, her horses and dogs and one gets the sense that had this position not been thrust upon her, she wouldn't be someone who would be of much interest to people, though she was better prepared for it than her father.
I wanted the book to go into greater detail about her character and ideas. So much of how I've always seen her portrayed was as a cold, out-of-touch, dour, dull woman. This book shows her to be charming and kind if a bit like a relic from another time.
In a way, she is dull because she doesn't want to court controversy and reveals very little about herself, but to be pilloried by the press is as unfair as the idolization of Princess Diana was too much. This is a fair portrait of an average woman who has led a very privileged life.
April 22, 2013
I started out thinking this was just going to be the biography pf one woman who, by remarkable coincidence and high birth, came to rule the end of an Empire and is now the longest ruling British monarch. However, Pimlott makes this book so much more than that.
This book is about the Queen, yes. But, it is also about the way in whihc she is the product of literary and media tropes and never without their framing influence in the public eye. It is also about the many changes that faced a nation in flux over the last century. A good deal of focus is given to the politics, social crises, cultural attitudes, and prime ministers that change over this time. Pimlott's The Queen is as much about the changing nature of the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth affiliates as it is about Elizabeth herself. The woman at the center of this masterful biography is the focal point around which modern histroy is shown.
This book is about the Queen, yes. But, it is also about the way in whihc she is the product of literary and media tropes and never without their framing influence in the public eye. It is also about the many changes that faced a nation in flux over the last century. A good deal of focus is given to the politics, social crises, cultural attitudes, and prime ministers that change over this time. Pimlott's The Queen is as much about the changing nature of the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth affiliates as it is about Elizabeth herself. The woman at the center of this masterful biography is the focal point around which modern histroy is shown.
June 5, 2012
This book is fantastic. It connects Queen Elizabeth to the political place of the Monarchy in Britain as it has evolved, it highlights the growth and her role in the Commonwealth and through this Pimlott is able to shed light on Elizabeth's elusive personality. It's well-worth the read and gave me a greater respect for the Monarchy's role in Britain and Queen Elizabeth's political role.
I've added this to my favourites shelf because even though it can be dry at times, it definitely gave me a much greater appreciation for the job that Elizabeth Windsor does, her importance to Britain and even some arguments for why a monarchy might be important.
I've added this to my favourites shelf because even though it can be dry at times, it definitely gave me a much greater appreciation for the job that Elizabeth Windsor does, her importance to Britain and even some arguments for why a monarchy might be important.
October 20, 2012
One of the best biographies I've read in the past decade. A fascinating look at Her Majesty's reign.
One of its most enjoyable aspects is that it examines Queen Elizabeth the monarch, the constitutional challenges she's had to face and adapt to, her unbending adherence to duty and the incredible transformations the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth have gone through since 1952.
Highly recommend it!
One of its most enjoyable aspects is that it examines Queen Elizabeth the monarch, the constitutional challenges she's had to face and adapt to, her unbending adherence to duty and the incredible transformations the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth have gone through since 1952.
Highly recommend it!
May 25, 2011
I picked this book up for .50 cents at my local library book sale a few months ago - I started reading it recently (before the royal wedding) and so far...it is very good. An interesting biography/glimpse into the past of Elizabeth's childhood, coronation and wedding. Will update when finished reading.
March 21, 2013
I originally started this book when I had nothing else to read and did not expect to get into it. Much better than I originally thought, but I don't have a good gasp of post WW2 British history. I found myself turning to other books to read instead and eventually gave up before I had finished half of it.
September 27, 2012
I did like this, although at times it got bogged down with political detail, which is always a way of ensuring that I will start to switch off.
I unfortunatly ran out of time in redaing this book, so did not finish, but if you are intrested in royalty, this would be a intresting book.
I unfortunatly ran out of time in redaing this book, so did not finish, but if you are intrested in royalty, this would be a intresting book.
Read
August 8, 2008I read this book a few years ago and enjoyed it.
January 14, 2012
Although I really wanted to read this it was a book that was too fact filled for me.
I need to find my first "can't put it down" book of 2012. Wish me luck!
I need to find my first "can't put it down" book of 2012. Wish me luck!
March 6, 2013
Nowhere near as extensive as the recent books by Andrew Marr and Robert Hardman. Worth re-reading though for comparison.
September 12, 2014
A really interesting biography that I've read for school. There was so much more than meets the eye about Queen Elizabeth II.
June 29, 2013
Well-researched bio of reigning monarch from centre left academic.
June 4, 2015
An absorbing in-depth look at the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II, and how the world changed over the 20th century.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews