Queen Elizabeth II: The Oral History

by Deborah Hart Strober, Gerald S Strober

An eye-opening personal history of the Queen and the monarchy from the perspectives of family friends, staff, diplomats, international leaders and British subjects.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography

560 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2022

Reviews

[Bryan King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queen Elizabeth’s coronation (2 June 1953)was exactly one week before the day I was born. She’s the only British monarch I’ve known the past 69 years! It made this book of particular interest to me.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Padded to within an inch of its life, which is to say . . . I get the affection for the late Queen. She comported herself with dignity, and assuming that the reader likes little old ladies --- I was around for most of her reign, and I don't remember the outpouring of affection for Elizabeth II prior to this century --- there are some cute anecdotes. Sadly, all of the oral reminiscences merely underline her figurehead status. The interviews also go off on tangents, including the age-old "does Charles have what it takes to be a good King?," as Elizabeth was still alive when this updated edition of the original book was published. Some of those still living from the first pass at the subject came back for updates, but there are precious few insights, new or otherwise. Like Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth II kept her secrets (neither woman would be flattered by the comparison, but it seems inevitable to me. Each was thrust into a role she had not planned, and each woman was able to craft a private life largely out of reach for the tabloid press/mass media, despite the Sun's and National Enquirer's best efforts. But the fact is that Elizabeth's "job" was hers by accident of birth. Fortunately the Queen was up to the rigorous demands of a privileged existence in which every material need is met because God placed her on the throne. Alas, God seems to have overlooked her children when it came to passing out what it takes to do the "job". Only Anne has worked at it. Charles thinks he did, but the very public spat with his first wife while he was cheating with the current Queen sort of took him out of popular affection for nearly 20 years. Edward has stepped up his game since his mother's death. This comes after a longish period in which he was regarded as the Windsor who Pouted. And Andrew, reportedly her favorite? The book elides over the Giuffre mess rather quickly. Why not? It cannot have made his mother's last years happy.

It was a somewhat boring read, although the discussion of the Commonwealth and what it means to the member states was interesting. Recommended.

[DP · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite interesting, though its arrangement is more like a series of vignettes and clips more suited to television interviews. I liked that the book was arranged topically, as that made it easier to simply gloss over who was saying what about that subject (I didn't know many of those commenting and reading the descriptions of who they were was a bit distracting and overwhelming in the beginning). Of course, later on, in subsequent chapters and comments, I could not remember exactly who the person was or how they related to the Queen or whoever, although that really didn't matter. Now that we are on this side of the death of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles indeed has acceded to the throne, it is interesting to read the latter chapters about the "future of the monarchy" and what type of ruler he might be. Time will tell, as we're so still recently into it and all. I hope I am still living to see William ascend the throne--that is, if the British monarchy survives until then.

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

So amused by "99 Glances of Princess Margaret" a few years ago, this is NOT THAT. Really needed an editor...it is all over the place in organization, not chronological, really, not subject matter, really. Everyone's list of titles is staggering and meaningless to we Americans. An occasional comment lands but really nothing is new here.

[Samantha Shedd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well organized notes from interviews.
Most royal bios have more narrative and explanation

This basically shows everyone has varying opinions on almost every issue. You’ll have to sort the truth out yourself.

If you’ve read all the others then this is perfect. If you are new to the royal story, wait before attempting.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed oral history with some fascinating nuggets of information from those who served her or knew her. It's best to read a couple of chapters at a time and then put the book aside. The detail gets overwhelming. I stopped trying to remember who was "speaking" in each section and focused on the content of the stories related to the chapters instead.

[Sebastián Latashen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bien explicado los contextos.
Interesante leer la guerra de Malvinas segun la corona britanica.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was really cool

[Artie LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this is good, but quite a lot of it is padding. Almost all of it is snippets of quotation from people who know the Queen or who have worked with her; these are organised broadly chronologically and thematically.

To me, the good bits are the anecdotes which bring the Royal Family and court to life. Less good are the section introductions by the authors, which are written in a very flat style. Of no interest whatsoever are the long sections on Oz and Canada which even discuss, One after the other, HM’s relationship with individual Premiers. For the general reader, this fails the “so what?” Test, and it is certainly dull.

A good book to borrow from the library - I’d feel ripped off if I had bought it.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

not exciting

I thought it was rather boring. Facts stated; opinions given. Not entertaining. Thought it would read more like a story rather than an article.

[Bill Amatneek]

I'm no fan of the British Monarchy, but I enjoyed this book thoroughly. It paints a balanced picture of a woman who dedicated her life to the UK.