In this magisterial new biography, New York Times bestselling author Sally Bedell Smith brings to life one of the world's most fascinating and enigmatic women, Queen Elizabeth II. From her ascension to the throne in 1952, Queen Elizabeth has been the object of unparalleled scrutiny, but the fog of glamour and gossip have obscured the real person. Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of a queen who has led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last sixty years with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.
Elizabeth the Queen follows the girl who suddenly becomes "heiress presumptive" at her uncle's abdication through her teenage leadership in the war effort and her struggle to balance the parenting of two sons with her duties as the young ruler. Smith introduces the Queen's daily routines, from the weekly meetings she has held with twelve prime ministers to her physically demanding tours abroad, as well as her personal relationships with her husband of sixty-four years, her children and their often problematic partners, her grandchildren, and her friends. Scrupulously researched,
Elizabeth the Queen is a close-up view of a woman previously known only from a distance, and a fascinating window into life at the center of the last great monarchy.
Sally Bedell Smith is the author of bestselling biographies of William S. Paley, Pamela Harriman, Diana, Princess of Wales, John and Jacqueline Kennedy, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. A contributing editor at Vanity Fair since 1996, she previously worked at Time and The New York Times, where she was a cultural news reporter.
