A personal account of the life and character of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, from the writer who knew her family best

'Compelling . . . Fascinating' DAILY MAIL
'The writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals' THE TIMES

'The book overflows with nuggets of insider knowledge' TELEGRAPH

Paints a unique picture of the remarkable woman who reigned for seven decades. Fascinating insights' HELLO!

Gyles Brandreth first met the Queen in 1968, when he was twenty years old.

Over the next fifty years he met her many times, both at public and at private events. Through his friendship with the Duke of Edinburgh, he was given privileged access to Elizabeth II.

He kept a record of all those encounters, and his conversations with the Queen over the years, his meetings with her family and friends, and his observations of her at close quarters are what make this very personal account of her extraordinary life uniquely fascinating.

From her childhood in the 1920s to the era of Harry and Meghan in the 2020s, from her war years at Windsor Castle to her death at Balmoral, this is both a record of a tumultuous century of royal history and a truly intimate portrait of a remarkable woman.

Enjoy this special edition now featuring an exclusive postscript about King Charles III's Coronation with new photographs.