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The Queen: Elizabeth II and the Monarchy
by Ben Pimlott
The Queen: Elizabeth II and the Monarchy by the late Labour historian Ben Pimlott was highly recommended by historian Diarmaid MacCulloch in an interview about the 2019 Wolfson Prize. Discussing one of the shortlisted books, Empress: Queen Victoria and India by Miles Taylor, he says, “It’s often the way with the modern British monarchy, that people ignore it because they think it has no power. I think of Ben Pimlott’s wonderful life of Queen Elizabeth II.”
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“He was a worthy adversary, very much up to the job. I think he painted a very skillful portrait of the Queen, who has always been quite an enigmatic, elusive character. He painted in rather more subtle shades than the caricatures…I think he was particularly good at looking at her relationships with politicians and the wry way in which she observed these things.” Read more...
The best books on British Royalty
Andrew Morton, Biographer
A look at the life of the Queen by a political scientist. This book is not gossipy or journalistic. It seeks to understand the role the Queen has played in British life for almost a century (with nearly 70 years as Queen), as a bulwark of stability and duty. It looks at her relationships with politicians, but also with her family and Diana. Important background to understanding why Diana was initially seen as such a boon for the royal family and why, ultimately, she was unable to fit in to the institution in the way she was expected to.
