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Her Majesty: The Court Of Queen Elizabeth II (2012)

by Robert Hardman(Favorite Author)

3.78 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1605983616 (ISBN13: 9781605983615)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Pegasus

review 1: Just in time for the Jubilee and the London Olympics, a sympathetic portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II by a knowledgeable journalist and longtime royal-watcher. I checked this one out of the library by mistake, having confused it with "Elizabeth the Queen," which is a scholarly biography. This book is dissimilar -- it is chatty, very British (some of the slang expressions and references to popular television shows quite baffled me), concentrates on the present-day monarch, and is more informal and anecdotal. It has two sections of beautiful color plates of the Queen and her entourage at the opening of Parliament and other festive occasions. The author is more sanguine than this reader about the long-term prospects for the survival of the British monarchy, but he rightly state... mores that the Queen has been more successful than most other present-day monarchs in adapting to the 21st century. The 86-year-old Queen, one of the longest-reigning monarchs in British history has served diligently since 1952 as an oasis of calm, civility, and political neutrality amid the fractious squabbles of partisan politics and sometimes scandalous private lives of her children (known by the media as "the Waleses, "the Cambridges," and other irreverent monikers.)She is believed to be the most widely-traveled monarch in history, having visited even the most dangerous and inconvenient reaches of the Commonwealth, and reportedly has long enjoyed an enviable 70 percent approval rating among the British populace. Long gone are the days early in the Queen's marriage when film footage documenting a rare royal domestic squabble could be confiscated immediately from the offending photographer. The modern Buckingham Palace is staffed by media-savvy professional managers, many hired from private businesses, whose organization and inner workings are described in fascinating detail. The Queen's corgis even have their own web page! The financial support of the royal family, based largely on investments and other non-taxpayer-funded sources, is described in detail. One learns that some of the modern-day uniformed attendants are female; their smaller body size enables costly, 150-year old uniforms, custom-made when the average man was much smaller, to be thriftly recycled. Women are now also among the 98 volunteer Lord-Lieutenants who deputize for the royal family when they are unable to attend public functions. Novice Lord-Lieutenants are provided with a compact disc explaining how to exit gracefully from an automobile wearing a ceremonial sword. The snooty debutante balls of the 1950's have given way to afternoon teas hosted by the Queen for invitees representing all races and classes. The author estimates that 2 million British citizens from all walks of life have met the Queen. All in all, a delightfful read.
review 2: She is 60 years on the job, so it is interesting to read an (almost) insider's description of how The Queen does her job, and how the strangely flexible unwritten British Constitution works with hereditary monarchy as its Head of State rather than an elected presidency. Fascinating, lots of interesting tidbits about HM and the Royal family, and not the usual trashy gossip from the Fleet street tabloids. Stories are interspered with interview snippets from her nearest and dearest.Still, she can't vote... less

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