Glorious, long to reign over us
THERE IS NO DISPUTING Queen of Our Times is a solid read. But Queen Elizabeth 11’s seven decades as crowned head of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth means any book as comprehensive as this is solid by necessity.
She was 25, a naval wife and mother of two, when she suddenly found herself sovereign. Longtime chronicler of all things royal-related, Robert Hardman, has done a sterling job recording the highs, lows and in betweens of such a lengthy reign.
Park all the once-over-lightly accounts such as Netflix’s The Crown that claim to depict the Queen factually and in-depth.
Hardman has done the genuine hard yards to produce an authentic decade-by-decade account of this 95-year-old’s life and times.
Some of the previously unknown facts and figures he has produced come directly from recently released papers lodged in the royal archives and those of various governments she’s headed, albeit in what is purely a ceremonial role.
From her accession in 1952 to the present the Queen has been served by 170 prime ministers from across the globe.
She has hosted countless State visits. That too is part of the job she wasn’t born into but inherited with the abdication of her uncle, the uncrowned Edward V111.
Her private life hasn’t been without upheaval. Three of her children have divorced, once unheard of for the titular head of the Church of England. Hardman emphasises it is a mark of the rapidly changing times of this, the second Elizabethan era, that in the 1950s her sister renounced the man she loved because he was divorcee.
Of the Queen, Hardman says in conclusion: “Unlike a politician she is supposed to be all things to all people . . . as infallible as the Pope . . . as neutral as Switzerland while also being human.”
The person he conveys is a very human woman who has genuinely enjoyed the job thrust upon her. There’s no need to be an avid royalist to enjoy this Elizabeth 11 Platinum Jubilee tribute.