by Andrew Marr
and death of mother ref 1
education ref 1
popularity of in Australia ref 1
relationship with father ref 1
wedding to Kate Middleton ref 1
Williams, Marcia (Lady Falkender) ref 1
Williams, Robert ref 1
Williams, Rowan ref 1, ref 2
Williams, Shirley ref 1
Wilson, A. N. ref 1
Wilson, Harold ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5
audiences with the Queen ref 1, ref 2
as prime minister ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
relationship with the Queen ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
resignation (1976) ref 1, ref 2
and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe issue ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
and royal finances issue ref 1, ref 2
Windsor Castle ref 1, ref 2
during war ref 1
fire at (1992) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
restoration of and payment for ref 1, ref 2
Windsor, House of ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
Witchell, Nicholas ref 1
Woodard, Rear-Admiral Sir Robert ref 1
Woodward, Clifford ref 1
World Wildlife Fund ref 1
Wyatt, Steve ref 1
Yeltsin, Boris ref 1
York, Duchess of (Sarah Ferguson) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3
York, Duke of see Andrew, Prince
Zayed, Sheikh ref 1, ref 2
Zayed, Sheikh (son) ref 1
Zimbabwe see Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)
Zuma, President ref 1
List of Illustrations
1. Nobody dreamt she would be Queen: the baby Elizabeth with the Duke and Duchess of York.
2. She preferred horses, even then.
3. Learning the ropes in a family firm: Princess Elizabeth in 1932 after a church service near Balmoral, with her formidable grandmother, Queen Mary, and the man she called ‘Grandpa England’, George V.
4. A future king, already looking out of place? The Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII (left), and the young Louis Mountbatten, in a canvas swimming pool on HMS Renown during an imperial trip, 1920.
5. Too ‘modern’ for monarchy: ‘Uncle David’ with his niece, Princess Elizabeth, in 1933.
6. ‘We four’: a happy and private family before the storm, 1936.
7. Thrilled, nevertheless: Princess Elizabeth, royal note-taker, after her father’s Coronation as George VI.
8. An exuberant Prince Philip of Greece prepares to entertain the young princesses during George VI’s visit to Dartmouth Royal Naval College, 1939.
9. Early training for public performances: Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret in a private pantomime of Aladdin at Windsor, 1943.
10. Her most important teacher: Princess Elizabeth with her father, 1946.
11. There were many rumoured suitors: Princess Elizabeth dancing with the son of the Marquess of Abergavenny at her first public ball in 1946.
12. A rare escape from Austerity Britain: playing tag with midshipmen aboard HMS Vanguard en route to South Africa for the post-war royal visit, 1947.
13. The secret is out. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece together at the wedding of Patricia Mountbatten and Lord Brabourne, 1946.
14. Watch your tongue, Daddy: the infant Princess Anne with Prince Philip, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Charles in 1951.
15. The final farewell. King George VI waves goodbye to his daughter at London airport, 31 January 1952.
16. Queen Elizabeth II, in black, arrives in what is now her kingdom seven days later.
17. Children in the East End get news of a knees-up.
18. The most solemn moment: 2 June 1953.
19. Her first, rather overwhelming, prime minister: the Queen and Sir Winston Churchill, 1953.
20. A triumphant, if exhausting, tour: the Queen was the first reigning monarch to visit Australia, 1954.
21. Her first US President: the Queen and Prince Philip with President Eisenhower in Washington.
22. The Empire is dead, long live the Commonwealth. The Queen in the streets of Karachi, Pakistan, 1961.
23. Not quite a royal carriage: the Queen travels on the London Underground’s just-opened Victoria Line, 1969.
24. The cars would get bigger: Prince Charles drives Prince Edward in a go-kart, photographed by the Queen, who is a keen taker of snaps.
25. Reinventing tradition. Prince Charles’s 1969 investiture as Prince of Wales, at Caernarvon Castle.
26. A 1970s family: the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.
27. One of her best advisers: Sir Martin Charteris, the Queen’s private secretary, pores over paperwork with her aboard Britannia in 1972.
28. Where she was most relaxed: the Queen at dinner on the Royal Yacht.
29. Labour’s leading monarchist: Harold Wilson and the Queen in Downing Street for his farewell dinner in 1976 – an honour not given to all prime ministers.
30. The glamour of royalty does not excite everyone: the Labour defence secretary Fred Mulley at an RAF review during the 1977 Silver Jubilee.
31. But royalty does bring out British eccentricity: a congratulatory postcard too big even for the Buckingham Palace mantelpieces is delivered in 1977.
32. The Silver Jubilee was a much-needed tonic during a bleak period for Britain.
33. Always keeping her balance: the Queen comforts her horse Burmese, after blank shots were fired at her during the 1981 Trooping the Colour. At the time, she must have thought she had narrowly escaped assassination.
34. Too much a fairytale to last: Prince Charles and Lady Diana bow and curtsey to the Queen after their marriage in 1981.
35. The future. ‘Granny’ with Princes William and Harry, 1987.
36. The lowest point. The Queen waits to make her ‘annus horribilis’ speech at London’s Guildhall, after the marriage breakdowns of two of her children and the devastating Windsor fire, 1992.
37. Responding to the eruption of grief: the Queen back in London after Diana’s death, when critics had accused her of failing to read the national mood.
38. One has a website: the Queen goes digital at a school in Brent, 1997.
39. The Queen Mother waves to the crowds on her hundredth birthday, watched by the Queen and Princess Margaret. Their deaths, close together, robbed the Queen of two of her closest confidantes.
40. The Queen’s enthusiasm for the Commonwealth has helped her become a successful head of a state being reshaped by immigration. London East End crowds during the 2002 Golden Jubilee.
41. A genuine triumph, which surprised media cynics: the Queen’s portrait in a Golden Jubilee-bedecked Brentford window.
42. A golden mist: Cuneo’s Coronation portrait.
43. Monarchy taken seriously: a sketch by Annigoni for his famous portrait has an almost Renaissance feel.
44. More informal times: Michael Leonard’s popular 1986 portrait of the Queen with her corgi, Spark.
45. Lucian Freud, the greatest portrait painter of the Queen’s reign, insisted on many hours of sitting and was never known to flatter his subjects.
46. ‘I think she loves being Queen’ – a senior politician. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the Braemar Gathering in Scotland, 2008.
47. A military family, as well as a royal one: Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward watch an RAF flypast to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II, 2005.
48. Touchy-feely with new friends: Michelle Obama gets personal with the Queen, 2009.
49. One of the most significant and moving visits of her long reign: the Queen with the Irish President, Mary McAleese in Dublin, 2011.
50. All families have troubles; but families mend and grow: the Queen watched by Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, at the Garter Ceremony in 2011.
51. But what does she think of us?
Plates
Nobody dreamt she would be Queen: the baby Elizabeth with the Duke and D
uchess of York.
She preferred horses, even then.
Learning the ropes in a family firm: Princess Elizabeth in 1932 after a church service near Balmoral, with her formidable grandmother, Queen Mary, and the man she called ‘Grandpa England’, George V.
A future king, already looking out of place? The Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII (left), and the young Louis Mountbatten, in a canvas swimming pool on HMS Renown during an imperial trip, 1920.
Too ‘modern’ for monarchy: ‘Uncle David’ with his niece, Princess Elizabeth, in 1933.
‘We four’: a happy and private family before the storm, 1936.
Thrilled, nevertheless: Princess Elizabeth, royal note-taker, after her father’s Coronation as George VI.
An exuberant Prince Philip of Greece prepares to entertain the young princesses during George VI’s visit to Dartmouth Royal Naval College, 1939.
Early training for public performances: Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret in a private pantomime of Aladdin at Windsor, 1943.
Her most important teacher: Princess Elizabeth with her father, 1946.
There were many rumoured suitors: Princess Elizabeth dancing with the son of the Marquess of Abergavenny at her first public ball in 1946.
A rare escape from Austerity Britain: playing tag with midshipmen aboard HMS Vanguard en route to South Africa for the post-war royal visit, 1947.
The secret is out. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece together at the wedding of Patricia Mountbatten and Lord Brabourne, 1946.
Watch your tongue, Daddy: the infant Princess Anne with Prince Philip, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Charles in 1951.
The final farewell. King George VI waves goodbye to his daughter at London airport, 31 January 1952.
Queen Elizabeth II, in black, arrives in what is now her kingdom seven days later.
Children in the East End get news of a knees-up.
The most solemn moment: 2 June 1953.
Her first, rather overwhelming, prime minister: the Queen and Sir Winston Churchill, 1953.
A triumphant, if exhausting, tour: the Queen was the first reigning monarch to visit Australia, 1954.
Her first US President: the Queen and Prince Philip with President Eisenhower in Washington.
The Empire is dead, long live the Commonwealth. The Queen in the streets of Karachi, Pakistan, 1961.
Not quite a royal carriage: the Queen travels on the London Underground’s just-opened Victoria Line, 1969.
The cars would get bigger: Prince Charles drives Prince Edward in a go-kart, photographed by the Queen, who is a keen taker of snaps.
Reinventing tradition. Prince Charles’s 1969 investiture as Prince of Wales, at Caernarvon Castle.
A 1970s family: the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.
One of her best advisers: Sir Martin Charteris, the Queen’s private secretary, pores over paperwork with her aboard Britannia in 1972.
Where she was most relaxed: the Queen at dinner on the Royal Yacht.
Labour’s leading monarchist: Harold Wilson and the Queen in Downing Street for his farewell dinner in 1976 – an honour not given to all prime ministers.
The glamour of royalty does not excite everyone: the Labour defence secretary Fred Mulley at an RAF review during the 1977 Silver Jubilee.
But royalty does bring out British eccentricity: a congratulatory postcard too big even for the Buckingham Palace mantelpieces is delivered in 1977.
The Silver Jubilee was a much-needed tonic during a bleak period for Britain.
Always keeping her balance: the Queen comforts her horse Burmese, after blank shots were fired at her during the 1981 Trooping the Colour. At the time, she must have thought she had narrowly escaped assassination.
Too much a fairytale to last: Prince Charles and Lady Diana bow and curtsey to the Queen after their marriage in 1981.
The future. ‘Granny’ with Princes William and Harry, 1987.
The lowest point. The Queen waits to make her ‘annus horribilis’ speech at London’s Guildhall, after the marriage breakdowns of two of her children and the devastating Windsor fire, 1992.
Responding to the eruption of grief: the Queen back in London after Diana’s death, when critics had accused her of failing to read the national mood.
One has a website: the Queen goes digital at a school in Brent, 1997.
The Queen Mother waves to the crowds on her hundredth birthday, watched by the Queen and Princess Margaret. Their deaths, close together, robbed the Queen of two of her closest confidantes.
The Queen’s enthusiasm for the Commonwealth has helped her become a successful head of a state being reshaped by immigration. London East End crowds during the 2002 Golden Jubilee.
A genuine triumph, which surprised media cynics: the Queen’s portrait in a Golden Jubilee-bedecked Brentford window.
A golden mist: Cuneo’s Coronation portrait.
Monarchy taken seriously: a sketch by Annigoni for his famous portrait has an almost Renaissance feel.
More informal times: Michael Leonard’s popular 1986 portrait of the Queen with her corgi, Spark.
Lucian Freud, the greatest portrait painter of the Queen’s reign, insisted on many hours of sitting and was never known to flatter his subjects.
‘I think she loves being Queen’ – a senior politician. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the Braemar Gathering in Scotland, 2008.
A military family, as well as a royal one: Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward watch an RAF flypast to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II, 2005.
Touchy-feely with new friends: Michelle Obama gets personal with the Queen, 2009.
One of the most significant and moving visits of her long reign: the Queen with the Irish President, Mary McAleese in Dublin, 2011.
All families have troubles; but families mend and grow: the Queen watched by Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, at the Garter Ceremony in 2011.
But what does she think of us?
Also by Andrew Marr
My Trade
A Short History of British Journalism
A History of Modern Britain
The Making of Modern Britain
‘She is never – you know – not the Queen.’
A friend
‘There’s a lot of nonsense talked about what a terrible life she has. Nonsense! I think she loves it.’
A senior politician
‘Constitutional monarchy is a subtle device which enables us, anthropologically speaking, both to adore and kill our Kings; by dividing supreme authority into two, we can lavish adulation upon the Crown and kick out the government when we choose.’
Kingsley Martin, editor of the New Statesman, 1953
‘I would earnestly warn you against trying to find out the reason for and explanation of everything . . . To try and find out the reason for everything is very dangerous and leads to nothing but disappointment and dissatisfaction, unsettling your mind and in the end making you miserable.’
Queen Victoria to a granddaughter, 1883
‘Well . . . She knows what’s going on. She has – a good nose for a story. She would have been a good journalist.’
A senior member of the Royal Household
First published 2011 by Macmillan
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