From the woman who picked her hats to the nanny who was drummed out of her flat, we pick the writers who got to the heart of the Queen – and the phenomenon of modern monarchy
Thousands of books were written about the Queen. Many were banal, some syrupy, a few hateful and most just plain wrong. But there are gems, too: biographies and histories but also novels that throw sharp and unexpected lights on this most singular – and silent – of women.
Ben Pimlott – The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II
An academic historian and Labour intellectual, Pimlott was not the obvious person to take on the task of writing the life of the Queen. We should be grateful he did. With access to many new parts of the royal archive, and interviews with everyone from Princess Margaret to Hardy Amies, Pimlott offers a pin-sharp analysis not just of the woman but of the whole phenomenon of modern monarchy. He’s especially good on the Queen’s relations with her prime ministers. Clearly she could detect nonsense at 50 paces.
