Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch

By Sally Smith Bedell

After reading a book on Catherine the Great, Goodreads.com recommended me this book on Queen Elizabeth.  So I added this recently published book to my library wish list, and got in line for it.  At close to 600 pages, you have to be in for a dedicated read in order to finish it before it is due back to the library.  This was not an issue as it was a very engaging read to learn more about the path of this monarch who has helped lead her Commonwealth through many ups and downs of recent history.  As I read about Elizabeth's more private side with her friends and family, I couldn't help comparing her to my grandmother, who would have been close to the same age.  They're both matriarchs with a strong sense of community and familial duty.  My grandmother may not have had the same scope of influence, but I saw many similarities into how these women guided people without telling them exactly what to do.  Some of my favorite passages are highlighted here:

The Queen and Prince Phillip were being honored at a dinner, and the question came up on why it took the monarch so long to prepare for the evening.  Her private secretary responded "The Queen needs her tiara time!".  She has a kit to decorate various tiaras with optional pearl or gemstone drops.  p 320.  This part just cracked me up.  Up until this point, the Queen was portrayed with a great sense of seriousness, and this passage made her a bit more human in my eyes.  I would want a similar kit if I had a few tiaras to choose from.

A powerful source of the Queen's success as a sovereign has been her inscrutability and avoidance of controversy.  With the exception of a few relatively inconsequential remarks over the years, her political views remained a matter of conjecture.  p 488.  While living in the United States with all of the celebrity drama, and in the age of YouTube and Facebook, this passage summed up quite a bit about the Queen and how her style is quite different.  For the most part, she does not openly or forcefully exert her opinion.  It took quite a bit of convincing to get her to live broadcasts as TVs became commonplace.

"One of the main purposes of the monarchy is to unite the country and not divide it," said Kenneth Rose.  When the Queen took the throne at age twenty-five, she was a blank slate, which gave her a great advantage in maintaining the neutrality necessary to preserve that unity.  It was a gentler time, and she could develop her leadership style quietly.  But it has also taken vigilance and discipline for her to keep her views private over so many decades.  p 505.  Like the previous passage I shared, this again highlighted the leadership style the Queen has used in her almost 60 years on the throne.

The goal of the author was to publish this book in conjunction with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  Her challenge "was to show her private side while explaining how she has handles her public role" p  532.  After reading this book, I'd say the author met her goal and would recommend others who want to know about this monarch to try this book.