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Queen of Our Times

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What to expect

A Sunday Times Book of the Year

Queen Of Our Times, read by the author, is the definitive biography of Queen Elizabeth II by one of Britain’s leading royal authorities, Robert Hardman. This commemorative edition includes an epilogue reflecting upon Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, her passing and her funeral.

'Sensational' – Kirsty Young, The Platinum Pageant (BBC)

With fascinating revelations from those who knew her best and special access to unseen royal papers granted by Elizabeth II herself, author and royal expert Robert Hardman explores the full, astonishing life of our longest reigning monarch in this authoritative yet intimate biography.

The book also charts the way in which the Queen raised the future King Charles III as both son and heir.

Elizabeth was not born to be queen, being third in line to the throne. Yet from her accession as a young mother of two in 1952 to the age of Covid-19, she proved an astute and quietly determined figure, leading her family and her people through more than seventy years of unprecedented social change. She faced constitutional crises, confronted threats against her life, unified the Commonwealth, saw fifteen British prime ministers come and go, charmed world leaders, and steered her family through a lifetime in the public eye. Her Platinum Jubilee was celebrated in June 2022 and her death mourned months later, both events a reminder of the huge impact she had made.

Queen of Our Times is a must-listen study of dynastic survival and renewal, spanning abdication, war, romance, danger and tragedy. It is a compelling portrait of a leader whose legacy of steadfast service lives on.

Critics Review

The essential authoritative biography of the Queen that everyone needs to read - packed with new research, gripping details and telling anecdotes on every page, equally masterful on matters high and low, power and family. Hardman not only explains her; he defines her and her epoch.
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Robert Hardman has written a truly exceptional biography of an equally exceptional monarch, rich in new material, wit and original thought. With intimate and unrivalled access to those who really know the story, Queen of Our Times not only gives us the real Elizabeth II, but it also reminds us, often movingly, that we are living through one of history’s greatest reigns.
Andrew Roberts
A compendious new biography . . . closely observed . . . I relished the incidental details.
The Times (Book of the Week)
Hardman’s exhaustive and endlessly enthusiastic biography paints a vivid picture of a phenomenal sovereign.
The Telegraph
Authoritative . . . scrupulously well researched, thoughtful and sensitive to the sweep of history.
Mail on Sunday
Revelatory . . . Queen of Our Times shows why her extraordinary lifetime of service should be celebrated, honoured and cherished.
The Spectator
This is a beautifully-crafted, deeply informed and rounded portrait of the gold standard monarch and the age to which she has given her name. Queen of Our Times has depth, feel and insight in abundance
Peter Hennessy, award-winning historian

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