Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth II

Hardman (Queen of the World) commemorates Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee with an engaging, in-depth biography covering key events in the 95-year-old monarch’s life. Among these events are her childhood with sister Princess Margaret Rose, the wartime years, her wedding to Philip Mountbatten, her father’s illness and early death, becoming Queen in 1952, the Coronation, the births of her four children, their weddings, and births of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Crises faced by the Queen over the years include: Princess Margaret’s doomed romance with Peter Townsend; the divorces of three of her four children; the 1979 assassination of Lord Mountbatten in a terrorist attack; the fire at Windsor, the death of Princess Diana and its aftermath, and the latest scandal involving her son Prince Andrew. Hardman also covers the Queen’s relationships with her various Prime Ministers (including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and Tony Blair). Hardman’s evenhanded treatment includes both criticism and praise the Queen has received during her life of service. Bibliographical notes are included for further reading.