{"product_id":"9781789294644-queen","title":"The Queen","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe definitive biography of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, written by the world’s best-known royal biographer, Andrew Morton.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this entertaining and insightful biography, award-winning writer Andrew Morton, author of Diana, Her True Story and Elizabeth \u0026amp; Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters, takes you behind the scenes to uncover the woman and her world.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor years she prayed for her mother to give birth to a son. She longed to be spared her\u003cbr\u003edestiny as Britain’s future Queen. Her dream was to live in the country surrounded by\u003cbr\u003echildren, dogs and horses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut Elizabeth did her duty, the young princess pledging before her people that she would\u003cbr\u003ededicate her whole life to the service of Britain and the Commonwealth. She hoped that\u003cbr\u003ethat day would be a long way off. It was not to be. Only twenty-five when she became\u003cbr\u003eQueen after the premature death of her father, King George Vl, Elizabeth has become the\u003cbr\u003estuff of superlatives: \u003cb\u003ethe longest reignin\u003c\/b\u003eg, most travelled and, for a shy woman, the\u003cbr\u003eQueen who has shaken more hands and made more small talk than \u003cb\u003eany other monarch\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ein history\u003c\/b\u003e. She has been seen and believed by millions, either in person, on television or\u003cbr\u003efilm.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElizabeth was set firmly on the road to becoming sovereign because of the D word –\u003cbr\u003edivorce. In 1936, her uncle David, King Edward VIII, wanted to marry a twice-divorced\u003cbr\u003eAmerican, Wallis Simpson. When he couldn’t he abdicated. Since that national trauma,\u003cbr\u003edivorce and the fall-out from divorce has shaped her reign. She has witnessed her sister\u003cbr\u003eMargaret, three of her children and several grandchildren divorce. And she has lived long\u003cbr\u003eenough to see the wheel turn full circle, watching as another American divorcee, Meghan\u003cbr\u003eMarkle, walked down the aisle with her grandson Prince Harry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile her reign has been defined by divorce, her private life has been moulded by an\u003cbr\u003eirascible husband, an extravagant mother and a querulous eldest son. In the winter of her\u003cbr\u003ereign she refereed a war between two of her grandsons, brothers William and Harry who\u003cbr\u003ewere once inseparable friends. As she celebrates her \u003cb\u003eplatinum anniversary, \u003c\/b\u003ethe first\u003cbr\u003emonarch to reign for \u003cb\u003eseventy years\u003c\/b\u003e, she has, during a once in a lifetime pandemic,\u003cbr\u003ebecome the reassuring face of hope and optimism, the grandmother to the nation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40858263683169,"sku":"9781789294644","price":15.82,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_27644627.jpg?v=1721951105","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781789294644-queen","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}