Robert Lacey: Royal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

By ELIZABETH JONES

The second biography of Queen Elizabeth II by Robert Lacey was published this year to coincide with her Golden Jubilee, and before the deaths of Princess Margaret in February and the Queen Mother last month. It is an up-to-date look at the events the Queen has faced in 50 years in a role that, like her father before her, she never wanted.

The first few chapters briefly outline the history of some past monarchs who have influenced Queen Elizabeth II's reign, and then her birth, childhood, and her realisation of her future role upon the abdication of Edward VIII when, according to her grandmother Lady Strathmore, she started "ardently praying for a brother". Marriage and motherhood followed before her coronation as Queen in 1953.

In more detail, and with more relevance to readers of today, are the past 25 years and her reaction to and handling of events such as the marriages and divorces of her children, the Charles and Camilla predicament, along with the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the fiasco that unfolded in London when the Royal Family remained at Balmoral.

Earl Spencer's eulogy is not forgotten, when the royal family were "eloquently insulted to their faces", and the book would not be complete without mentioning the fire at Windsor Castle and the Queen's "annus horribilis", the scrapping of the royal yacht Brittania, her concession to pay tax, the Australian referendum in November 1999 which retained the monarchy, and September 11.

The book is a thorough and enlightening account of 50 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, including some insights into her own views of the future of the monarchy and, of course, the coming celebration of her Golden Jubilee this year.

Penguin

$64.95

* Elizabeth Jones is a Herald editorial assistant.