Saturday, April 28, 2012

Her Majesty

Her Majesty: Queen Elizabeth II and Her Court
By Robert Hardman
Pegasus Books, 2012. 356 pgs. Biography.

This is the year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and she can boast, though she would never, one of the longest reigns in British history (only Queen Victoria has her beat at sixty-four years). Her Majesty is a good way to remind us of what Queen Elizabeth II has achieved and the modernity she has brought to throne. Through interviews with those who know her personally, books, and royal documentaries, Hardman delivers a pretty thorough biography of the Queen. Her Majesty also includes twenty-four pages of full color photos, a nice little addition that often had me flipping back and forth with the text.

Though this book is focused on the Queen, it also touches upon the rest of her family. It takes a light tone and includes many humorous anecdotes, such as the time the Queen was filmed hurling a pair of tennis shoes at Prince Philip (don’t bother trying to find it on YouTube, the film was destroyed on the spot). My only gripe would be the chapter length, which to me seemed long. I didn’t always have time to complete a full chapter and I despise stopping midway, but I survived. Overall though, I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good biography, wanting to know more about Queen Elizabeth II, her family, her reign, or anything else along those lines.

ACS

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