Since she ascended the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II has been the target of continuous attention. But what do we really know about the world's most famous crowned head? Renowned biographer Sally Bedell Smith, based on numerous interviews and previously classified documents, unveils the veil of mystery and reveals intimate details of the queen's working and private life, who guided her country and the Commonwealth through sixty years of wars and upheavals with unprecedented calm, intelligence, and dignity. In the book Elizabeth II: A Life of Modern Monarchy, we meet the girl who unexpectedly becomes the 'presumptive heir' after her uncle abdicates the throne. At thirteen, she falls in love with young cadet Philip and decides to marry him, despite her parents' preference for wealthier British aristocrats. We see the growing Lilibet repairing trucks during the war and standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace alongside Winston Churchill on Victory Day. We see the young queen trying to balance the roles of monarch and mother of two small children. Sally Bedell Smith takes us into the palace and describes the queen's daily work - the 'red boxes' of official documents, weekly meetings gradually with twelve...
