Robert Lacey - Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II

THE LIFE AND REIGN OF ELIZABETH II

ROBERT LACEY

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New York

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Monarch

Library Journal

A MATURE AND THOUGHTFUL DISCUSSION OF THE PUBLICS EVOLVING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY.

The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)

AN ABSORBING PAGE-TURNER THAT APPROACHES THE ROYALS, AND THEIR LEGENDARY SCANDALS, WITH DIGNITY AND ELAN, ILLUMINATING ELIZABETH IIS REIGN IN WAYS THAT EVEN NON-ROYAL WATCHERS CAN APPRECIATE.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

LACEYs PORTRAIT IS SYMPATHETIC HE ALSO OFFERS AN INCISIVE ANALYSIS SETTING THIS APART FROM AND FAR ABOVE THE AVERAGE BY-THE-NUMBERS ROYAL BIO.

The Scotsman

ROBERT LACEYS LATEST STUDY OF THE BRITISH MONARCHY [IS] SMART, THOROUGH, AND WELL-CRAFTED, [AND] IS ABSOLUTELY OF ITS TIME.

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THE KINGDOM

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ARISTOCRATS

FORD: THE MEN AND THE MACHINE

QUEEN MOTHER

LITTLE MAN

GRACE

SOTHEBYSBIDDING FOR CLASS

THE YEAR 1000

THE QUEEN MOTHERS CENTURY

MONARCH

THE LIFE AND REIGN
OF ELIZABETH II

ROBERT LACEY

FREE PRESS

NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY SINGAPORE

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Copyright 2002, 2003 by Robert Lacey

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First Free Press trade paperback edition 2003

Originally published in Great Britain in 2002
by Little, Brown and Company as Royal.

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Permission credits appear on page 477

DESIGNED BY LISA CHOVNICK

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:
Lacey, Robert.

Monarch : the life and reign of Elizabeth II / Robert Lacey.1st Free Press ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Elizabeth II, Queen of GreatBritain,1926

2. MonarchyGreat BritainHistory20th century.

3. Great BritainHistoryElizabeth II,
1952

4. QueensGreat BritainBiography.

I. Title.

DA590 .L29 2002

942.05592dc21

[B] 2002016470

ISBN-13: 978-0-743-23669-0

eISBN-13: 978-1-4391-0839-0

FOR PHILIPPA HARRISON

Map of Royal Residences vi

Family Tree 410

TRACING THE ROLE OF THE BRITISH MONARCHY in recent history is sometimes complicated by the royal familys habit of adopting different names and even birthdays for public and private use, and of moving through a progression of titles. This was particularly common in the early twentieth century. Thus the father of Queen Elizabeth II was born Prince Albert on 14 December 1895 and was called Bertie by his family; he was generally known as the Duke of York after his father gave him that title in 1920, but when he became king he took the name George VI (remaining Bertie to his family) and decreed early June as the time when his birthday should be officially celebrated. His elder brother, David to his family, was known as Edward, Prince of Wales, from 1910 until 1936 when he became King Edward VIII; then, after his abdication in that same year, he became Duke of Windsor.

Queen Elizabeth II has been comparatively straightforward, retaining the same single Christian name (and nickname, Lilibet) all her lifeunlike her sister, who was described officially as Princess Margaret Rose throughout her childhood. But as queen Elizabeth II has two birthdays. Born on 21 April 1926, she celebrates the occasion officially on one of the first three Saturdays in June (largely in the hope of better weather for fellow celebrants).

There follows below, therefore, a list of the principal characters in this book together with their main dates, titles, and family connections. These are, on the whole, pursued chronologically in the text but have on occasions been abandoned for the sake of clarity. Prince George, for example, Queen Elizabeth IIs uncle who was killed in World War II, is generally remembered as the Duke of Kent, even though he did not receive that title until 1934 when he was thirty-two, and he is usually referred to as such here.

Certain other names and technical terms are also briefly explained.

ADEANE, MICHAEL (LORD) (1910-1984): private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II 1953-72.

AIRLIE, DAVID, EARL OF (b. 1926): Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II 1984-97.

AIRLIE, MABELL, COUNTESS OF (1866-1956): lady-of-the-bedchamber to Queen Mary; grandmother of David Airlie and Angus Ogilvy.

ALBERT, PRINCE, DUKE OF YORK: see George VI

ALBERT, PRINCE CONSORT (1819-1861): husband of Queen Victoria; great-great-grandfather of Elizabeth II and of Prince Philip.

ALEXANDRA, PRINCESS (b. 1936): cousin to Queen Elizabeth II; daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent; married Angus Ogilvy 1963; two children.

ALEXANDRA, QUEEN (1844-1925): wife of Edward VII; great-grandmother to Queen Elizabeth II.

ALICE, PRINCESS (1885-1969): ne Battenberg; mother to Prince Philip; married Prince Andrew of Greece 1903.

ALLA: see Knight, Clara

ALTHORP HOUSE: Northamptonshire home of the Spencer family since the fifteenth century. Diana, Princess of Wales, was buried there on 6 September 1997.

ANDREW, PRINCE, OF GREECE (1882-1944): known as Andrea in his family; the father of Prince Philip.

ANDREW, PRINCE, DUKE OF YORK (b. 1960): second son of Queen Elizabeth II.

ANNE, PRINCESS, PRINCESS ROYAL (b. 1950): daughter of Queen Elizabeth II; married Captain Mark Phillips 1973; son, Peter Phillips b. 1977; daughter, Zara b. 1981; divorced April 1992; married Tim Laurence December 1992.

ARMSTRONG-JONES: see Snowdon, Earl of

BAGEHOT, WALTER (1826-1877): editor of The Economist and author of The English Constitution, the basis of the constitutional theory taught to George V.

BALMORAL: Aberdeenshire estate of British royal family, purchased by Queen Victoria.

BATTENBERG: see Mountbatten

BERTIE: see George VI

BIRKHALL: Aberdeenshire house and estate near Balmoral where the Queen Mother stays.

BOBO: see MacDonald, Margaret

BOLLAND, MARK (b. 1966): deputy private secretary to Prince Charles 1996-2002.

BOWES-LYON: family name of the Earls of Strathmore, family of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

BRABOURNE, JOHN (KNATCHBULL), LORD (b. 1926): married Lady Patricia Mountbatten, daughter of Lord Mountbatten, in 1946. Producer of such films as