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Elizabeth

The No.1 Sunday Times Bestselling Biography of Britain’s Longest-Reigning Queen

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Elizabeth

By: Gyles Brandreth
Narrated by: Gyles Brandreth
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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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Brought to you by Penguin.

THE NO 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NOW FEATURING EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL ABOUT CHARLES III's CORONATION WITH ADDED PHOTOGRAPHS

A personal account of the life and character of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, from the writer who knew her family best


'Compelling . . . Fascinating' DAILY MAIL
'The writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals' THE TIMES
'The book overflows with nuggets of insider knowledge' TELEGRAPH
Paints a unique picture of the remarkable woman who reigned for seven decades. Fascinating insights' HELLO!
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Gyles Brandreth first met the Queen in 1968, when he was twenty.

Over the next fifty years he met her many times, both at public and at private events. Through his friendship with the Duke of Edinburgh, he was given privileged access to Elizabeth II.

He kept a record of all those encounters, and his conversations with the Queen over the years, his meetings with her family and friends, and his observations of her at close quarters are what make this very personal account of her extraordinary life uniquely fascinating.

From her childhood in the 1920s to the era of Harry and Meghan in the 2020s, from her war years at Windsor Castle to her death at Balmoral, this is both a record of a tumultuous century of royal history and a truly intimate portrait of a remarkable woman.

Enjoy this s
pecial edition now featuring an exclusive postscript about King Charles III's Coronation with photographs.
__________

Praise for Gyles Brandreth's bestselling royal writing:

'Beautifully written book. I have read many other books about Philip but this is the best' DAILY EXPRESS

'Brilliant, totally inspiring . . . It's a joy to read a book that comes from a perspective of fondness' KIRSTIE ALLSOPP, THE TIMES

'As a sparkling celebration of Prince Philip, the book will be hard to beat' TELEGRAPH

'So readable and refreshing even after the millions of words that have been written about Prince Philip in the past couple of weeks' THE TIMES

'Brilliant . . . There is so much in this book you won't find anywhere else' LORRAINE

©2022 Gyles Brandreth (P)2022 Penguin Audio

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Critic reviews

Compelling . . . Fascinating
The book overflows with nuggets of insider knowledge
Paints a unique picture of the remarkable woman who reigned for seven decades. Offers fascinating insights into her life
What Brandreth can uniquely offer us are verbatim replies to the questions he asked the Queen and Philip over many years
Brandreth paints a vivid picture of the Queen . . . Don't miss this trusted account of the incredible life of the most famous and arguably best-loved Head of State on Earth
Brandreth offers insights into the extraordinary life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth. Insightful and personal
All stars
Most relevant
A lot of people have said that there’s very little new in this book. That might be true if you’ve read his Phillip book and have a decent knowledge of the royal family already - but I learned a lot - particularly about The Queen’s ancestors - and I found it all very interesting. However there are also a lot of recollections of not very exciting conversations - which don’t really tell you much about the real queen. I suppose that’s because the people who really knew her aren’t going to be disclosing that info! Also - you do get the feeling this is rather one sided - particularly when it comes to mentioned of Charles and Camilla - where Gyles borders on Uria Heap levels of obsequiousness. Still - I’m very fond of Gyles - he’s an engaging reader I enjoy everything he does and if you’re interested in the royals or were a fan of HM this is worth a listen. Enjoyed it very much

Enjoyable, interesting - not ground breaking

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Some people will say that Gyles is over doing how nice The Queen was. I personally think that this book was beautiful. Yes there are some stories I've heard in the past. However, it's lovely to be reminded of what an ambassador The.Queen, and her family are for the UK and Commonwealth.

Beautiful

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I have recommended this amazing and honest account of Queen Elizabeth 11 to many. It is clearly a work of love and dedication. Thank you Gyles.

The best in all ways.

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Thank you, Gyles, this was such a pleasure to listen to. Excellently written and perfect narration.

Thank you

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A beautiful insight into the life of a remarkable woman. It's so lovely to get a rare, deep insight into the personal life of Elizabeth II. Thank you Gyles :)

Incredible!

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