This concise and authoritative biography of the UK's longest-reigning monarch is written by leading historian Sir David Cannadine. It explores the intertwined stories of her life and times, and assesses her wide-ranging but often unremarked impact on the institution of the monarchy, on the UK's public life and national image, and globally.

The life of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's extraordinary and longest-lived monarch The reign of Queen Elizabeth II was exceptional for many reasons: among them her remarkable longevity, her enduring marriage to Prince Philip, her astonishing success in concealing her opinions on virtually any contentious subject, and the many representations of her in many media, which meant she was the most depicted human being ever to have lived in the entire history of the world. Elizabeth II was a global superstar who met almost any person who mattered, she was Head of the Commonwealth, head of state of such realms as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and queen of the United Kingdom. She embodied dutifulness and service and continuity in a rapidly changing world. During the course of her reign, the United Kingdom ceased to be a great power in the world, and evolved into a multi-cultural, multi-faith, multi-ethnic society, and the country in which she died was very different from that in which she had been born. This book offers a concise but authoritative account of her life and reign, set against the background of these extensive and disruptive domestic and international changes.