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The Last Queen

Elizabeth II's Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor

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The Last Queen

By: Clive Irving
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Summary
 A timely and revelatory new biography of Queen Elizabeth (and her family) exploring how the Windsors have evolved and thrived, as the modern world has changed around them.

Clive Irving’s stunning new narrative biography The Last Queen probes the question of the British monarchy’s longevity. In 2021, the Queen Elizabeth II finally appears to be at ease in the modern world, helped by the new generation of Windsors. But through Irving’s unique insight there emerges a more fragile institution, whose extraordinarily dutiful matriarch has managed to persevere with dignity, yet in doing so made a Faustian pact with the media.

The Last Queen is not a conventional biography—and the book is therefore not limited by the traditions of that genre. Instead, it follows Elizabeth and her family’s struggle to survive in the face of unprecedented changes in our attitudes towards the royal family, with the critical eye of an investigative reporter who is present and involved on a highly personal level. Entertainment & Celebrities Historical Politics & Activism Royalty Women
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As an Irish woman, I hoped this would not be another sycophantic biography and it's not! Irving definitely sets out the argument that monarchy is fading into irrelevance. However much I enjoyed the content & style, I was dismayed at the frequent anachronistic social judgement, misogyny really, by Irving on the behaviour of women, particularly women's sexual behaviour: he often came across as a slut shaming old toff, the very thing he rails against.

A more balanced portrait

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A good read with lots of insider gossip. An excellent counter balance to the uncritical stories. There is too much though of the author's own tale so that sometimes it seems more about Irving than the Queen. Very good on Thatcher and the Queen and Diana. not so good on the monarchy which the author does not like much.

The Queen?

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