Queen Elizabeth II*A TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK TO WATCH IN 2026* Queen Elizabeth II occupies a unique place in the hearts of her people, and in this new, revelatory biography, acclaimed royal historian Hugo Vickers sheds new light on the woman behind the crown. Even as a child, Elizabeth was elegant, self contained, and enigmatic. After a supremely happy childhood, gravitas descended with the death of her beloved grandfather and the Abdication of her uncle Edward VIII.

But as he optimistically looks to a future of few responsibilities

They can't wait to visit their magical friends Silky the fairy and Moonface again

the private investigation business shifting from labour-management relations to the more domestic kind

a courageous Anglo-Irishwoman who scaled the Alps in woollen skirts

Three will live

one summer later

saw him repeatedly dismantle everything around him

hiding from his past

And within all these lives is the story of England itself: a story of nostalgia and irony

Granny Codd understands

enhanced Ordnance Survey maps for the entire route

And her mom is its latest victim