LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Freshly updated from its original 2002 edition, Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald Strober’s Queen Elizabeth II: An Oral History presents uniquely fascinating insights into a unique figure across a lifetime of experiences. Being a compendium of intimate, eyewitness accounts told by those who were there, the book has a compelling personal quality, with a smoothly readable style coming courtesy of it being an oral history.
With a global outlook and broad range of perspectives (the book gives voice to staff, family, friends and famous public figures), we enter the House of Windsor at the point of the sudden death of Princess Elizabeth’s father. Newly married, we read detailed accounts of the new Queen’s coronation and her consort, with “was the Duke of Edinburgh frustrated in his new role?” among the questions asked and answered by a range of sources.
Later chapters cover broader personal and social questions – who is the Queen? What does the monarchy mean? The Queen and the institution of the Monarchy – with sections also devoted to the Queen’s relationships with Prime Ministers, her role as Defender of the Faith, life at court, the Commonwealth, and the lives and marriages of her children.
Unquestionably a must-read for those who follow the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II: An Oral History is also a fascinating read for anyone interested in British social history.
Joanne Owen
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Queen Elizabeth II: An Oral History Synopsis
AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFETIME, TOLD IN THE WORDS OF THOSE WHO WERE THERE
Lieutenant Commander Michael Parker, equerry-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, speaking about the death of King George VI:
'The Queen was really bowled over. Forlorn. Fully conscious of the fact that she was Queen, and that she must tend to affairs immediately, but at the same time carrying the load of this new, awful news. A brave person. Gosh! If I loved her before, boy did I love her after that!'
Queen Elizabeth II paints a spirited, global portrait of a life lived in service. It is packed full of fascinating eye-witness accounts; from the early years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign - the shocking death of her father and the adjustment required of a newly married couple - through to the children's marriages, the death of Princess Diana, and Prince Harry and Meghan's move to the United States.
It features interviews from diverse sources: staff (recognisable from their portrayals in The Crown), family and friends, such as Lady Pamela Hicks, and public figures including Rabbi Julia Neuberger, Michael Heseltine and Andy Burnham. Originally published in 2002, it also contains memories from crucial figures now lost to us, such as Winston Spencer Churchill and Nelson Mandela.
This extraordinary oral history presents revealing view into the workings of Buckingham Palace and the strengths and weaknesses of the Royal Family, asking questions about conflict and change, and the monarchy's journey as colonial institution.
With a broad spectrum of views on Queen Elizabeth II - from her role as leader of the Commonwealth to her personality in private - this unique book offers a remarkable insight into our Monarch.
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Press Reviews
Deborah Hart Strober, Gerald Strober Press Reviews
'Both of us having dogs, mine being my seeing eye dog, Her Majesty and I had something in common and we always used to talk about ours. During Vladimir Putin's state visit to the United Kingdom, my dog barked at the Russian visitor and Her Majesty patted him, as if to say: ""Good dog! Good dog!""' David Blunkett
Author
About Deborah Hart Strober, Gerald Strober
Deborah Hart Strober and Gerald Strober are the co-authors of nine books, including oral histories of the Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan presidencies; and oral biographies of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the evangelist Billy Graham and Rudolph Giuliani. In compiling these works, the Strobers managed to penetrate the inner worlds of more than 500 leading personalities, including US political officials, foreign leaders, members of the British royal family and religious figures. The Strobers live in New York City.
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