The Diamond Queen by Andrew Marr

With the flair for narrative and research that readers have come to expect, in The Diamond Queen Marr turns his attention to Queen Elizabeth II and to the monarchy as a whole, chronicling the Queen’s pivotal role at the centre of the state, which is largely hidden from the public gaze.

Arranged thematically, rather than chronologically, Marr dissects the Queen’s political relationships, crucially those with her Prime Ministers; he examines her role as Head of the Commonwealth, and her deep commitment to that Commonwealth of nations; he looks at the drastic changes in the media since her accession in 1952 and how the monarchy and the monarch have had to change and adapt as a result.