The Last Queen The Remarkable Story of Elizabeth II’s Seventy-Year Reign and the Future of the Monarchy
By Clive Irving
Read an exclusive chapter from The Last Queen here.
‘The Firm’, as the royal family styles itself, judged by real corporate standards, is a mess. Any consultants called in from outside to scrutinise its inner workings would find all the familiar flaws of a family business that has outgrown its original scale and design. There is no overall strategy, just a collection of warring divisions pursuing their own ends.
And this will be a profound problem when the Queen dies, because make no bones about it, the Queen’s mortality determines the mortality of the monarchy. Under Charles III, the monarchy can never be the same; indeed, its very survival is in doubt.
In The Last Queen, pioneering investigative reporter Clive Irving paints a revelatory portrait of Elizabeth II’s extraordinary reign, setting it within the dramatic transformation of Britain itself over the same period. Now expanded to include the death of Prince Philip, the fallout from Megxit and the banishment of Prince Andrew, this compelling account asks: how long will the institution survive beyond the second Elizabethan era?
Read a sampleReviews
'From the Windsors’ Nazi leanings in the 1930s, to the perceived chilliness of the royal family following the death of Diana in 1997, Clive Irving chronicles every illuminating detail in this closely observed analysis of the modern monarchy – while never losing respect for its most adroit exponent, Queen Elizabeth II. As founder of the renowned Insight team of the London Sunday Times that exposed Profumo and Philby among other scandals, Irving directs his investigative focus on the Crown, the unforgiving press – and on the gullible public who are in thrall to both.'
Robert Lacey, author of Battle of Brothers
“Clive Irving’s immensely readable book brings real authority, context and personal insight to our understanding of the Queen. As a newspaperman in the center of the coverage for decades, he has a wonderful eye for the illuminating detail and a sense of history that pulls together the threads of social and political change, never losing sight of the remarkable woman at the center of his enquiring gaze. The Last Queen is as entertaining as it is essential, and I read it with gusto.”
Tina Brown
“They are privileged people who represent our past. But how do they – how can they? – represent our present, let alone our future? Turn these pages to revel in a brilliant and gripping analysis of the monarchy and the House of Windsor by Clive Irving, the master of investigative journalism. What a story!”
Robert Lacey, author of Battle of Brothers
“Irving puts his mark on a familiar story with his confident assessments and insider perspective on the British press. Royal watchers will delight in this richly detailed appraisal of the world’s oldest reigning monarch.”
Publishers Weekly
"A gossipy romp through a history of the British monarchy"
Kirkus
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- Paperback, 400 pages
- ISBN: 9781785907302
- 17 February 2022
- £9.99
- Hardback, 320 pages
- ISBN: 9781785905551
- 27 October 2020
- £20.00
- eBook
- ISBN: 9781785905858
- 27 October 2020
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