The life and reign of Queen Elizabeth is one of the best known stories of recent times and yet there is always something new to see. A brand new book, perfect for Christmas gifts, is lifting the lid on the many moments of the longest reigning Monarch in British history and offering a brand new insight on her in the process.
‘The Story of Queen Elizabeth II: As Told Through Headlines” from Historic Newspapers is a fascinating glimpse of a woman who led her country longer than any other person and who shaped the very concept of modern Monarchy.
It’s this most famous story told through the newspapers of the time, specifically the Daily Mirror. It includes front pages and inside scoops and allows the news as it happened to explain the history. You read the events of Elizabeth II’s reign as they were written at the time. The language and the reporting changes, the photos take on different aspects. This is a time travel through royal history, all focused on Queen Elizabeth.
From the moment Elizabeth II found out she was Queen, in Kenya, to the sombre and stirring images of her funeral seventy years later, this picture perfect book gives a complete view of her as Queen, leader and family woman.
I opened the book to a smiling photo of Elizabeth, taken on February 5 1952, the last day that she was a princess. It’s on a reproduction of the front page of the Daily Mirror, published just hours after the death of King George VI and the accession of his daughter as Queen Elizabeth II.
It’s a resonant choice to begin this comprehensive history of Elizabeth II’s reign. It shows her happy, and carefree, unaware of the huge loss and imposing destiny that was about to affect her. It sits on the page opposite a photo of George VI, captioned as the last glimpse of a king. He is looking down as he walks away from the plane that would take Elizabeth to Kenya.
This front page neatly summarises the poignancy of their royal story, of the father who knew he was saying goodbye to a daughter forever when he waved her off at London Airport and the daughter who never imagined that her return would see her saluted as Monarch.
It also sets the pace for a book that is pretty hard to put down, especially for royal fans but also for anyone interested in our recent history. From the spectacular black and white images of the Coronation that brought cheer to a post war Britain to the crystal clear colour photos of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, topped with the Imperial Crown she wore for 69 years after that ceremony, it is a visual summation of a history that is so sweeping it’s almost impossible to tell.
The hard hitting moments are here, too. This is no hagiography. The impact of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales on the Royal Family and its place in the country are looked at in detail with a focus on headlines about the apology The Queen made to some of those at the Palace about how long it had taken her to arrive in London.
And there are hints, too, at the impact the Queen herself had on the country with whole pages of the papers reproduced to show royal themed adverts that highlight how major events, like Jubilees, become national moments for all, whether royalist or not.
What I loved most about this book was the way it revealed forgotten moments that were big news at the time but that have become part of a wider royal story. A wonderful photo taken on a tour in Australia in which The Queen’s car is completely surrounded by crowds while she stands and waves is far from the most famous moment in her historic reign but this passed over incident shows her fame and the scrutiny she was under in every detail.
There is something very intimate about picking up a book and looking at images that have been seen and shared by thousands but which are now just one of millions of photos taken.
I got a real sense of who Queen Elizabeth II was as a public person from this book which covers an historic reign with ease and leaves you wanting more.
There’s a range of royal themed books available, using a range of papers including the Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph, with other titles focused on the Princess of Wales and another on her mother-in-law, Diana. The books can also be personalised to add a perfect Christmas gift touch. All promise a special insight into stories that feel familiar already but are also still unknown. See the full range of books at Historic Newspapers.
