The Queen Mother - bookrastinating.com

1096 pages

English language

Published Nov. 26, 2009 by Alfred A. Knopf.

ISBN:: 978-1-4000-4304-0

The official and definitive biography of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: consort of King George VI, mother of Queen Elizabeth II, grandmother of Prince Charles--and the most beloved British monarch of the twentieth century.Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon--the ninth of the Earl of Strathmore's ten children--was born on August 4, 1900, and, certainly, no one could have imagined that her long life (she died in 2002) would come to reflect a changing nation over the ourse of an entire century. Now, William Shawcross--given unrestricted access to the Queen Mother's personal papers, letters, and diaries--gives us a portrait of unprecedented vividness and detail. Here is the girl who helped convalescing soldiers during the First World War . . . the young Duchess of York helping her reluctant husband assume the throne when his brother abdicated . . . the Queen refusing to take refuge from the bombing of London, risking her own …

The official and definitive biography of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: consort of King George VI, mother of Queen Elizabeth II, grandmother of Prince Charles--and the most beloved British monarch of the twentieth century.Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon--the ninth of the Earl of Strathmore's ten children--was born on August 4, 1900, and, certainly, no one could have imagined that her long life (she died in 2002) would come to reflect a changing nation over the ourse of an entire century. Now, William Shawcross--given unrestricted access to the Queen Mother's personal papers, letters, and diaries--gives us a portrait of unprecedented vividness and detail. Here is the girl who helped convalescing soldiers during the First World War . . . the young Duchess of York helping her reluctant husband assume the throne when his brother abdicated . . . the Queen refusing to take refuge from the bombing of London, risking her own life to instill courage and hope in others who were living through the Blitz . . . the dowager Queen--the last Edwardian, the charming survivor of a long-lost era--representing her nation at home and abroad . . . the matriarch of the Royal Family and "the nation's best-loved grandmother."A revelatory royal biography that is, as well, a singular history of Britain in the twentieth century.From the Hardcover edition.

5 editions

For The Night Is Dark And Full of Terror reviewed The Queen Mother by William Shawcross

Review of 'The Queen Mother' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is an official biography incorporating the letters and diaries of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. But it seems she didn't keep an extensive diary, and there's almost nothing of the scandals that plagued her grandchildren. At times, it reads like a recitation of her travel schedule.

Still, I enjoyed reading about her childhood at Glamis Castle and St. Paul's Walden Bury before WWI. It was a little bit like Downton Abbey, except Lady Elizabeth and her sisters all got along. And there could been a separate book about the amazing history of the Bowes Lyon family of Glamis Castle.

I was also struck by the sheer amount of tragedy in her life. She spent more than half her life as a widow. But the Queen Mother also outlived all of her siblings, her longtime friends, and many of her trusted staffers. When her niece suffers a heart attack at …

This is an official biography incorporating the letters and diaries of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. But it seems she didn't keep an extensive diary, and there's almost nothing of the scandals that plagued her grandchildren. At times, it reads like a recitation of her travel schedule.

Still, I enjoyed reading about her childhood at Glamis Castle and St. Paul's Walden Bury before WWI. It was a little bit like Downton Abbey, except Lady Elizabeth and her sisters all got along. And there could been a separate book about the amazing history of the Bowes Lyon family of Glamis Castle.

I was also struck by the sheer amount of tragedy in her life. She spent more than half her life as a widow. But the Queen Mother also outlived all of her siblings, her longtime friends, and many of her trusted staffers. When her niece suffers a heart attack at a Clarence House luncheon and subsequently dies, you wonder how much more the poor old queen can take. And then she has to bury her own daughter, Princess Margaret, before she finally gives in to old age.

There were plenty of interesting details. I didn't know that Ted Hughes, husband of the late Sylvia Plath, was a good friend and frequent guest. I knew that Diana's maternal grandmother, Ruth Fermoy, was a lady in waiting to the Queen Mother. But I didn't know that Cynthia Spencer, Diana's paternal grandmother, was also a lady in waiting. (In keeping with the theme, the Queen Mother outlived all of them.)

Overall, it was dry reading, but still pretty fascinating to a history buff.

Subjects

Elizabeth, -- Queen, consort of George VI, King of Great Britain, -- 1900-2002
Queens -- Great Britain -- Biography