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The Last Queen
- Elizabeth II's Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Women
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Publisher's Summary
A timely and revelatory new biography of Queen Elizabeth (and her family) exploring how the Windsors have evolved and thrived as the modern world has changed around them.
Clive Irving’s stunning new narrative biography, The Last Queen, probes the question of the British monarchy’s longevity.
In 2021, the Queen Elizabeth II finally appears to be at ease in the modern world, helped by the new generation of Windsors. But through Irving’s unique insight there emerges a more fragile institution, whose extraordinarily dutiful matriarch has managed to persevere with dignity, yet in doing so made a Faustian pact with the media.
The Last Queen is not a conventional biography - and the book is therefore not limited by the traditions of that genre. Instead, it follows Elizabeth and her family’s struggle to survive in the face of unprecedented changes in our attitudes toward the royal family, with the critical eye of an investigative reporter who is present and involved on a highly personal level.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The Last Queen
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Professional Commuter
- 2021-04-14
Clive Irving called New Brunswick a state...
As a proud Canadian and someone who is fascinated with the stories of the royal family. I am extremely disappointed in this book. Firstly, I would call it a "Clive Irving's point of view as a journalist witnessing the reign of Elizabeth II". Also, he calls New Brunswick a state... This made me give up on the book because this clearly tells me that Irving did not truly do ANY research if you think a PROVINCE is a state. Sir, in Canada we have provinces and territories. To call any of these a state tells me you did not do EVEN basic research nor sought to understand how Canada navigates it's commonwealth status. This is insulting to Canadian readers and therefore I cannot finish nor ever recommend this book. Shame on you Clive Irving. Shame.
3 people found this helpful
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- Karen S
- 2021-02-07
Disappointed
I got this book to learn more about the Queen. At times I thought I was listening to an autobiography by the Author. There was too much use of the pronoun “I”. I couldn’t wait for the book to end.
8 people found this helpful
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- clo.leigh
- 2021-01-30
Very good, but not what I was looking for
Perhaps I misunderstood the summary of the book, but I was expecting it to be on the Queen's effort to save the monarchy into the modern age and to keep the institution relevant. The book somewhat addressed these topics, but it really was just a history of the royal family and their various crises over the years. I still learned a lot and it was interesting, but it wasn't what I was looking for.
8 people found this helpful
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- graeme badger
- 2021-06-16
A completely self indulgent waste of time!
This book is not about the queen nor is it focused on the Windsor family. The majority of this book is a self indulgent and ego stroking look back at a journalist’s career (Clive Irving) who nobody but the author would consider to be anything but mediocre. Every story told elevates the author to the lead role and promotes his dear friends Margaret and Tony to martyrdom. Petty shots at the Queen and other generational giants are frequent and completely born of jealousy and an inferiority complex that shows no bounds. Don’t waste you money or your time, the only person who needs a copy of this book is Clive and that’s who he wrote it for.
5 people found this helpful
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- Etoile NEOhio
- 2022-04-13
A chronology that brings us to the current day
It is always good when a book makes you want to read another book mentioned within. Glad I had familiarized myself with some of the back story of the players as this compendium covers so much breadth it has slight room for depth.