Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch

“Cherish Lilibet? I wonder if that word is enough to express what is in me.”

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in Buckingham Palace on their wedding day, November 20, 1947. ©TopFoto/The Image Works

Elizabeth II could literally feel the weight of duty—between her vestments, crown, and scepters, more than forty-five pounds’ worth—on her petite frame.

The Queen wearing the five-pound St. Edward’s Crown and her golden coronation robes after her crowning by the Archbishop of Canterbury, June 2, 1953. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

After a seven-mile progress through London in the pouring rain, the Queen had a chilled nose and hands from the drafty carriage.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip traveling to Buckingham Palace after the coronation in the twenty-four-foot-long Gold State Coach, built in the eighteenth century, June 2, 1953. Reginald Davis MBE (London)

Charles portrayed his mother as a remote figure during his unhappy childhood, and described his father as overbearing and insensitive.

Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in the Buckingham Palace Gardens watching their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne, 1957. Photograph by Snowdon, Camera Press London

In the evening before the ceremony, the Queen often works at her desk, wearing the purple velvet crown glittering with 3,000 diamonds as she gets accustomed to having nearly three pounds sitting on her head.

The Queen reading her speech at the state opening of Parliament, with Prince Philip seated to her left, and her ladies-in-waiting to her right, October 1958. EMPICS Archive/Press Association Images

Although still not inclined toward hugging and kissing, the Queen showed more of her playful streak with her two youngest children, Andrew and Edward.

The Queen holding her three-month-old son, Prince Edward, as she greets the crowds with Prince Philip and four-year-old Prince Andrew on the Buckingham Palace balcony after Trooping the Colour, June 13, 1964. Fox Photos/Getty Images

“It’s nice to hibernate for a bit when one leads such a very moveable life.”

Elizabeth II riding into the hills above Balmoral Castle in Scotland with her corgis in tow, 1965. Photograph by Godfrey Argent, Camera Press London

Parents and children were bound by an appreciation of country traditions and rituals, including being smeared with blood on their cheeks after killing their first stag.

The Queen and Prince Philip with (from left) Princess Anne, Prince Charles, Prince Edward, and Prince Andrew during the family’s annual holiday at Balmoral, August 22, 1972. Lichfield/Getty Images

“Whoever invented these robes wasn’t very practical, even in the days when somebody wore clothes like these.”

Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in the procession to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor for the annual Service of Thanksgiving honoring the knights of the Order of the Garter, the Queen’s most prestigious Order of Chivalry, June 1975. Reginald Davis MBE (London)

“As a human being one always has hope, and one always has perhaps the gambling instinct, that one’s horse is going to be better than the next man’s horse, and that’s why one goes on doing it.”

The Queen and Prince Philip in a landau for the traditional Royal Ascot procession on the grassy straight mile at the racecourse, June 1980. Reginald Davis MBE (London)

It was the first time the public had witnessed so vividly the unflinching physical courage and equilibrium that friends and courtiers had seen privately.

Elizabeth II riding sidesaddle with Prince Philip at Trooping the Colour shortly after a gunman had fired six blanks at her from the crowd, June 13, 1981. Reginald Davis MBE (London)

Diana put on a good show that day, but in fact had sunk into postnatal depression that she later called her “dark ages.”

The Queen, Prince Philip, and the Queen Mother with Charles as Diana holds Prince William after his christening at Buckingham Palace, August 4, 1982. Kent Gavin, Royal Photographer

“I knew before we came that we have exported many of our traditions to the United States,” the Queen deadpanned, “but I had not realized before that weather was one of them.”

Ronald Reagan reacting as Elizabeth II commented on the six days of torrential downpours during her visit with Prince Philip to California, March 3, 1983. Diana Walker/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Fergie regularly rode with the Queen and “felt favored and blessed … I was robust and jolly and not too highly strung.”

Prince Andrew and his bride, the former Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson—the Duke and Duchess of York—riding in a landau to Buckingham Palace after their wedding, July 23, 1986. Tim Graham/Getty Images

“She felt very much at home in Kentucky. I saw an atmosphere of informality and gaiety that I never saw in England.”

Elizabeth II on her fourth private holiday touring the stud farms in Lexington, Kentucky, with her hosts, Will Farish (left) and his wife Sarah (far right), as well as the Queen’s racing manager, Henry Porchester, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon (second from right), May 1991. David Perry/Lexington Herald-Leader

Mandela and President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia were the only world leaders to call the Queen “Elizabeth” without causing offense.

The Queen and President Nelson Mandela of South Africa riding in a carriage to Buckingham Palace at the beginning of his state visit, July 9, 1996. Tim Graham/Getty Images

“It had not just been for work. It had been their floating home.”

Elizabeth II wiping away a tear as she, Prince Philip, and Prince Charles watch the decommissioning ceremony for the royal yacht Britannia in Portsmouth after forty-three years of service, December 11, 1997. Tim Graham/Getty Images

“Sophie first of all respects her as the Queen, then as a mother-in-law, but she also understands that she is a human being and treats her that way.”

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie Rhys-Jones—the Earl and Countess of Wessex—in the carriage procession after their wedding in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, June 19, 1999. Tim Graham/Getty Images

“Lucian had a whale of a time with the Queen. They talked about racing and horses.”

Elizabeth II having her portrait painted by Lucian Freud in the Friary Court Studio at St. James’s Palace, 2001. David Dawson, courtesy of Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert

“The happy couple are now in the winners’ enclosure,” the Queen declared.

Prince Charles after his marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, with the Queen outside St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, April 9, 2005. Bob Collier/Press Association Images

“She gave me a look only a mother could give a child.”

President George W. Bush winking at Queen Elizabeth II during a welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn, May 7, 2007, after he mistakenly recalled her visit to the United States in 1776 rather than 1976. Anwar Hussein/EMPICS/Press Association Images

At the heart of the celebration was the infectious joy of a young man and woman who both loved and understood each other.

The wedding of Prince William and his bride, Catherine Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at Westminster Abbey, April 29, 2011. Ian Jones Photography

The Queen signaled her approval with an almost imperceptible nod.

The bride and groom bowing and curtsying to Queen Elizabeth II following their marriage service. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Press Association Images