Reviews for Queen : Jubilee Edition

The average rating for Queen : Jubilee Edition based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-03-07 00:00:00 David Seidenfeld A massive tome but extremely readable. Ben Pimlott is a political historian, particularly of the Left, and so this seemed an enticing combination to me. It is very well researched and balanced. Whilst quite revealing, EIIR remains an enigma - the secret of royal success I guess. We're left in no doubt that Elizabeth is enigmatic when Pimlott has her going off duty, closing the door behind her and becoming “herself” again. It made me think of the line in the Pistols' “God Save the Queen” (which was top, or near enough, of the charts at the time of her Silver Jubilee in 1977) ie “our figurehead is not what she seems”. Not surprisingly, the book explores in some detail her relationship with the various Prime Ministers. Her relationship with her first, Churchill, is compared with that between the teenage Queen Victoria and Melbourne. Whilst she had a good relationship with wily old Macmillan, who appeared to idolise her, he was not above using her and her position in his own interests; quite fatally so, Pimlott suggests, in the choice of 'Super Mac' 's successor. That choice was Alec Douglas-Home, who happened to be the Queen's good friend. She misjudged the situation (the PM and the 'Palace' contributing massively to the misjudgement, no doubt) and it spelt the end, effectively, of the constitutional role of the monarchy in the choice of a new prime minister to succeed the old one. Relationships between monarch and prime minister appear easier with some of the Labour PMs than Tory ones (eg Heath and Thatcher) but it's hard to believe that this indicates left wing tendencies on her part! Her education, such as it was, appears to have been geared to ensuring that she didn't turn out to be a blue stocking; as such it would appear to have been successful. Her grandmother, Queen Mary probably played a major part in her education, although the Queen emerged less interested in the arts perhaps than Queen Mary. Elizabeth II inherited her father's straight forward/matter of factness (I seem to recall Alan Bennett, who wrote the screen play “A Question of Attribution” having her say : “I like a good fact”). A disciplined person, efficient at clearing paperwork, she prefers a quiet, ordered life and hates confrontation whether in politics or in family relationships. This must have made for a very interesting relationship over the years with her husband who seems to have made confrontation his speciality! At the end of this tome we are left with the Elizabeth the enigma : the rather wooden public performance and the witty, garrulous, even mischievous one for private consumption. Queen Mary's lessons in keeping the royal upper lip stiff in public have been successful. Ben Pimlott seems to have quite a lot of time and respect for the Queen.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-02-18 00:00:00 Brian J. Lozoskie An terrific and mostly exciting book about an outstanding person.