Sovereign: Elizabeth II & the Windsor Dynasty

Discusses Elizabeth II of Great Britain, revealing her as a deft administrator of great moral strength and the ideological opposite of the outspoken Margaret Thatcher

Flamini ( Ava ) adds little to the oft-published history of today's British royals with this gossipy retelling of events in the lives of Elizabeth II and those in her orbit. We're reminded of Edward VIII's 1936 abdication that brought his brother to the throne, and of Princess Margaret Rose's affair with Peter Townsend that her sister, as queen, had to end; we're told about Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, flirting in public, and made privy to rumors about their daughter-in-law Di's roving eye. Flamini pays tribute to the accidental King George VI and his wife, Queen Mary, as monarchs during grueling war years and to Elizabeth II, a dedicated and hard-working ruler since she inherited the crown at age 25 in 1951. But the biography fails to evoke feeling for the human beings involved or, on the other hand, to titillate. Even the semi-inside on dit strikes a familiar note. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The publication of Flamini's biography of Elizabeth II is intended to coincide with the Queen's 65th birthday, but that seems to be its only purpose. There's nothing new here except a bit more political background than in other biographies. Two 1983 books, both titled The Queen (one by Ann Morrow: the other by Elizabeth Longford, and both reviewed in LJ 10/1/83), did serviceable jobs; Flamini's work rehashes old anecdotes and adds very little about the years since 1983. For a closer look at the early life of Elizabeth II, Anne Edwards's Royal Sisters ( LJ 9/1/90), covers the same ground and is much more interesting.
- Katharine Galloway Garstka, Intergraph Corp., Huntsville, Ala.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.