Biographer Morton (Elizabeth & Margaret) reveals "the woman behind the mask" in this fluid if familiar biography of Queen Elizabeth II. He begins in 1936, when King Edward VIII abdicated to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson, elevating Elizabeth's father to the throne and sending the 10-year-old princess to scratch out the name "Simpson" from her books. Also noted are the scandal caused by governess Marion "Crawfie" Crawford's 1950 memoir about her time with the royal family, and Elizabeth's reluctance to seriously consider other suitors after naval cadet Philip Mountbatten "caught the eye of the princess" aboard the royal yacht in 1939. Elizabeth's heightened role during WWII "emphasized and endorsed her stoical, reserved character," according to Morton, and led to sibling rivalry with her sister Margaret as she assumed more responsibilities. In a speech broadcast on her 21st birthday, Elizabeth vowed to the British public that she would devote her life "to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong"; less than five years later, she acceded to the throne after her father's death. Morton also delves into the "existential crisis" caused by the simultaneous implosions of Prince Charles and Prince Andrew's marriages, and recounts Prince Harry's demands that his fiancée Meghan Markle receive a special tiara fitting before their 2018 wedding. Incisive character sketches and a touch of gossip make this admiring biography go down smooth. (Nov.)

The longtime royal observer delivers a fond remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022). Having written of the British royal family in numerous other works, notably about the close relationship between the queen and her sister, Margaret, British journalist Morton writes with reverence about his subject and adds some personal touches to her story. "The queen had been part of my life forever," he writes. "Growing up, the queen and her family were like the white cliffs of Dover, immutable, impregnable, there. A fact of life, like breathing." Composed while she was still alive, the biography was fashioned as a memorial to her unprecedented 70 years on the throne (she acceded upon her father's death, in 1952, at age 25) as well as her early life. In the preface, Morton offers glimpses of "the woman behind the mask" (in this case, under the crown), many of which he gleaned during his work as an attending journalist on her California tour in 1983. He moves chronologically through the fairly well-known facts of Elizabeth's life, adding poignant details--e.g., about young Elizabeth's sensible ways and how she and her sister would gaze out from windows at the crowds gathered outside, gazing constantly in at her ("both sides wondering what the other was doing"). As the author reminds us, Elizabeth was not supposed to accede to the throne so early, and he shows readers how her husband, Philip, struggled to adapt to being second fiddle. "The left-leaning New Statesman magazine," writes Morton, "hoped that the new monarch, described as 'capable, energetic, and sensibly progressive,' would 'seize the opportunity to sweep away the old order at court and substitute a way of life that matches the times they live in.' " However, scandals among the family concerning Margaret, the queen's sons, and their wives caused seemingly irreparable damage to the monarchy until only recently, when William and Kate Middleton rekindled a nostalgia for the institution. A fitting tribute to a long reign. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.