Like her father and grandfather before her, Queen Elizabeth II was not born to be monarch. Yet she led her people through more social change than any British sovereign during a life spanning abdication, war, romance, danger, tragedy and triumph. Robert Hardman, one of Britain's most acclaimed royal biographers, reflects on her extraordinary life and cultural impact.

With original insights from family, friends and staff, new interviews with world leaders plus unseen photographs and papers, including diaries and letters from the Royal Archives, the Royal biographer reveals hidden wartime secrets, the inside story of historic Royal reforms, the Queen’s relations with her ministers and international leaders, and her strategy when confronted with family and constitutional crises.

With the end of the second Elizabethan era, is it time to re-think the institution? After the mass outpouring of grief and 12-mile-long queues in London to pay respects, is there any life left in Republicanism?