The Queen is a succinct and intimate biography of Elizabeth II, who has managed to remain enigmatic yet is the most recognized woman in the world. For more than 30 years Robert Lacey has been gathering material from the members of the Queen's inner circle - her friends, relatives, private secretaries and prime ministers - and the results are distilled in this elegant, small format hardback, at under £10 contrasting deliberately with the other weighty and expensive Jubilee tomes.

Tracing the Queen's life through its major stages, and uncovering her greatest personal loves, and trials, The Queen offers the freshness of the first-hand insights and compelling story-telling for which Robert Lacey's best-selling biographies are famous.