The Last Queen

Elizabeth II's Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor

By: Clive Irving

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

A timely and revelatory new biography of Queen Elizabeth (and her family) exploring how the Windsors have evolved and thrived as the modern world has changed around them.

Clive Irving’s stunning new narrative biography, The Last Queen, probes the question of the British monarchy’s longevity.

In 2021, the Queen Elizabeth II finally appears to be at ease in the modern world, helped by the new generation of Windsors. But through Irving’s unique insight there emerges a more fragile institution, whose extraordinarily dutiful matriarch has managed to persevere with dignity, yet in doing so made a Faustian pact with the media.

The Last Queen is not a conventional biography - and the book is therefore not limited by the traditions of that genre. Instead, it follows Elizabeth and her family’s struggle to survive in the face of unprecedented changes in our attitudes toward the royal family, with the critical eye of an investigative reporter who is present and involved on a highly personal level.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2021 Clive Irving (P)2021 Oasis Audio

Very good, but not what I was looking for

Perhaps I misunderstood the summary of the book, but I was expecting it to be on the Queen's effort to save the monarchy into the modern age and to keep the institution relevant. The book somewhat addressed these topics, but it really was just a history of the royal family and their various crises over the years. I still learned a lot and it was interesting, but it wasn't what I was looking for.

A chronology that brings us to the current day

It is always good when a book makes you want to read another book mentioned within. Glad I had familiarized myself with some of the back story of the players as this compendium covers so much breadth it has slight room for depth.

Elizabeth Regina forever.

So much to learn. She is fascinating. Living history through her experience is a gift to us all.

Everyone EXCEPT the Queen should be the title

4 hours in this book has talked about just about everyone except queen Elizabeth II. It could be useful as a lesson about the British monarchy, if it were told in chronological order. But more than anything it seems to be a recounting of this reporter's time as a reporter during Elizabeth's reign. I bought this expecting to hear more about her since it is titled The Last Queen. I just wanna shout at this guy to get on with it already... I think I'll be returning this book

Disappointed

I got this book to learn more about the Queen. At times I thought I was listening to an autobiography by the Author. There was too much use of the pronoun “I”. I couldn’t wait for the book to end.

A completely self indulgent waste of time!

This book is not about the queen nor is it focused on the Windsor family. The majority of this book is a self indulgent and ego stroking look back at a journalist’s career (Clive Irving) who nobody but the author would consider to be anything but mediocre. Every story told elevates the author to the lead role and promotes his dear friends Margaret and Tony to martyrdom. Petty shots at the Queen and other generational giants are frequent and completely born of jealousy and an inferiority complex that shows no bounds. Don’t waste you money or your time, the only person who needs a copy of this book is Clive and that’s who he wrote it for.