March 30

Our Times: The Age of Elizabeth II
By A. N. Wilson

Nearly 350 years after the death of Elizabeth I, a second Elizabeth would become queen of England.

In this social biography, the author starts with a preview of the monumental cultural changes during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1952-2008 [time of publication]): mass immigration to the UK, loss of empire, disappointing politicians, fading church of England.  Wilson spends a lot of narrative on the royals' social lives, especially discussing the courtship of Elizabeth and Philip of Greece.  He discusses each of the prime ministers in turn; starting with Winston Churchill, first PM with whom Elizabeth collaborated.  Wilson does not have many positive words about the next eleven PMs.  He does offer an excellent analysis of Islamic terrorists in the UK, and an interesting discussion of faith.  Because Queen Elizabeth has served for such a long time, and because of England's relationship with so many other nations, this book gives a great picture of the broad brush of history throughout the 2nd half of the twentieth century and beyond.


Just to update the book, Elizabeth now serves with Theresa May, a 13th PM.  She is now the longest-serving British monarch, narrowly edging out Victoria as of this writing.