Penguin Michael Joseph signs Brandreth’s ‘unique’ biography of Queen Elizabeth II

Penguin Michael Joseph will publish a “personal yet comprehensive” biography of Queen Elizabeth II by Gyles Brandreth entitled Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait. 

Daniel Bunyard, publishing director, acquired world rights in all languages, including audio, from Jonathan Lloyd, president at Curtis Brown. The biography will be published on 8th December 2022. 

Brandreth has written the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s life “candidly with grace and sensitivity from the view of someone who knew her, her late husband Philip and the wider royal family”. Brandreth has been waiting and preparing to write the book for many years, the publisher said. 

Brandreth commented: “I first met the Queen in 1968, when I was 20 and she was 42.  Over the next 50 years I had the privilege of meeting her many times, both at public and at private events. Because I keep a diary, and have done since I was a boy, I kept a record of all those encounters, and my conversations with the Queen over the years and my observations of her at close quarters are what I hope will make this account of her extraordinary life a truly intimate portrait.”

“She was extraordinary – not simply our longest reigning sovereign, but also a very unusual human being. And having met her and travelled with her, and talked at length, too, with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, and other members of her family, members of her staff and her friends, what I have tried to do in this new book is both tell her story and discover how she became the very special person that she was. Who was she? What was she really like?  And why was she the exceptional person she was? Those are the questions I’m setting out to answer in Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait.” 

“At a time of national mourning, Gyles has expressed the sadness, nostalgia and sense of wonder and gratitude that so many people have felt yet not had words for,” said Bunyard. “Perhaps more than anyone else, he’s bridged a gap between us and the royal family, thanks to his unmatched insight and connections. This is such a warm, fascinating and personal portrait of a remarkable woman and a truly remarkable life, told as only he is able to tell. I feel immensely proud for us to be publishing it.”