Includes bibliographical references and index.

A royal education -- Love match -- Destiny calls -- "Ready, girls?" -- Affairs of state -- Made for television -- New beginnings -- Refuge in routines -- Daylight on the Magic -- Ring of silence -- "Not bloody likely!" -- Feeling the love -- Iron Lady and English Rose -- A very special relationship -- Family fractures -- Annus horribilis -- Tragedy and tradition -- Love and grief -- Moving pictures -- A soldier at heart -- Long live the Queen.

Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who has led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last sixty years with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.