Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I enjoy reading about Queen Elizabeth II and the British Royal Family, so I selected Sally Bedell Smith's Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch. Although Smith claims that this is not an authorized biography, it didn't take long to realize that this is actually an authorized unauthorized biography. While I admire Queen Elizabeth II, she has shown some warts over the years. Yet, this book follows the strict party-line when writing about the queen and Smith downplays anything that could be critical. Elizabeth the Queen provides just the shortest of backgrounds about Elizabeth's childhood. In fact, World War II has ended and Elizabeth turned 19 by page 23. Most of this book is dedicated to Elizabeth's time as queen, her marriage, her children, her mother and sister, her royal duties, her prime ministers, her travels, her estates, her horses and her dogs. There is much to admire about Elizabeth, who came to the throne as a young woman of 25. She always has a seriousness of purpose and devoted her life to her country and the Commonwealth. She has also adapted to change, although not something that Elizabeth found easy over the years. But red flags went up when I started to see all the friends, employees, and even cousins that were extensively quoted in Elizabeth the Queen. Smith even provides entries from Prince Charles' diaries. Such interviews would not be tolerated unless Elizabeth gave her approval for this biography. And because of this, this book is just a little too much of a white-wash. Smith's harshest treatment is saved for Diana, Princess of Wales. The adjectives that she uses to describe Diana are anything but complimentary (unstable, conniving, secretive, manipulative, etc.) and speculates that she may have suffered from "borderline personality disorder." Of course, Smith claims that the Royal Family was in no way responsible for what happened to Diana and that they were never cold and uncaring. Yet while the Royal Family takes no responsibility for Diana's actions, they certainly made sure to not make the same mistakes when Prince William married Catherine Middleton recently. Also, Smith mentions the tears that were in Elizabeth's eyes when Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor, was buried. Yet, she doesn't mention the hatred for Wallis that consumed the Queen Mum, and was thus transferred to Queen Elizabeth II. During the funeral service for the Duchess of Windsor, the name of the deceased was not once said aloud. Published in time for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, I'm sure Elizabeth the Queen will be a best seller. But overall, I found this biography a disappointment.