Meet the Queen. The public and private life of the world’s most famous monarch

Born in 1926, married in 1947, crowned as Queen in 1953, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has carried out her duty for more than six decades. TASCHEN celebrates her remarkable royal story with a new edition of Her Majesty, a definitive photographic collection of her public and private life.

Brimming with history, tradition, glamour, and culture, the book spans the Queen’s early years right through to her most recent state tours and ceremonies. Along the way, we trace her coming of age during World War II; her marriage, motherhood, and coronation; her encounters with such icons of their age as the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, and JFK; and her extensive international travels. We visit the spectacular royal palaces and enjoy the infectious celebration of royal weddings and jubilees. We witness the elegance of official portraits, and the tenderness and humor of informal and family moments.

As much a showcase of top photographers as a royal celebration, Her Majesty includes the work of such luminaries as Cecil Beaton, Studio Lisa, Dorothy Wilding, Karsh, Lord Snowdon, David Bailey, Patrick Lichfield, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rankin, and Annie Leibovitz.

The editor:

Reuel Golden is the former editor of the British Journal of Photography and the Photography editor at TASCHEN. His TASCHEN titles include: Mick Rock: The Rise of David Bowie, both London and New York Portrait of a City books, Andy Warhol. Polaroids, The Rolling Stones, Her Majesty, Football in the 1970s, the National Geographic editions, and The David Bailey SUMO.

The author:

Christoper Warwick is a highly respected royal historian, writer and broadcaster. The best-selling authorized biographer of HRH The Princess Margaret — Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts — and of a number of other best-sellers, including George and Marina, Duke and Duchess of Kent and The Life and Death of Ella Grand Duchess of Russia, he also acts as a freelance royal commentator. As an authority on modern royal history, he regularly takes part in national television and radio programmes, as well as television documentaries relating to modern royal history from the reign of Queen Victoria to the present day.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Queen. The extraordinary public and private life of the world’s most famous monarch

This tribute, published on the occasion of the 2012 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II — 60 years on the throne — celebrates the extraordinary private and public life of Her Majesty. Born in 1926, married in 1947, crowned as Queen in 1953, for over six decades she has steadfastly and loyally carried out her duty on behalf of her country, never speaking out of turn or putting a foot wrong. The book tells her remarkable royal story through hundreds of stunning photographs, many previously unseen and sourced from multiple archives in the United Kingdom (including the Royal Collection), Continental Europe, and the United States. These images have it all: history, politics, glamour, fashion, culture, travel, and, of course, hats.

As the Queen, she has endlessly traveled the globe, been introduced to every leading icon of the 20th century, including the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, and JFK, attended thousands of receptions and state functions; while concurrently being a mother to four children under the constant glare of public scrutiny. These photographs cover every aspect of her reign: the early years, coming of age during World War II, becoming a wife, Queen and mother, the Royal Tours, the palaces, the crowds, the weddings, the Royal Family, the Silver Jubilee in 1977, and the later years. God save her indeed!

Photographers included: Cecil Beaton, Studio Lisa, Dorothy Wilding, Karsh, Lord Snowdon, Patrick Lichfield, as well as more contemporary work from the likes of Wolfgang Tillmans, Rankin, Annie Leibovitz, and many others.

The editor:

Reuel Golden graduated in politics from the University of Sussex, England, and is the former editor of the British Journal of Photography and executive editor at Photo District News. He has edited on titles including both New York and London Portrait of a City, Her Majesty and Harry Benson. The Beatles.

The author:

Christopher Warwick is an acknowledged authority on modern royal history. He is the author of the best-selling authorized biography of HRH The Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II. His other books include George VI & Queen Elizabeth, Two Centuries of Royal Weddings, and Abdication. He has written widely for the national press in the UK and regularly appears in television documentaries and on news items for, among other networks, the BBC, Channel 4, ARD and CTV (Canadian Television).

This Royal Collection contains one of the finest and most varied collections of Old Master paintings in the world. In this major new catalogue Sir Christopher White presents 147 works by a number of Flemish artists who were active principally in the seventeenth century. No catalogue of this area of the Collection has until now been available. The catalogue opens with a detailed account of the growth of the collection from the early Stuarts to the reign of Queen Victoria. Particular attention is given to Charles I's close relations with Rubens, and since later members of the royal family also made important acquisitions, the full range of Rubens' practice is covered by the catalogue: there are works entirely by his hand as well as works carried out with known collaborators or with the help of his studio.An outstandingly good group of genre paintings by David Teniers the Younger many acquired by George IV is examined and illustrated, and paintings by Jan Brueghel, Gonzalez Coques, Frans Francken, Frans Snyders, Karl Philips Spierincks and Jan Wildens round out the collection.