COMPACT GUIDE: ELIZABETH II

Elizabeth II’s life and reign have encompassed many pivotal events in the history of the House of Windsor and of Britain itself, from the abdication crisis to the marriage of Prince Harry to an American divorcee, from war with Nazi Germany to the murder of Mountbatten. She has been served by 13 Prime Ministers, witnessed the end of the British Empire, and seen sweeping changes in politics, technology and society. This is not only a portrait of the longest-reigning British monarch but a history of our times.