The Queen: Royality and Reality

Although this evenhanded profile of Great Britain's Elizabeth II and her family draws heavily on now familiar revelations of past and present royals, it deals with them in sober historical perspective. Harris, a staff member of the London Observer, presents Elizabeth as a woman of probity and emotional reserve who was insulated as a child in a loving but much beset family. Like the rest of the royals, she was not well educated or given to intellectual pursuits, but she has a strong curiosity and is thoroughly imbued with a sense of duty. Vivid sketches of her close relatives illumine the ambience in which she grew up and cast some light on her children's problems. The author analyzes the obstacles presented by Charles's marital problems to his assumption of the throne and suggests that the Prince of Wales may well prove worthy in time. Harris outlines economies and personnel changes at the palace that, he suggests, could rescue the monarchy from current criticism and restore to it the esteem it enjoyed as the symbol of national identity. Photos. (Feb.)