Queen and Us: The Second Elizabethan Age

'Is she popular? Dos she wish to be? ... Unlike her mother, she does not expect to be loved, and unlike her, she was probably more popular in her youth than in her older age, because she then represented vivacity and glamour, and today she represents stability. She refuses to be charismatic. Her reign has been a triumph of survival, but survival, as at Dunkirk, is only marginally triumphant. Her Golden Jubilee indicated that she is respected and liked, and that we are grateful to her, sometimes sorry for her, but the crowds were demonstrating more satisfaction than delight. They were pleased to be British, and pleased that she is the most British of us all.'NIGEL NICOLSONNicolson, Nigel is the author of 'Queen and Us: The Second Elizabethan Age' with ISBN 9780297829409 and ISBN 0297829408.