On 9 September 2015, Queen Elizabeth II will become the longest-serving monarch in British history. During her sixty-three years on the throne, outside of her immediate family and circle of friends, no one has really discovered her true character. An important part of her role as monarch is to keep her emotions and feelings concealed, but there is one body of work that sheds real light on her thoughts, personality and the issues that really concern her: the Queen's own speeches. For many years, her personal Christmas address was the most-watched programme on television on Christmas Day, and millions still tune in to bring her into their homes and hear what she has to say. Now, in this wonderful, intimate portrait of Her Majesty, the world's oldest reigning monarch, Ingrid Seward uses the Queen's speeches as a starting point to provide a revealing insight into the character of the woman who has reigned over us since the days when Churchill was prime minister. Starting with her first-ever broadcast, in December 1940, when the teenaged Princess Elizabeth addressed a war-torn nation, right through the annus horribilis and on to the twenty-first century, the book picks out the most important moments in her life and assesses her response to them. Dismissed by some critics as bland fare, in fact the Queen's speeches have often been subtly but highly revealing. Along the way, she has addressed issues from the role of women and the challenges faced by the early immigrants through to the space age and the internet era.

Now, in The Queen's Speech, Ingrid Seward unpicks what the UK's longest-serving monarch has said to provide a fascinating portrait of this very public but also very private figure.