Book 1

The Crown, Volume 1

by Robert Lacey

Published 5 October 2017
The official book to the Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning Netflix drama, The Crown, with extensive research, additional material and beautifully reproduced photographs.

'The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep.
So help me God.'

Elizabeth Mountbatten never expected her father to die so suddenly, so young, leaving her with a throne to fill and a global institution to govern. Crowned at 25, she was already a wife and mother. Follow the journey of a woman learning to become a queen.

As Britain lifted itself out of the shadow of war, the new monarch faced her own challenges. Her mother doubted her marriage; her uncle-in-exile derided her abilities; her husband resented the sacrifice of his career and family name; while her rebellious sister embarked on a love affair that threatened the centuries-old links between the Church and the Crown. This is the story of how Elizabeth II drew on every ounce of resolve to ensure that the Crown always came out on top.

Netflix's original series The Crown dramatised Peter Morgan's powerful portrayal of Britain's longest-reigning monarch. Written by royal biographer Robert Lacey, The Crown: The Inside History adds expert and in-depth detail to the events of the series, painting an intimate portrait of life inside Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street. Here is Elizabeth II as we've never seen her before.

Book 2

The Crown, Volume 2

by Robert Lacey

Published 18 November 2019
The fascinating royal and social history that inspired Seasons 2 and 3 of The Crown, written by the show's historical consultant.

In this incredible companion to the second and third seasons of Netflix's acclaimed series The Crown, renowned biographer and the show's historical consultant Robert Lacey takes us through the real history that inspired the drama. Covering two tumultuous decades in the reign of Elizabeth II, Lacey looks at the key social, political and personal moments and the effect they had not only on the royal family, but also on the world around them. From the Suez Canal Crisis and the US/Russia space race to the Duke of Windsor's collaboration with Hitler and the rumoured issues with the royal marriage, the book will provide a fascinating insight into the two decades that the show covers, revealing the truth behind the fiction on-screen.

Extensively researched and complete with beautifully reproduced photographs, this is a unique look behind the history that inspired the show and the years that would prove to be the making of The Queen.