The inside story of a thoroughly modern monarch told by the maker of ITV's upcoming documentary on Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee. This bestselling acclaimed biography of our Queen contains new material exclusive to the paperback edition.

History has known no monarch like her.

She has travelled farther than all her predecessors put together and lived longer than any of them. She has known more historic figures than anyone alive - from Churchill to Mandela, de Gaulle to Obama.

Now, the distinguished royal writer Robert Hardman has been granted rare and privileged access to the world of Queen Elizabeth II to produce this enthralling new portrait of one of the most popular public figures on Earth.

'So much has changed around the Queen yet she has remained utterly true to herself,' says Hardman. 'There is this timeless quality about her. The more you talk to Her Majesty's family and to her people, the more you look at her life, the more impressive the scale of her achievement becomes.'

Here is the inside story.