The Lownie Report Podcast: Ian Lloyd on Queen Elizabeth II

Get Ian's new book here! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Queen-70-Cha... I was delighted to sit down recently with Ian Lloyd, one of Britain's most distinguished royal biographers and a former professional royal photographer who spent years alongside the Queen in the 1980s and 90s. Ian has just published a brilliant new biography, ' 70 Chapters in the Life of Elizabeth II', timed to coincide with what would have been her hundredth birthday, and he brings to the subject not only meticulous research, drawing on interviews with relatives, courtiers and close confidantes including Lady Pamela Hicks and Mrs Rhodes, but the rare perspective of someone who witnessed the Queen at close quarters, camera in hand, across decades of public life. 00:00:00 Introduction: Ian Lloyd and his new biography of Queen Elizabeth II 00:00:18 Why short chapters? Writing in lockdown while caring for his mother 00:01:47 The art of royal biography: using anecdote to reveal character 00:02:00 Photographing the Queen in the 80s and 90s and what she gave away 00:02:37 Research methods: contacts, courtiers and Lady Pamela Hicks 00:04:31 How royal access has changed: NDAs, the Diana effect and palace spin 00:05:31 The 1953 coronation debate: should it be televised? 00:06:28 The 1969 Royal Family film: was it a step forward or backwards? 00:07:20 The influence of George VI: "What would the King do?" 00:08:54 Missed opportunities for reform and how the Queen Mother held her back 00:15:12 The Queen's legendary frugality: Tupperware, Woolworths and saved wrapping paper 00:15:31 The Queen Mother's £4 million debts and the striking contrast with her daughter 00:16:32 Angela Kelly and the revolution in the Queen's wardrobe 00:17:51 Backstairs Billy and the inner court of the Queen Mother 00:18:29 Private secretaries: Charteris, Geidt and the Queen's working relationships 00:19:36 Prime Ministers: Churchill, Wilson, Douglas-Home, Thatcher and a telling remark to Trump 00:20:57 Biggest surprises in the research 00:21:11 The Queen's lonely childhood and her hidden friendship with Sonia Graham Hodgson 00:22:52 What will the official biography reveal? 00:23:47 Letters, correspondence and the four-page letter about a dead corgi 00:28:11 Prince Philip: a traumatic early life and why the Royal Family gave him stability 00:30:25 Was the Queen a good mother? A comparison with Princess Margaret 00:39:17 The monarchy today: peaks, troughs and the challenge of disinterest 00:39:49 What's next for Ian Lloyd? 00:40:25 Lost history: what may never be known about Queen Elizabeth II