HER MAJESTY
ELIZABETH OUR QUEEN, hy Richard Dimbleby; Hodder and Stoughton. English price, 12/6. |? would be hard to better this book as a popular, well-written, well-illus-trated, suitably dressed, handy and lowpriced biography of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and as an exposition of the practical, moral and mystical significance of the Crown in the political and social life of Britain and the Commonwealth. Richard Dimbleby is one of the most experienced and _ sure-footed of broadcasters on great occasions; he was on this duty at Princess Elizabeth’s wedding, and at the funeral of King George VI. He is equally skilful inthis wider and more difficult field, the life of Royalty, the history of the Crown, and authorities on the Constitution. All this he weaves into a human narrative. Heis warm but not’ effusive, and not uncritical, as when he contrasts the old Royal theory, practised in lesser degree by George V, "that strength of character could be fashioned only by severity and repression,’ with the methods applied to Princess Elizabeth. On the eve of the Coronation, this book has a very special appeal, but I think it will be re-read from time to time, and appealed to in family dis-
cussions on fact. There are two main impressions in my mind: the closer connection today between Throne and people, and the burden of office. The two conditions are connected. The way in which King George VI, when Duke of York, mingled with boys in camp, was indicative of the change. So were Princess Elizabeth’s travelling in public conveyances, her visits to law courts, where the fact that she heard an unsavoury case was considered an advantage, and her training with the A.T.S. in the war. The conditions in which she approached motherhood are also cited as illustrating the spirit of a freer age. On the load of unending duty piled on the Sovereign, and the strain caused by lack of privacy, Mr. Dimbleby is outspoken. Once when someone commented on the strenuousness of a tour, Princess Elizabeth replied: "At times like that you just have to forget about feeling tired." New Zealanders (and everybody else concerned) please note.
A.
M.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19530522.2.22.2
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 723, 22 May 1953, Page 12
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358HER MAJESTY New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 723, 22 May 1953, Page 12
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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