Why Queen Elizabeth’s personal diaries will be read next year

Queen Elizabeth’s personal diaries are likely to be reviewed over the next two years, according to royal biographer Robert Hardman.

During a conversation on HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, Robert explained that, whilst the public is unlikely to see the contents of Her late Majesty’s pages, it is expected that the King will “appoint an official biographer” who will “write the official life of the previous monarch.”

He said: “Well, I’m not sure we will see them. You know, we won’t be able to rummage through them ourselves. I very much doubt they’ll be published. But what will happen is, you know, in fairly short order, I would expect, in the next year or two, the King to appoint an official biographer because each monarch appoints an official biographer to write the official life of the previous monarch.

“Now, obviously, that hasn’t happened for a very long time. The last time was after the death of George VI, when the Queen appointed John Wheeler-Bennett back in the early ’50s to write the life of her father.”
Also in the episode, Robert Hardman discussed the intriguing details of royal funerals, including their codenames, which he covers in his new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.
Why Queen Elizabeth’s personal diaries will be read next year
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Queen Elizabeth writing in a book© WPA Pool
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Why Queen Elizabeth’s personal diaries will be read next year
The late Monarch died in September 2022…
Isabelle Casey
Isabelle Casey
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1 hour ago
Nov 16, 2024, 1:47 PM GMT
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Queen Elizabeth’s personal diaries are likely to be reviewed over the next two years, according to royal biographer Robert Hardman.

During a conversation on HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, Robert explained that, whilst the public is unlikely to see the contents of Her late Majesty’s pages, it is expected that the King will “appoint an official biographer” who will “write the official life of the previous monarch.”

Queen Elizabeth in pink coat and a printed Hermes scarf© Getty
The Queen’s diaries will be read by a royally-appointed biographer
He said: “Well, I’m not sure we will see them. You know, we won’t be able to rummage through them ourselves. I very much doubt they’ll be published. But what will happen is, you know, in fairly short order, I would expect, in the next year or two, the King to appoint an official biographer because each monarch appoints an official biographer to write the official life of the previous monarch.

“Now, obviously, that hasn’t happened for a very long time. The last time was after the death of George VI, when the Queen appointed John Wheeler-Bennett back in the early ’50s to write the life of her father.”

Listen to the full episode below.

LISTEN: A Right Royal Podcast

Also in the episode, Robert Hardman discussed the intriguing details of royal funerals, including their codenames, which he covers in his new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.

He said: “The fact is, anything that’s going to involve thousands of troops, a large part of the police and all the other services, as well as all the broadcasters and media, requires a few plans.”

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“With Queen Elizabeth II, planning began in earnest for her farewell a good 20 years earlier with what was known as Operation London Bridge. That was the title that the previous Duke of Norfolk gave to the funeral plans for the monarch, with other funeral plans for other members of the family given different bridge designations.

Adding: “So the Queen Mother, for example, was Operation Tay Bridge and the Prince of Wales [Charles] was Operation Menai Bridge, Menai Bridge being the bridge between Anglesey and Wales. And so that process has resumed, as one might expect.

“But it was quite interesting to discover that, actually, the designation for the monarch remains Operation London Bridge and for the Prince of Wales is Operation Menai Bridge still. Whereas previously, for Prince William, it was Operation Clare Bridge, because Clare Bridge is a famous bridge in Cambridge, and he was the Duke of Cambridge.”