British historian Dr Anna Keay has been given the Herculean task of writing the official authorised biography of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Announced just two days before the Royal Family will come together to remember the beloved former monarch on the centenary of her birth on Tuesday, Buckingham Palace has announced that Dr Keay has secured the highly coveted job of trawling through the late Queen’s diaries, personal and official documents.
Her Late Majesty famously kept a daily diary throughout her life as monarch, spending around 15 minutes at the end of each day writing in it. She even continued entries until just two days before she died in September 2022.
The award-winning historian, biographer and creator will also have the green light to interview people who knew the Queen well throughout her life and service, including members of the Royal Family.
“It is a profound honour to have been asked to write the official biography of Queen Elizabeth II,” Dr Keay said of her appointment.
“She was our longest-reigning monarch and an extraordinary woman, whose life spanned a century of great change.
“I am deeply grateful to His Majesty The King for entrusting me with this responsibility and for granting me access to her papers, and will do all I can to do justice to her life and work.”
It is customary for each monarch to appoint a biographer to write the official life of the previous monarch, with Queen Elizabeth commissioning one for her father, King George VI. John Wheeler-Bennett was tasked with the job.
It will not be an easy undertaking for Dr Keay, best known for her work on British history, the monarchy and historic buildings, as she will have to cover a lengthy period, including several eyebrow-raising events that took place during the late Queen’s reign.
From the breakdown of her son and heir’s marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, to the decision to block her sister from marrying divorced royal equerry Peter Townsend and the more recent scandals engulfing her son, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the damage caused by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to quit the Firm.
Dr Keay won’t be able to simply skirt over such monumental events, but there will be an expectation that they be covered with sensitivity. It will be a work of huge historical importance and is expected to take years to come together.
The historian, whose previous works include an award-winning account of Britain after the Civil War, a biography of James, Duke of Monmouth and The Official Illustrated History of the Crown Jewels, will join the King and Queen at a reception at the British Museum on Tuesday.
At the event, the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee, of which she is a member, will present the recommended designs for the Queen Elizabeth Memorial in London.
Dr Keay, read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford and has a PhD from Queen Mary, University of London. She was formerly a Curator of Historic Royal Palaces and the Curatorial Director of English Heritage and is currently a Trustee of the Royal Collection Trust and Director of the Landmark Trust.
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