By Invitation | The death of the queen

A.N. Wilson on the art of Queen Elizabeth II’s communication

The biographer considers the ways in which she did her job so well

WAS IT LUCK, that she was personally so well-suited to the role of constitutional monarch? Or did she make herself become the figure who performed this modest office so well? Nearly all other jobs in the world can be defined in the positive terms of what is required. For the constitutional monarch, the job qualifications seem to emphasise the negative: not politically active, but politically astute; not the object of a cult of personality, but nonetheless on frequent display; not obviously a member of any cosy club or interest group.

This article appeared in the By Invitation section of the print edition under the headline “A.N. Wilson on the art of Queen Elizabeth II’s communication”

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