Painfully shy, Elizabeth Windsor's personality was well suited to her youthful ambition of living quietly in the country. But when her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated, she became heir to the throne—embarking on a transformative journey that would test her as a woman and queen. In this biography, Andrew Morton takes an in-depth look at her nation's longest reigning monarch, exploring the influence Queen Elizabeth II had on both Britain and the rest of the world.