King Charles set to make royal history with official Queen Elizabeth II biography

Ben McCaffrey
Sat, 11 Apr 2026 14:23:10 +0000

King Charles is set to make royal history with an announcement on the official biography of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The King is looking to reflect Elizabeth's record-breaking 70-year reign by making her official, authorised biography a landmark piece of work in more ways than one.

According to the Daily Mail, the King is adamant the book should be penned by a female.

"His Majesty wanted the commission to go to a woman," a royal source revealed to the paper.

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"He has chosen Anna Keay, whom he knows and trusts to do a thorough job."

The 51-year-old author has longstanding ties to the monarchy.

Mrs Keay serves as head of the Landmark Trust, a building conservation charity that counts the King among its patrons.

She additionally holds a position as trustee of the Royal Collection Trust, the body responsible for overseeing the monarch's private art holdings.

Her connections to royal circles extend through her marriage to Simon Thurley, who chairs the National Lottery Heritage Fund and maintains a personal friendship with the King.

Mr Thurley previously led English Heritage as its chief executive.

The couple reside in a Grade I-listed medieval merchant's dwelling in King's Lynn, situated conveniently close to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

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Mrs Keay, a Scot herself, is also on the board for a group of experts who will propose a permanent memorial in Scotland to honour the late Queen.

Ideas will be presented to Scotland's First Minister, and later, the King.

For the historic book, Mrs Keay will be granted unparalleled access to Elizabeth II's personal documents, meticulously assembled by Paul Whybrew, who served the late Queen for decades as her Page of the Backstairs.

The timeline for completion remains uncertain, however.

William Shawcross, a close acquaintance of Queen Camilla, devoted considerable years to the authorised account of the Queen Mother's life.

That work did not reach publication until 2009, a full seven years following her death at 101.

Mr Shawcross reportedly secured a £1million advance for his work and was subsequently honoured with a knighthood in 2023.