Late Queen 'made missteps over family', official record of her contribution to public life says

by Hannah Furness

Elizabeth II "made some missteps" when it came to her family, the official record of her contribution to public life has said.

The late Queen's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB), the record of notable British public figures, records that the UK "ceased to be a great power in the world" during her reign.

The entry claims she adapted "slowly and not always enthusiastically" during her reign, which saw Britain evolve into "a multi-cultural, multi-faith, multi-ethnic society".

A spokesman for the DNB said: "At the Oxford DNB, we ask our authors to write a balanced account of a person's private and public life that will serve as a guide to modern Britain for decades to come."

The citation comes before the commemorations for what would have been the late Queen's 100th birthday later this month, and has been described by one royal expert as "mean-spirited and begrudging".

Some 229 entries have been added to the record relating to notable public figures who died in 2022.

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Other entries this year include Ronald Allison, the late Queen's press secretary from 1973-1978, Hilary Mantel, the author, and Vivienne Westwood, the fashion designer.

The citation for Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history who died aged 96 in September 2022, reads: "During the course of her reign, the United Kingdom ceased to be a great power in the world, and evolved into a multi-cultural, multi-faith, multi-ethnic society, and the country in which she died was very different from that in which she had been born.

"To all this she adapted, slowly and not always enthusiastically, but on the whole wisely and well."

It adds: "Although she made some mis-steps (particularly in relation to her family) she provided reassurance for a rapidly changing country, deftly fronted retreat and reinvention abroad, gradually adjusted the British monarchy to the post-Victorian and post-imperial world, and did all this without ever letting on in public that was what she was doing."

"She had not been born to succeed, but by her example, her self-discipline, her public spiritedness, and her longevity, she did so in more ways than one, living out perhaps the most remarkable life of her times."

The family missteps mentioned will be read by the public as a reference to her handling of the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandal, as well as her children's high-profile divorces and the initial public response to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: "Whilst I wouldn't expect the entry to be gushing, it comes across as rather mean-spirited and begrudging.

"There's nothing inaccurate about it but, in my opinion, it could – and should – have been more upbeat."

Oxford University Press will also publish a longer biography of Elizabeth II as part of the DNB, written by Sir David Cannadine.

At more than 100 pages, the entry concludes: "She sought to embody national identity, historical continuity, and political stability, she created a new global role for a new global community, and she did more than anyone to hold the UK and the Commonwealth together.

"She had not been born to succeed, but by her example, her self-discipline, her public spiritedness, and her longevity, she did so in more ways than one, living out perhaps the most remarkable life of her times.

"'You can do a lot,' she once opined, 'if you're properly trained. And I hope I have been.' She had been, and she did."

The DNB contains biographies of more than 63,000 individuals, written by more than 14,000 contributors, and with more than 12,000 portrait images.

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