Our rebel Queen! SECRETS OF THE MONARCH'S REIGN

A book reveals how Her Majesty shaped the biggest events of her time

- Judy Kean

She's the most widely recognised woman in the world and thanks to a life lived in the public eye, we know a huge amount about the Queen.

But now royal biographer Robert Hardman has lifted the lid on what has really gone on behind the scenes - including in the turbulent last couple of years - in the life of Her Majesty.

In his latest book, Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II, published to mark her 70 years as monarch, Robert looks at some of the most defining moments of her reign, recalling what the public saw and what was happening behind closed doors.

For example, in 1992, when one disaster after another befell the royal family - leading to the Queen dubbing it her annus horribilis - it was clear she was deeply saddened by events such as the break-up of Prince Charles and Prince Andrew's marriages.

But she wasn't as shocked as many people thought she would be. The Queen was well aware there were problems between her sons and their wives Princess Diana and Sarah, Duchess of York. Nearly 40 years after telling her sister Princess Margaret she could not marry a divorced man, she was a lot more pragmatic about divorce being an option for her children (Princess Anne also officially ended her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips that year).

She told a courtier, “You know, I've decided I am not old-fashioned enough to be Queen.”