This is a rather shocking addition to the canon of modern writing about royalty: a book about the Queen and her family that fails to mention conspiracy theories about Princess Diana, the life and times of the Duchess of York (she does not actually make an appearance) or the drinking habits of Princes William and Harry. There is no reference to 'It's A Royal Knockout', and try as I may I can find not a single mention of Wallis Simpson or Group Captain Peter Townsend. Bold new territory indeed.

After ten years as one of Fleet Street's most distinguished royal correspondents, Robert Hardman is no ignoramus. He has often been the most reliable source of informed sanity for those puzzled by some sensational royal headline. Unlike so many in