Andrew Morton bio of Queen Elizabeth II due in November

A pavement chalk artwork tribute depicting the late Queen Elizabeth II seen in central London. Photo: AP

The British author known in part for his news-making bestseller on Princess Diana has a biography of Queen Elizabeth II coming out Nov 15.

Andrew Morton’s The Queen was supposed to be published in 2023, but it was moved to this fall after the queen died last week at age 96.

“During her long and storied reign Queen Elizabeth II devoted herself to her family and the wider family of nations. During times of national celebration and concern, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, she was the glue who kept the nation together,” Morton said in a statement released recently by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group.

“Teasing out the character of the woman behind the impassive mask has been one of the challenges and fascinations of this biography,” he said.

The book updates a Morton biography published last year in Britain to mark the queen’s jubilee.

According to Grand Central, Morton drew upon archival research and his long relationships with palace insiders, including private secretaries and bodyguards. He has written unauthorised books on William, Prince of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex among others.

But he had the cooperation of his subject for the 1992 release Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words, in which Diana acknowledged marital troubles with Prince Charles, now King Charles III. - AP