Today sees the procession of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, the last place she will lie in state before her funeral on Monday. In the days since her passing, The Crown has leapt back into Netflix’s top three most popular shows in the UK, with viewership soaring more than 800%. This underscores the UK’s endless fascination with our longest-serving monarch, but Peter Morgan’s award-winning TV drama famously features many fictionalised moments. If you want to know more about the Queen’s life, you’ll enjoy Queen Of Our Times by Robert Hardman (£20, Pan Macmillan), an expansive biography of Elizabeth II that draws on interviews with royal confidantes and world leaders. For glossy photography in a sleek coffee table tome, Her Majesty: A Photographic History 1926–Today (£50, Taschen) is the ultimate choice – or reminisce about the monarch’s colour-blocking outfits in Our Rainbow Queen by Sali Hughes (£7, Plume Books).
Into documentaries? We’ve curated a list of essential watches about the Queen, from the BBC’s Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen (featuring never-before-seen home movies) to Netflix’s exploration of her relationship with her sister (Elizabeth And Margaret: Love And Loyalty). If you prefer audio deep dives, The Short History Of… podcast covers everything from the Queen’s earliest public appearances to her efforts to modernise an ancient role. Finally, the FT Weekend podcast’s new episode ‘The legacy of Queen Elizabeth II’ reflects on the cultural influence of her reign – including personal stories from those gathered at Buckingham Palace this weekend. With 35-hour queues expected to see her lying in state in London, it’s clear that her life and death have had a profound impact on many.