King Charles has reportedly agreed to grant unprecedented access to Queen Elizabeth II’s personal documents.
The British Monarch has appointed historian Anna Keay to write an official biography of Queen Elizabeth II, granting her unprecedented access to the Royal Archives and the late monarch’s personal and official documents.
Keay, also director of the Landmark Trust, will interview those who knew Queen Elizabeth II closely, including members of the Royal Family.
The appointment follows years of royal deliberation to select a historian for the late monarch’s official biography.
Keay studied modern history at Oxford and is known for her work on British history, the Crown, and historic buildings. S
She previously worked as a curator at Historic Royal Palaces (1995–2002) and won the 2023 Duff Cooper Prize for The Restless Republic, which was also shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.
Her other works include The Crown Jewels (2012), The Magnificent Monarch (2008), and The Last Royal Rebel (2016), a biography of James, Duke of Monmouth.
Keay described the King's decision to entrust her with this responsibility as a "profound honour" and expressed her deep gratitude.
"She was our longest-reigning monarch and an extraordinary woman, whose life spanned a century of great change," Keay said.
"I am deeply grateful to His Majesty the King for entrusting me with this responsibility and for granting me access to her papers, and will do all I can to do justice to her life and work," she noted.
The committee member is expected at a British Museum reception next week as the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee presents design proposals for the national memorial.
