The Queen is the most iconic figure in modern Britain. For more than sixty years she has been on every stamp, every coin, and starred in every one of our Christmas days. But how well do we really know our beloved monarch?

Her Majesty has written a letter to her most trusted private secretary, Sir Jeremy, every week for several years. For the first time, she has allowed these letters to be published. Honest, charming, and hilarious, they show what she has really been thinking: about her mischievous grandson Harry, her beloved baby great-grandson George, the press, Dame Helen Mirren, and the various politicians she has known over the years.

Yours E.R. offers a glimpse into what life might be like for our Queen - and what, in her private moments, she might make of it all.

Terence Blacker is the author of five novels, the most recent of which is The Twyning, and of the acclaimed biography of Willie Donaldson , You Cannot Live as I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This. He writes a weekly column for the Independent.
He lives in Norfolk with his partner Angela and their dog Ruby.