Why Queen Elizabeth Could Be The Last Queen Of England

Could Queen Elizabeth be the last woman to sit on the British throne? Royal biographer Clive Irving certainly thinks so. Irving, a journalist who has covered the royal family for decades, is the author of the forthcoming book The Last Queen: Elizabeth II's Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor.

The book opens with a shocking claim: "Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and will likely be the last queen of England."

In an interview with Glamour, Irving explained why he thinks that Queen Elizabeth will be the last woman to reign over the nation. While the royal family is beloved, many people feel that the monarchy itself is outdated. "The future of the monarchy itself will be decided over the next three to four decades, and it will depend on whether people feel it is relevant to their lives anymore," said Irving.

Given that Queen Elizabeth's throne will likely pass to her son, Prince Charles, and then on to her grandson and then great-grandson, Irving thinks it's likely that England will never see another queen as the monarchy could be abolished before another woman is in the direct line for the throne.

If Queen Elizabeth is the last queen, Irving thinks she will go down in history as a remarkable one. "I feel there have been three great queens in the history of England: Elizabeth I, Victoria, and Elizabeth II," he said.

Irving credits Queen Elizabeth with keeping the monarchy alive. "She prolonged the life of the monarchy far longer than it otherwise would have been prolonged," he said. "After the abdication, when her father came to the throne, there was a huge lack of respect for the Windsor family. Her father put it together very well during the war, and she finished her father's job and put it back together again. No one else has the capacity to do the same thing [in my opinion]."