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Queen Elizabeth II, 94, is the bedrock upon which the Royal Family sits and one royal author has claimed that despite being “out of touch” she has been tantamount to its survival. In his sensational new book “The Last Queen: Elizabeth II’s Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor” author Clive Irving highlights the extraordinary way the Queen has held the monarchy together despite its inevitable decline.

The Last Queen will be published on January 5 and sheds new light on the inner workings of the Royal Family as well as claiming the Queen made a “Faustian pact” with media.

A press release introducing the book states: “It follows Elizabeth and her family’s struggle to survive in the face of unprecedented changes within the monarchy and Britain.

“As well as the world’s increased fascination with the royal family.

“‘Royal journalism became the most profitable stream of celebrity journalism, and the royal family assumed the role of a compulsively viewable soap opera.’”

In his preface to the book, Mr Irving claims the Queen has been “out of touch” despite efforts to bring the Royal institution up to date with the times.

Mr Irving writes: “Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and will likely be the last Queen of England.

“No British monarch has faced such an extended and turbulent period of change.

“The Queen adapted as best she could, but often seemed out of touch.”

He added: “The advisers who served her did not help.

“Throughout her reign, egregious family secrets threatened to break cover.

“Behind the throne, two sides of the royal bloodline competed for influence.

“And the lives of her heir and second son have become the stuff of scandal.

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The author added: “It sometimes seemed that the monarchy would not survive, but it somehow did.”

In the book, Mr Irving touches on the various ways the monarchy has struggled to update itself over the years.

He refers to the moment in 1957 when Lord Altrincham issued a scathing critique of the monarchy on lie television.

He writes: “Altrincham’s assertion that the monarchy might not survive unless the Queen was transformed in voice and attitude rested, in turn, on a basic assertion that the monarchy was ‘out of touch’. It was a charge that would recur for decades, culminating in the way the Queen and the palace reacted to the death of Princess Diana in 1997.”

The author added: “But what did ‘out of touch’ actually mean – or, rather, what would it take for them to become ‘in touch’?

“Was such a transformation ever going to be compatible with sustaining the legend of the monarchy?

“At this moment in 1957, it could truly be said that to her subjects and the world the young woman on the throne was an enigma clothed in the garments of a legend, and the legend was dominant.”

In 2022 the Queen will celebrate her platinum jubilee marking an extraordinary 70 years on the throne.

Despite speculation she could choose to hand power to Prince Charles when she turns 95, the Queen is expected to remain as monarch until her death.

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