King Charles wants female author for Queen's biography

King Charles is preparing to honour his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in a deeply personal way. 

By commissioning it is set to become the first official, authorised biography of the monarch who defined a generation.

The King is said to have taken a clear stance on one key detail that he wants the book to be written by a woman. 

A royal source revealed that His Majesty felt strongly the commission should go in that direction, adding a thoughtful layer to a project already steeped in significance.

The task has reportedly been entrusted to Jane Keay, a respected historian and author with strong ties to royal circles. 

Beyond her credentials, she also serves as a trustee of the Royal Collection Trust, responsible for overseeing the monarch’s extensive private art collection.

Her connections extend further through her husband, Simon Thurley, who chairs the National Lottery Heritage Fund and is known to share a longstanding friendship with the King. 

The couple live in a historic Grade I-listed home in King’s Lynn, just a short distance from Sandringham, one of the late Queen’s most beloved estates.

Keay will be granted rare and privileged access to Queen Elizabeth II’s personal papers, carefully preserved over decades by Paul Whybrew, her trusted Page of the Backstairs. 

While no publication date has been set.