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Acting Editor and

Managing Director

Helen Budworth

Editor’s PA and Letters Editor

Gillian Spickernell

Creative Director

Martin Ixer

Books Editor

Juanita Coulson

Puzzles Editor

Bert Baker

Sub-editor

Will Duberley

Head of Sales

Andrea Taylor

Classified Sales

Dorinda Lewis

Head of Advertising Production

Kath Hanley

Advertising Production Designer

Joanna Keigwin

Circulation Office Manager

Nadine Rooke

Publisher and Chief Executive

Ben Budworth

The Lady is published on the first Friday of each calendar month

The Lady is independently audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, which verifies and reports on media performance. Printed in Great Britain for The Lady Limited, by Precision Colour Printing Ltd, Haldane, Halesfield 1, Telford, Shropshire TF7 4QQ. Published by The Lady Limited, The Kinetic Centre, Theobald Street, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 4PJ. All rights of translation and reproduction reserved. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

The long reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II finally drew to a peaceful end on 8 September. The succeeding days saw an unprecedented outpouring of grief across the nation and the Commonwealth, greater even than that which followed the death of Queen Victoria in 1901.

But with grief came gratitude: she was a woman who steadfastly did her duty for seven decades, bringing together an often fractious nation when it counted. As squabbling politicians came and went she was always there – a dignified focus for our national pride.

It is sobering to think that only people aged over 70 can remember a time when she was not our sovereign. She acceded to the throne in 1952, when she was just 25 and Britain and the Commonwealth were still mourning the loss of almost half a million lives in the Second World War. It was a dreary existence for the survivors: major cities had been devastated and the economy was ruined; wartime food rationing continued until 1954.

Into this grey world stepped our dazzling new Queen, following the death of her father, George VI. Her coronation in 1953 was a stunning spectacle of ancient tradition but also heralded a new age – an estimated 27 million people (out of a population of 36 million) watched it live on the BBC, the first time many had seen a television.

By then Her Majesty was already a fixture on the pages of The Lady. She first appeared on the cover in 1942, aged 16, with her sister Princess Margaret. We are proud to have shared her reign and have devoted this issue to celebrating her long and illustrious life.

Ben Budworth

COVER ILLUSTRAION

Our cover this month is by kind permission of Charlie Mackesy, acclaimed artist and author. The film adaptation of his internationally bestselling book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is set for release this Christmas on BBC One.