My Mother and I, Ingrid Seward’s biography of the King, was just about to hit bookshelves when news of his shock cancer diagnosis hit the headlines. The veteran royal author, who has written 17 books about the monarchy, was not just surprised by the announcement but the candour with which it was delivered by Buckingham Palace.
As the King faces a new way of working, royal aides will draw heavily on the blueprint created during lockdown, when public engagements were abandoned and business was conducted at arm’s length.