The monarchy’s slow retreat from political influence

At its heart, the book is about the monarchy’s slow retreat from political influence. Low shows how active interventions of the past gave way to the tight constraints of the 2010 Cabinet Office manual. Where the book succeeds is in tone: brisk, clear, never reverential. Low is a lovely writer. Where it falters is in scope. Readers looking for definitive judgments on the Crown and Downing Street may be left wanting.