Sir Michael Morpurgo has written a poetic tribute to commemorate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
The book, There Once Is A Queen, will be released later this spring and tells the tale of the monarch's 70-year reign.
The story begins with the Queen as a child, planting an oak tree with her father and aims to bring her “historic reign vividly to life” for readers of all ages.
The book is illustrated by Michael Foreman.
#BookIllustrationOfTheDay is by Michael Foreman for Michael Morpurgo's "Poppy Field" (2018), a book about how WW1 poet John McCray's "In Flanders Fields" inspired the use of the poppy as an armistice symbol. Today is 100th anniversary of the first Armistice. pic.twitter.com/zSw7iP8Ghk
— James Mayhew is on a break 🎨 (@mrjamesmayhew) November 11, 2018
Morpurgo said: “I very much wanted my story to play a small part in the celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in the June of 2022.
“There was another Queen Elizabeth some time ago, a cousin 14-times removed to our own Queen. A great writer, Edmund Spenser, once wrote a long poem about her that he called The Faerie Queene.
“My story is not a poem, and not long, but, as you will discover, it is also about a fairy queen – although spelt differently.
“Michael Foreman and I should like to dedicate this book to Her Majesty The Queen, in gratitude, in affection and in admiration.”
Foreman said: “It is an honour to be part of Michael Morpurgo’s tribute to Her Majesty The Queen.
“While researching the long, colourful thread of her life, through a changing world, it has been impressed upon me the part she has played in the tapestry of all our lives.”
There Once Is A Queen by Michael Morpurgo will be published by HarperCollins Children’s Book on May 12.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here