The reign of Elizabeth II has been the longest in British history. It has coincided with the transformation of the mystical monarchy into a welfare monarchy, and the development of a multi-racial Commonwealth, which currently comprises 54 independent nations and nearly a third of the world’s population. The Crown has grown stronger both at home as a symbol of the nation, and in the Commonwealth as a symbol of a diverse group of countries nations co-operating together for the common good.

Vernon Bogdanor CBE is Emeritus Gresham Professor of Law, current Visiting Gresham Professor of Political History, Research Professor at King's College London, a Fellow of the British Academy and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. Prior to 2010, Professor Bogdanor was a Fellow of Brasenose College and Professor of Government at Oxford University.
He has been an adviser to a number of governments, including those of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Israel and Slovakia. His books include The People and the Party System, Multi-Party Politics and the Constitution, Power and the People, and Devolution in the United Kingdom. He is a frequent contributor to TV, radio and the press and is a sometimes special advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities (1982-83), and the House of Commons Public Service Committee. Most recently he was awarded the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize for Lifetime Contribution to Political Studies by the Political Studies Association.
Professor Bogdanor's previous lecture series are as follows:
2017/18 British Political Parties
2016/17 The Monarchy
2014/15 Six General Elections
2013/14 Britain and Europe
2012/13 Making the Weather: Six Politicians Who Shaped Our Age
2010/12 Britain in the 20th Century
2007/09 From Roosevelt to Bush: The American Presidency: Transformation and Change
All of Professor Bogdanor's past Gresham lectures can be accessed here.