The history of England is a continuous movement and a series of constant changes. But continuity permeates the entire history of England, starting with primacy, so the main thing in it is not change, but constancy. Until now, in England there is an inextricable connection with the past, with traditions and customs. So far, this country has resisted change in any aspect of life. Peter Ackroyd shows the origins of England's age-old immutability, its conservatism and commitment to the past. In this volume, the events of England's history take a countdown from 1902, when the Boer War ended, during which those who used to feel pride in the empire were gradually engulfed in disappointment and shame. Edward VII, although he did not reach the political weight of his mother, Queen Victoria, was the most beloved English king after Charles II. Under his son George V, the country participated in the First World War and still retained some features of Victorian time, but by the end of the reign of the next monarch she changed beyond recognition. George VI ascended the throne after the abdication of Edward VIII, his older brother, and became one of the symbols of the struggle against Germany and Nazism during World War II. He was the last emperor of India and the last king of Ireland: the British Empire collapsed and its transformation into the Commonwealth of Nations took place. After the death of the monarch and the coronation of his daughter, a new Elizabethan era began. By the turn of the millennium, to which the narrative reaches, during the reign of Elizabeth II, ten prime ministers were replaced, the most famous of which were Winston Churchill, Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. A magnificent series of books by the famous British author ends, but the history of England continues to move.