At a gathering in Devon, a biographer who specializes in royal history spoke on the Queen’s legacy.

Most popular royal At this week’s Budleigh Salterton, South Devon, literature festival, author Andrew Lownie spoke as a guest speaker about the effects the departure of the Queen will have on the country and the rest of the world.

The prosperity of the Queen’s reign, according to Andrew, who is the author of books like “The Mountbattens: The Lives and Loves” and “Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.”

He said: “The abdication crisis in 1936 shaped the Queen’s reign in the sense that never again would the royal family be seen to abandon their responsibilities.

“The feeling was that the country had been let down by the Duke of Windsor and that this tradition that had been set up by George V of selfless duty needed to be reinstated.

“That shaped The Queen’s famous declaration on her 21st birthday when she said that she would serve till the end of her life, which she did.

“Although the abdication was very dramatic, it saved the monarchy, by putting them back on track as the family that saved the nation.”

Andrew believes the influence of the royal family will support King Charles III’s reign.

“I think Charles had the same influence as the Queen that sense of selfless public duty that came from both his father and his mother. He had the influence of Lord Mountbatten, his great Uncle, who again had a very strong sense of public duty.

“It’s something we also see in William and Kate, and other members of the royal family like Princess Anne.