I want to be honest here. I truly looked forward to reading Robert Prentice's Princess Olga of Yugoslavia Her Life and Times (Grosvenor Publishing). But I must add right here at the start of the review that the book was a disappointment.
Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark was the eldest of three daughters of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Helen Vladimirovna of Russia. She was a granddaughter of King George I of the Hellenes and Grand Duchess Olga of Russia and Grand Duke Wladimir of Russia and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Let's focus on the good bits first. Prentice had the support of Princess Olga's family and that led to several open doors including the Royal Archives, which holds the correspondence of former royal nanny Kate Fox. The late Princess Olga's children, Prince Alexander and Princess Elizabeth provided the author with further material including Olga's private correspondence, her unpublished memoirs, and her diaries.
Sounds good. Yes. Prentice makes copious use of these important sources as he employs them in his not always comfortable narrative. The train of thought, however, often is derailed. Prince Paul is an important character in this narrative, yet he largely disappears from the text following his return to Europe after years of exile in Kenya and South Africa.
I came away with the feeling that Prentice was writing for a limited audience, Olga's family and those who know her. This is an absolute disservice because the average reader is going to come away wondering about many of the names mentioned in the text. This is where the author should have considered footnotes or endnotes. Yes, there are a few footnotes including one that tells readers that KP is short for Kensington Palace.
I am familiar with Bobbety Salisbury, Captain Alex Cunningham-Reid, and Alfons Poklewski-Koziell, among others, but the average reader probably won't know these names. Here is where Prentice's editor should have sent a note asking for more footnotes. Alfons Poklewski-Koziell was more than a mere family friend to Olga and her sisters. He and his wife, Zoia (nee de Stoeckl) were very much a part of the Duke and Duchess of Kent's inner circle. Zoia's father, Baron Alexander de Stoeckl, former Russian Ambassador to the UK, was also the gentleman-in-waiting to Olga's aunt, Princess Marie of Greece, who married Grand Duke George of Russia.
He also mentions that Olga knew early on that Princess Maria Pia's second set of twins, Helen and Serge, were not fathered by her elder son, Prince Alexander, but does not provide more information that would have helped readers who may be unfamiliar with Maria Pia and Alexander's marriage.
Unfortunately, Prentice did not have a proper editor as Grosvenor House is a self-publishing house, also known as a vanity press. No fact-checking, no one to work with the author to discuss the subject matter, and the need for footnotes or endnotes which would have amplified the text and make it more relatable (and interesting) to the average reader.
I was also disappointed by the number of errors, especially the one where Prentice states that King Peter II of Yugoslavia died in Los Angeles. He died in Denver, Colorado, following a liver transplant.
Yes, this review is a bit critical and I have a lot of caveats about Princess Olga of Yugoslavia. This does not mean that you should not read the book. Prentice made full use of Olga and Paul's personal papers. but I think he could have mined information from other sources as well.
With the assistance of an editor and a mainstream publisher, Princess Olga of Yugoslavia Her Life and Times could have been a masterpiece. It is a bit disappointing as I had looked forward to reading this book for some time. Princess Olga deserved better than this middling achievement.
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