My trip to London was wonderful, but I came home with a parting gift: COVID-19. A mild case, but had residual congestion and breathing issues (tied to the congestion) that required a few drugs! The congestion finally dissipated in mid-July.
Mix in work and Nationals games, and you have a pile of books ready to read and review.
This post will be a roundup of royal books, good, bad, and indifferent.
A Royal Life by HRH The Duke of Kent and Hugo Vickers is a fascinating read as we glean insight into one of the British Royal Family's hardworking royals. Prince Edward was only 6 years old when his father died in an air crash while on active duty in August 1942. The new Duke of Kent would grow up without a father but had the support of his mother, Princess Marina, his younger siblings, and an extended family.
This biography is based on conversations between the Duke of Kent and Hugo Vickers, who also spoke to the Duchess of Kent, Lord St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor, Lord Nicholas Windsor, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Count Hans-Veit of Toerring-Jettenbach, and Archduchess Helen of Austria. Vickers also spoke with several members of the duke's household and also relied on several written accounts by Cecil Beaton, Sir Charles Johnston, a diplomat who was married to Princess Natasha Bagration, and Baroness Agnes de Stoeckel.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Royal Life, which gives a voice to the Duke of Kent's life. In response to a question from Hugo about having "a more interesting life" as a member of the royal family, the duke said: "It certainly gave me a lot of opportunities to meet people and travel. I have done a great deal of traveling through the years. So, yes, it certainly gave me advantages of that kind."
The Queen showed her support for her first cousin, the Duke of Kent, by having him join her on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Platinum Jubilee.
The duke's younger son, Lord Nicholas Windsor, told Hugo: "I think he takes pride in playing a part in supporting the Queen."
Most of the photos have not been published and come from the duke's private collection,
A Royal Life (Hodder & Stoughton) is a delightful, engaging, and refreshing read. Highly recommended.
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Tina Brown's The Diana Chronicles was one of the best books about the late Diana, Princess of Wales. I cannot say the same about Brown's newest book, The Palace Papers (Crown). It is long --570 pages -- but disappointing.
Brown relied too heavily on the tabloids, which, for me, is never a good sign for someone who is a serious biographer. The book may be "stylish, witty, and erudite,"
The book's premise is to fill in what has happened in the Royal Family since Diana's death. Is the premise fulfilled, yes, but Brown's prose offers little new information that I could glean, but I am sure the material in this book will be unique to the average reader?
We have all the scandals (Andrew, Harry), the marriages, Charles to Camilla, William, Harry, and Meghan.
Think of this book as a vacation read and then leave it behind for someone else.
Crown published The Palace Papers. Century is the UK publisher.
It is not The Royal Book of Year.
I bought
Princess Mary The Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood while shopping in the gift store at Harewood House in June. This is a 44-page booklet, a well-illustrated book written by Anna Robinson and Tara Hamilton Stubber.
The book was edited by David Lascelles, the current Earl of Harewood and Mary's grandson.
This booklet may have been a catalog for an exhibit at Harewood House on Princess Mary. The authors provide a good synopsis of Mary's life. It is available for sale only through Harewood House. Yes, you can order from the United States -- and of course in the UK as well.
I loved Nancy Goldstone's Daughters of the Winter Queen. I wish I could say the same thing about her latest book, In the Shadow of the Empress (Little Brown: $32.00). The book is subtitled The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and her Daughters -- this is a bit confusing because the book is about Maria Theresa and her daughters, the youngest was Marie Antoinette.
Six of Maria Theresa's daughters lived to adulthood. Gladstone focuses on three of the daughters, Maria Christina (Mimi), Maria Carolina (Charlotte), and Maria Antonia. All three made advantageous marriages: Mimi to Albert of Saxony, Charlotte to Ferdinando IV, King of Naples, and Maria Antonia to King Louis XVI of France.
Mimi married for love, and the other two marriages were political and dynastic alliances. Charlotte would show her mettle as a queen consort whose husband was not up to the kingly task, especially after Napoleon began his conquest of Europe.
Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI lost their heads in the French Revolution. Their youngest son, King Louis XVII, died in prison. Only their daughter, Marie Therese survived.
I must admit that I found it difficult to get through the six hundred pages, as the author's storytelling resembled driving on a gravel road going nowhere. The three sisters' lives were fascinating -- and of course -- there are many biographies about Marie Antoinette -- but just as I find myself getting interested in what Charlotte was doing (and her life was the most interesting and the most productive of the three sisters), Gladstone jumps to Mimi's life.
What really aggravated me - and others -- was Gladstone's assertion that Marie Antoinette's two younger children, Louis XVIII and Sophie, were fathered by the Swedish nobleman Axel von Fersen. There is no conclusive evidence that Louis XVI was not the father of all four of Marie Antoinette's children although there is no doubt that Marie Antoinette and Axel were lovers.
The Shadow of the Empress is a near miss, not a hit. Not a complete mess because I want to read more about Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, who befriended Emma Hamilton, Lord Nelson's mistress (later wife).
King Simeon II of Bulgaria's memoirs, A Unique Destiny, were first published in 2014; however, an English translation was not published until 2021 by Stackpole Books ($34.95).
Born in 1937 as the only son of King Boris III of Bulgaria and Princess Giovanna of Italy, Simeon became king in 1943, when his father died mysteriously after a visit to Hitler. Simeon was only 5 years old.
Bulgaria was one of the Balkan nations, along with Romania, Serbia, and Albania, which was infiltrated by Soviet-trained communists, thus becoming the spoils of war for the Soviet Union.
In 1045, Simeon's regents, including his uncle, Prince Kyril, were forced to dig their graves before being shot to death. A rigged plebiscite in 1947, observed by the Soviet Union, led to the end of the monarchy and the establishment of another communist republic. Queen Giovanna, King Simeon, and Princess Marie Louise left Bulgaria, settling first in Egypt, where members of the Italian Royal Family were living in exile before finding a home in Portugal.
Simeon married a Spanish aristocrat, Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, in 1962. They are the parents of four sons (the eldest son, Kardam, is deceased) and one daughter, and they lived in Spain.
In 1996, Simeon returned to Bulgaria for the first time since 1947. He got involved in politics, forming a new political party. He was elected as Prime Minister in 2001, serving until 2005.
A Unique Dynasty offers valuable insight into Simeon's life, as he writes about his family history, exile, and his move to Bulgaria, where he relinquished his claim to the throne to devote his energies to a developing post-communist nation.
This is a definite must-read, although I would have liked more information about Margarita, their children, and their families.
Simeon's life has been lived in full.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Vera Konstantinova of Russia, Paul Gilbert put together a slim volume (138 pages) of Vera's "Fragments of Life (2) about her family.
Vera, who was born in 1906, was the youngest of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich and Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenberg. Grand Duchess Elisabeth and her two youngest children, George and Vera, and other family members were able to escape Russia with the help of Queen Victoria of Sweden. In 1922, the family moved to Altenberg where Elisabeth's brother, the former Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Altenberg lived.
There would be Vera's second escape in 1945 as Soviet troops moved into what would become East Germany. Vera stayed in Hamburg for several years before emigrating to the United States in 1951.
Princess Vera worked for the Tolstoy Foundation for many years. She died at Tolstoy Foundation's home in Nyack, NY.
Although she was a child during the Russian Revolution, Vera understood that her world was changing, as three of her brothers were killed by the Bolsheviks in July 1918.
Unfortunately, the book is not well-written and is crying out for a good editor. However, the articles would have been better suited for a magazine. The book is a quick read, which may appeal to Romanov enthusiasts.
A broad selection of images of Vera is included in this book.
The White House History Quarterly did a fabulous job with the Winter 2022 issue: Queen Elizabeth II: The Royal Visits on the Occasion of Her Platinum Jubilee 1952-2022.
The issue features chapters on the Queen's early visits, Blair House, the anniversary visits (1976 and 2007), the gifts exchanged by the Queen and the Presidents, a visit to Ronald Reagan's California, Julia Child, and the 1976 dinner, and soft diplomacy. Super photos and each article include endnotes.
This is a scholarly journal published by the White Historical Association. I recommend purchasing this issue, which is a superb discernment of the Queen's relationship with the United States.
The cover features a regal portrait of the Queen. Her jewels sparkle!!
