Folkets Konge by Trond Norén Isaksen

 

Trond Norén Isaksen is the historian to go to when you want to know about the Norwegian Royal Family.  He has been on speed dial since King Harald V's death on August 28th, doing TV and print interviews in Norway and other countries.

Folkets Konge is a photobiography of the King.

He was able to do a quick update before hitting the submit button to his publisher.   The book will be available in Norwegian bookstores on September 25th.   This is Trond's eighth book.

From his Facebook page:

"King Harald was one of the most photographed people in Norwegian history, and many publications have been filled with the same well-known photos of the late King. But for the past 2 1/2 years I have been digging through archives both at home and abroad in search of the photos we have not seen. 322 unpublished or rare images have been collected from sources ranging from the dusty basements of Norwegian and Swedish agencies to American presidential libraries and the private albums of King Baudouin of the Belgians.

But this is not merely a picture book; it is also the first full biography of King Harald. We meet the little prince who grew up as a refugee, the young yachtsman, the crown prince who fought for the love of his life, the heir who was kept on a tight leash by King Olav, the evironmental pioneer who already in the 1980s warned about climate change, the husband, father and grandfather, and not least the king who with warmth and dignity was at his people’s side throughout dark times and great changes.

This book is for everyone who wants to remember King Harald and get to know him better."

Several people asked Trond if the book would be available in English.  His repeated response, which I love: 

That is not for the author to decide, but if a foreign-language publisher is interested in purchasing the translation rights and willing to cover the cost of translating, illustrating, printing, distributing, and marketing it, they should feel free to contact me."

I do not know if Norwegian bookstores sell outside the country, especially outside Scandinavia.   You can contact a bookstore and ask.

The publisher is Aschehoug. Their email is epost@aschehoug.no

Here are two Norwegian bookshops.   Trond recommended Norli.no, but the website shows a 403 Forbidden error when you click the link.

https://www.ark.no/produkt/folkets-konge-9788203454493  

https://www.bokklubben.no/biografier-kongelige/folkets-konge-trond-noren-isaksen/produkt.do?produktId=230228478&srsltid=AfmBOor7ZTpd9CObiMFHDdO5R9oNK2Iz1ErCGQtmpRSGJZMtBBPtVY08

Swan Song: Diana My Sister by Charles Spencer

 

On August 18th, the Daily Mail reported that the Earl Spencer has written a book about his late sister, Diana, Princess of Wales.    The former wife of King Charles III and the mother of his two sons, William and Harry, was killed in a car crash in Paris.  The crash was caused by the car's driver, Henri Paul, who was three times over the legal drinking limit.

The Amazon blurb: 

Beautiful. Beloved. Hunted. The extraordinary life and death of Diana, as told by her brother, Charles – available to pre-order now.

‘When asked, ‘What was it like, growing up with Diana?’, my first thought is always, But I don’t know what it was like not to grow up with her…’

In September 1997, Charles Spencer stood in Westminster Abbey before a watching world and shared his grief at losing his beloved sister, Diana. Now, nearly thirty years later, he tells the astonishing story of his life with Diana and the tragic week of her death.

In childhood, Charles and Diana, the youngest Spencers, were inseparable – secretly calling one another Duch and Carlos. As each other’s closest confidantes, they roamed the family estate, endured extremely challenging boarding schools, survived terrifying nannies and helped each other through the agony of their parents’ divorce.

Yet everything changed when Diana married the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, and overnight became a global icon. Charles saw his older sister serve the world’s marginalized and relish being mother to her treasured sons.

But, pursued by a barbaric press as her royal marriage crumbled, she was left desperately alone. Charles always tried to be there for Diana – until that black night in August, 1997.

In Swan Song, Charles Spencer provides the most intimate, loving and honest portrait yet of his sister."

The book will be published by Penguin in the United Kingdom and in the United States on September 22. 

https://link.amazon/B0fOzjsxN (UK)

https://amzn.to/4zrjqTi (US)

If you order a copy of the book through my links, I will earn a few pennies toward an Amazon gift card ... so I can buy more books.  

An Interview with Philip Ziegler 1982

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  I interviewed biographer Philip Ziegler in August 1982.  I was 28 years old.  This was published in the original Royal Book News newsletter - July-August 1982 (vol 2 issue 6).  I used a typewriter.  Yeah, a TYPEWRITER.  No Computers, no cell phones.  

Philip Sandeman Ziegler (December 24, 1929 – 22 February 22, 2023)

https://amzn.to/4gjvBc4  (US)

https://link.amazon/B0bUQufUV (UK)

https://amzn.to/3U6gDyL

https://link.amazon/B0aGC6h7P

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https://link.amazon/B07P83TfY

Books about Belvoir Castle

 

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https://amzn.to/4eVltps  UK

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https://amzn.to/3RgR5hl  (UK)

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https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2026/07/belvoir-castle-june-11-2026.html

Lady Pamela Hicks' Books

 

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https://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2024/10/lady-pamela-by-india-hicks.html

https://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2013/02/daughter-if-empire-life-as-mountbatten.html

https://royalbooknews.blogspot.com/2010/10/lady-pamela-hicks-to-write-memoirs.html

Alexandra The Lost Queen by S. Gillespie

 

Alexandra was a queen without a throne.  In 1944, she married King Peter II of Yugoslavia.  A princess of Greece by birth, Alexandra was born in 1921, the same year as Prince Philip of Greece (a first cousin once removed) and King Michael of Romania (a first cousin).    Life was never easy for the Princess, who was the daughter of King Alexander of the Hellenes and Aspasia Manos.   

She never knew her father, as Alexander died from a monkey bite several months before her birth.  Sadly and tragically, Alexandra lived in exile for most of her life.  Due to the Second World War and the political civil war raging in Yugoslavia, Alexandra and Peter married in haste.  The couple was ill-suited for marriage as both were emotionally stunted due to their upbringings.

Peter was only 11-years-old when his father, King Alexander of Yugoslavia, was assassinated. 

Neither Alexandra nor Peter was prepared for exile.  Unlike his cousin, King Michael, Peter never knew what it was to be a king.  Within days of 17-year-old Peter being declared of age to reign without a regency, Germany invaded Yugoslavia.  Peter and his family fled the country, spending the war in exile.  In 1945, Josip Broz Tito declared Yugoslavia a republic, leaving Peter without a throne or financial support.

The young king and queen were unprepared for a life without a throne.  Alexandra wanted a home to raise a family.  Peter was never able to find a job that would pay the bills.  He found solace with other women and alcohol.  She had struggled with mental health issues and attempted suicide several times.  Both wrote their memoirs, laying out their perceived issues.

Alexandra died in an English nursing home in 1993.  She was buried at Tatoi until 2013, when her remains were brought to Topola, where she and Peter were reinterred next to each. 

This book came up as a recommendation on Amazon.   I had not heard of S. Gillespie, as the author does not have a body of work in the field of royal history literature.  

I ordered the book and read it in one sitting.  Well-written, but .....

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Alexandra The Lost Queen is a scholarly HOT MESS!

In full transparency, I am well-informed about the Yugoslav royal family, and I consider Crown Prince Alexander a good friend.  We have known each other since the 1980s.   We first met when I was researching the first of my three books on Queen Victoria's Descendants.  I have had the special honor of being invited three times to Serbia: for the Crown Prince's 60th, his 25th wedding anniversary, and the state funeral for King Peter, Queen Alexandra, Queen Marie, and Prince Andrej in 2013.

The term "hot mess" refers not to the text but to the fact that the book was self-published.  I did not know this when I ordered it.  The image quality is abysmal.  Blurry and teeny.  There are no credits for the photos, some of which are still in copyright.  The layout is appalling.  Few paragraph breaks and unfinished sentences --words omitted and no period/full stop.   This occurred several times in the text, including on page 248 and 256..

There are no citations or footnotes/endnotes for quotes.   No index and several glaring errors.

Page 98: "in marrying Peter before November 28, 1943, the beginning of Lent in the Greek Orthodox Church, as no marriages could take place for 40 days." 

Lent is not in November.   In 1943, Lent (Greek Orthodox) began on March 8th.  The following year, Greek Orthodox Lent started on February 28th with Easter on April 9.  

Peter and Alexandra's wedding ceremony took place on March 20, 1944, which fell during Greek Orthodox Lent.

Page 107:  "the wedding dress game from Peter's cousin's wife, MAMIE LIGHAM..."      Who?   Peter's cousin, Prince Vsevelod of Russia, married Lady Mary Lygon, the daughter of the 7th Earl of Beauchamp.   She was known as Mamie, however.

Page 199:  Lord Mountbatten had little to do with pushing Philip and Elizabeth together.  The future husband and wife had known each other from childhood, as they moved in the same circles.

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2017/12/of-course-elizabeth-knew-philip.html

I was amused by the alleged Swiss bank account that Peter tried to find.  This reminded me of a similar story about King Michael of Romania, who traveled to Switzerland to try to access an alleged bank account owned by his father, King Carol II. Perhaps the two Balkan sovereigns had adjoining bank vaults.

Pushing the hot mess aside, let me say this: Alexandra, The Lost Queen is a first-rate royal biography.  The author has done due diligence in research, especially through extensive use of primary sources examined at the National Archives at Kew and the Royal Archives.

Unfortunately, the author has done the subject a disservice by self-publishing.   Several British publishers, including Amberley Publishing, History Press, and Pen & Sword Books, publish royal biographies/histories.  Self-publishing is limited on several levels.  You won't be able to see your book in Hatchards or any other bookstore.  Poor quality control.  A lack of professional editing.  

This book cries for a dust-jacketed hardcover edition that will be read in libraries, bought in bookstores, and online. Libraries will not be able to order the book because there’s no cataloguing information   The subject also deserves better.

https://amzn.to/4tvdcNX (US)

https://amzn.to/4nmAPqI (UK)

 https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2014/03/king-peter-weds-princess-alexandra.html 

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2013/05/queen-alexandra-home-to-serbia.html 

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2014/03/peter-to-marry-alexandra-official.html

https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2009/07/son-for-peter-and-alexandra.html

New Royal Books and Magazines

This book is available on both sides of the Pond

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These magazines were spotted at my local Barnes & Noble

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The Hello publications are not available on Amazon or Amazon.co.uk.  I earn a few pennies every time someone purchases an item (does not have to be a book, as long as you enter Amazon through one of my links).