Good but not outstanding, 18 Jan 2008
Joan Haslip (1912-1994) was an author of historical books, often focussing on European royalty. Her books were generally regarded as accurate and fairly complete although at times falling prey to "outdated interpretations".

Her biography on the Empress Elizabeth reflects very much that reputation. I liked very much that she tries to get away from the romantic attitude and endless talk about the Elizabeth's beauty. She tries to get to the personality of this being. This is indeed difficult as she was very contradictory which tends to cofuse people. I liked the word "lonely" as it captures much about the Empress. All in all I feel it is a book worth reading, not an authorative beiography and not the great classic but one (of them many books on Sisi) worth reading. But it dit not match Brigitte Haman's "Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen" which is simply superb.

A serious book but vivid and easy to read., 03 Jul 2001
Haslip's writing is a joy to read. Her narrative skill, combined with the power of the tragic but romantic life she describes, makes the book hard to put down. I can't help agreeing with Edward Crankshaw, who said 'Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy...a serious book which is highly readable'.

Good but not outstanding, 18 Jan 2008
Joan Haslip (1912-1994) was an author of historical books, often focussing on European royalty. Her books were generally regarded as accurate and fairly complete although at times falling prey to "outdated interpretations".

Her biography on the Empress Elizabeth reflects very much that reputation. I liked very much that she tries to get away from the romantic attitude and endless talk about the Elizabeth's beauty. She tries to get to the personality of this being. This is indeed difficult as she was very contradictory which tends to cofuse people. I liked the word "lonely" as it captures much about the Empress. All in all I feel it is a book worth reading, not an authorative beiography and not the great classic but one (of them many books on Sisi) worth reading. But it dit not match Brigitte Haman's "Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen" which is simply superb.

A serious book but vivid and easy to read., 03 Jul 2001
Haslip's writing is a joy to read. Her narrative skill, combined with the power of the tragic but romantic life she describes, makes the book hard to put down. I can't help agreeing with Edward Crankshaw, who said 'Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy...a serious book which is highly readable'.

behind close doors, 15 Oct 2004
This book is all about showing the Queen in a great light. The Queen is cast as the GOD and rest of the royal family, especially the outsiders are cast as the poor sad mortals who she looks down in dismay. All the outsiders those who marry into the Royal Family get all the blame for the various marriage break ups.

Elizabeth:Behind Palace Doors, 03 Mar 2003
An incredibly revealing publication, and a must-have for any die-hard fan of the British monarchy. The truth surrounding the "annus horribilis" and the breakdowns of the marriages of three of the Queen's children is revealed. As a result, one is made to feel genuine sympathy for the woman behind the public image. A very worthwhile read!!!

Good but not outstanding, 18 Jan 2008
Joan Haslip (1912-1994) was an author of historical books, often focussing on European royalty. Her books were generally regarded as accurate and fairly complete although at times falling prey to "outdated interpretations".

Her biography on the Empress Elizabeth reflects very much that reputation. I liked very much that she tries to get away from the romantic attitude and endless talk about the Elizabeth's beauty. She tries to get to the personality of this being. This is indeed difficult as she was very contradictory which tends to cofuse people. I liked the word "lonely" as it captures much about the Empress. All in all I feel it is a book worth reading, not an authorative beiography and not the great classic but one (of them many books on Sisi) worth reading. But it dit not match Brigitte Haman's "Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen" which is simply superb.

A serious book but vivid and easy to read., 03 Jul 2001
Haslip's writing is a joy to read. Her narrative skill, combined with the power of the tragic but romantic life she describes, makes the book hard to put down. I can't help agreeing with Edward Crankshaw, who said 'Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy...a serious book which is highly readable'.

behind close doors, 15 Oct 2004
This book is all about showing the Queen in a great light. The Queen is cast as the GOD and rest of the royal family, especially the outsiders are cast as the poor sad mortals who she looks down in dismay. All the outsiders those who marry into the Royal Family get all the blame for the various marriage break ups.

Elizabeth:Behind Palace Doors, 03 Mar 2003
An incredibly revealing publication, and a must-have for any die-hard fan of the British monarchy. The truth surrounding the "annus horribilis" and the breakdowns of the marriages of three of the Queen's children is revealed. As a result, one is made to feel genuine sympathy for the woman behind the public image. A very worthwhile read!!!

Treasonable Revelations of spite by Jeffrey Simmonns, 05 Sep 2007
I was interested in this book as I felt like many a concern for how the royal family were treated, I read a few comments in the Daily Mail and bought this book which is now firmly relagated to the bin. My reasons, I found it difficult to stomach and felt physically sick at the poison pen of Simmonns who is identified as the true author in my copy. Not only does it seem to apply that those in the society circle disdain royals but that they are eager to steal the money of anybody and humiliate the genuinely good work of royals. It seems to be particularly viscious in its treatment of KIng George and relish in humilating history with a spiteful vigour that I could only relate to castrated viscious old men and superficial women. I would consider this malicious work which when reading between the lines reads as the spiteful and worse than that (someone who takes glee in hurting the traditions of this country and wrongly believes that they have the write to publish it)cause a class and civil war in this country when, excuse me for saying so, but this country had supposedly overcome its prejudice and ignorance. It seems that the author and co authors have paid scant notice of facts but have produced pure drivel designed to further the cause of people who wrongly believe the monarchy is to blame for atrocieties in war and out of war time. I fervently believe that the little "coup" this book is designed to cause in its supposed creation of "new" historic royals and its malintent towards royalty belongs in the bin along with the copious pages of badly written and ill thought actions of the authors/co authors who seem to gleefully be trying to explain that they have no respect for life, anybodies life and indulge in cruelties which defy their ability to be called gentleman and ladies and seems to infer that any person not on their side in govt or police or who stands for decency is a target of guzzling society hyenas. Any persons loss of life and values to curtsey to this pack of snivelling, howling jealousies is an injustice that defies definition. Read this book if you wish but throw the malintent of this book in a bonfire when you've finished

Top Read!, 12 Aug 2006
After reading the Excellent book - Double Standards by the same authors, i was not dissapointed in continuing the read about the Royals and their motives before, during and after World War 2. This book gives more ground to the events in the forementioned book.
The star of this book is undoubtably Mountbatten and his quest to integrate his legacy to the throne. Also Interesting is the Power of the Queen Mother and also Prince Phillips background.
One of the later chapters goes into the Diana Crash, while the authors make it clear that they were not going to get too involved, By keeping brief and to the point of the inconsistancies, they create an interesting chapter, which i believe they could make into a whole book about the subject.
Excellent sources & biblography, - Highly Recommended

Very enlightening Book, 19 Apr 2005
Once I started reading this book it was hard for me to put it down. The more I read about what went on during the war the more I am concerned how the monarchy acting in a way that could be classed as treason. A definite recommend.

Good but not outstanding, 18 Jan 2008
Joan Haslip (1912-1994) was an author of historical books, often focussing on European royalty. Her books were generally regarded as accurate and fairly complete although at times falling prey to "outdated interpretations".

Her biography on the Empress Elizabeth reflects very much that reputation. I liked very much that she tries to get away from the romantic attitude and endless talk about the Elizabeth's beauty. She tries to get to the personality of this being. This is indeed difficult as she was very contradictory which tends to cofuse people. I liked the word "lonely" as it captures much about the Empress. All in all I feel it is a book worth reading, not an authorative beiography and not the great classic but one (of them many books on Sisi) worth reading. But it dit not match Brigitte Haman's "Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen" which is simply superb.

A serious book but vivid and easy to read., 03 Jul 2001
Haslip's writing is a joy to read. Her narrative skill, combined with the power of the tragic but romantic life she describes, makes the book hard to put down. I can't help agreeing with Edward Crankshaw, who said 'Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy...a serious book which is highly readable'.

behind close doors, 15 Oct 2004
This book is all about showing the Queen in a great light. The Queen is cast as the GOD and rest of the royal family, especially the outsiders are cast as the poor sad mortals who she looks down in dismay. All the outsiders those who marry into the Royal Family get all the blame for the various marriage break ups.

Elizabeth:Behind Palace Doors, 03 Mar 2003
An incredibly revealing publication, and a must-have for any die-hard fan of the British monarchy. The truth surrounding the "annus horribilis" and the breakdowns of the marriages of three of the Queen's children is revealed. As a result, one is made to feel genuine sympathy for the woman behind the public image. A very worthwhile read!!!

Treasonable Revelations of spite by Jeffrey Simmonns, 05 Sep 2007
I was interested in this book as I felt like many a concern for how the royal family were treated, I read a few comments in the Daily Mail and bought this book which is now firmly relagated to the bin. My reasons, I found it difficult to stomach and felt physically sick at the poison pen of Simmonns who is identified as the true author in my copy. Not only does it seem to apply that those in the society circle disdain royals but that they are eager to steal the money of anybody and humiliate the genuinely good work of royals. It seems to be particularly viscious in its treatment of KIng George and relish in humilating history with a spiteful vigour that I could only relate to castrated viscious old men and superficial women. I would consider this malicious work which when reading between the lines reads as the spiteful and worse than that (someone who takes glee in hurting the traditions of this country and wrongly believes that they have the write to publish it)cause a class and civil war in this country when, excuse me for saying so, but this country had supposedly overcome its prejudice and ignorance. It seems that the author and co authors have paid scant notice of facts but have produced pure drivel designed to further the cause of people who wrongly believe the monarchy is to blame for atrocieties in war and out of war time. I fervently believe that the little "coup" this book is designed to cause in its supposed creation of "new" historic royals and its malintent towards royalty belongs in the bin along with the copious pages of badly written and ill thought actions of the authors/co authors who seem to gleefully be trying to explain that they have no respect for life, anybodies life and indulge in cruelties which defy their ability to be called gentleman and ladies and seems to infer that any person not on their side in govt or police or who stands for decency is a target of guzzling society hyenas. Any persons loss of life and values to curtsey to this pack of snivelling, howling jealousies is an injustice that defies definition. Read this book if you wish but throw the malintent of this book in a bonfire when you've finished

Top Read!, 12 Aug 2006
After reading the Excellent book - Double Standards by the same authors, i was not dissapointed in continuing the read about the Royals and their motives before, during and after World War 2. This book gives more ground to the events in the forementioned book.
The star of this book is undoubtably Mountbatten and his quest to integrate his legacy to the throne. Also Interesting is the Power of the Queen Mother and also Prince Phillips background.
One of the later chapters goes into the Diana Crash, while the authors make it clear that they were not going to get too involved, By keeping brief and to the point of the inconsistancies, they create an interesting chapter, which i believe they could make into a whole book about the subject.
Excellent sources & biblography, - Highly Recommended

Very enlightening Book, 19 Apr 2005
Once I started reading this book it was hard for me to put it down. The more I read about what went on during the war the more I am concerned how the monarchy acting in a way that could be classed as treason. A definite recommend.

The Queen, 10 Aug 2003
A very readable biography of the Queen. Unlike most biographers he treats the Queen as a serious figure in the post-war political scene. That's not to say that he ignores the Queens' personality entirely - rather he does not get involved with the kind of comment and speculation that mars many other books on this subject.

He rights with a wonderful detached irony and is on occaisions very funny. The section describing the 'Royal Family' film in particular made me laugh out loud.

An unbiased examination of the Monarchy, 08 Sep 2002
Pimlott writes crisply and intelligently and charts both the personal life of Elizabeth and the way she operates in modern politics. He can criticise and praise when either is needed, making this potentially the most valuable and authentic book on the monarchy.

Good but not outstanding, 18 Jan 2008
Joan Haslip (1912-1994) was an author of historical books, often focussing on European royalty. Her books were generally regarded as accurate and fairly complete although at times falling prey to "outdated interpretations".

Her biography on the Empress Elizabeth reflects very much that reputation. I liked very much that she tries to get away from the romantic attitude and endless talk about the Elizabeth's beauty. She tries to get to the personality of this being. This is indeed difficult as she was very contradictory which tends to cofuse people. I liked the word "lonely" as it captures much about the Empress. All in all I feel it is a book worth reading, not an authorative beiography and not the great classic but one (of them many books on Sisi) worth reading. But it dit not match Brigitte Haman's "Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen" which is simply superb.

A serious book but vivid and easy to read., 03 Jul 2001
Haslip's writing is a joy to read. Her narrative skill, combined with the power of the tragic but romantic life she describes, makes the book hard to put down. I can't help agreeing with Edward Crankshaw, who said 'Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy...a serious book which is highly readable'.

behind close doors, 15 Oct 2004
This book is all about showing the Queen in a great light. The Queen is cast as the GOD and rest of the royal family, especially the outsiders are cast as the poor sad mortals who she looks down in dismay. All the outsiders those who marry into the Royal Family get all the blame for the various marriage break ups.

Elizabeth:Behind Palace Doors, 03 Mar 2003
An incredibly revealing publication, and a must-have for any die-hard fan of the British monarchy. The truth surrounding the "annus horribilis" and the breakdowns of the marriages of three of the Queen's children is revealed. As a result, one is made to feel genuine sympathy for the woman behind the public image. A very worthwhile read!!!

Treasonable Revelations of spite by Jeffrey Simmonns, 05 Sep 2007
I was interested in this book as I felt like many a concern for how the royal family were treated, I read a few comments in the Daily Mail and bought this book which is now firmly relagated to the bin. My reasons, I found it difficult to stomach and felt physically sick at the poison pen of Simmonns who is identified as the true author in my copy. Not only does it seem to apply that those in the society circle disdain royals but that they are eager to steal the money of anybody and humiliate the genuinely good work of royals. It seems to be particularly viscious in its treatment of KIng George and relish in humilating history with a spiteful vigour that I could only relate to castrated viscious old men and superficial women. I would consider this malicious work which when reading between the lines reads as the spiteful and worse than that (someone who takes glee in hurting the traditions of this country and wrongly believes that they have the write to publish it)cause a class and civil war in this country when, excuse me for saying so, but this country had supposedly overcome its prejudice and ignorance. It seems that the author and co authors have paid scant notice of facts but have produced pure drivel designed to further the cause of people who wrongly believe the monarchy is to blame for atrocieties in war and out of war time. I fervently believe that the little "coup" this book is designed to cause in its supposed creation of "new" historic royals and its malintent towards royalty belongs in the bin along with the copious pages of badly written and ill thought actions of the authors/co authors who seem to gleefully be trying to explain that they have no respect for life, anybodies life and indulge in cruelties which defy their ability to be called gentleman and ladies and seems to infer that any person not on their side in govt or police or who stands for decency is a target of guzzling society hyenas. Any persons loss of life and values to curtsey to this pack of snivelling, howling jealousies is an injustice that defies definition. Read this book if you wish but throw the malintent of this book in a bonfire when you've finished

Top Read!, 12 Aug 2006
After reading the Excellent book - Double Standards by the same authors, i was not dissapointed in continuing the read about the Royals and their motives before, during and after World War 2. This book gives more ground to the events in the forementioned book.
The star of this book is undoubtably Mountbatten and his quest to integrate his legacy to the throne. Also Interesting is the Power of the Queen Mother and also Prince Phillips background.
One of the later chapters goes into the Diana Crash, while the authors make it clear that they were not going to get too involved, By keeping brief and to the point of the inconsistancies, they create an interesting chapter, which i believe they could make into a whole book about the subject.
Excellent sources & biblography, - Highly Recommended

Very enlightening Book, 19 Apr 2005
Once I started reading this book it was hard for me to put it down. The more I read about what went on during the war the more I am concerned how the monarchy acting in a way that could be classed as treason. A definite recommend.

The Queen, 10 Aug 2003
A very readable biography of the Queen. Unlike most biographers he treats the Queen as a serious figure in the post-war political scene. That's not to say that he ignores the Queens' personality entirely - rather he does not get involved with the kind of comment and speculation that mars many other books on this subject.

He rights with a wonderful detached irony and is on occaisions very funny. The section describing the 'Royal Family' film in particular made me laugh out loud.

An unbiased examination of the Monarchy, 08 Sep 2002
Pimlott writes crisply and intelligently and charts both the personal life of Elizabeth and the way she operates in modern politics. He can criticise and praise when either is needed, making this potentially the most valuable and authentic book on the monarchy.

Egotistical but fascinating, 23 Jun 2007
The Queen is just about my most admired living person, her dedication is amazing.

Brandreth quotes what makes them happy which I think is very true:

1) Dont be introspective
2) Live a full busy useful life.

He drops a lot of names - a lot - but so what, it is a really good insight into a wonderful couple.

Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table on the island of Corfu, 13 Apr 2006
And other irresistible tidbits make this book an honest and enchanting look at the Royal Family. For me, it was a real page turner. I could not put it down. As an American, perhaps I am naive, and more interested in the mystique of British royalty rather than looking for some prurient expose. This book gave me insight into some of the more charming aspects of palace life. Particulary endearing was the young "Princess Elizabeth's" relationship to her grandfather, King George V, who with his own two sons was gruff and angry, but with his grandbaby "Lillibet" was soft and yielding. She was the apple of his eye. Brandreth's description of Elizabeth pulling King George V by his beard as they played "horse and groom" is priceless, as well as his getting down on all fours to play with her. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in British history and the British Royal Family.

Ego Trip, 16 Sep 2005
Gyles Brandreth claimes to know the real Philip and Elizabeth, Well this book just shows one what an ego trip these so called royal insiders are on. If he were a FRIEND of prince Philip, would he have written about it, and he is none to flattering about the Queen, which would have hurt is FRIEND Philip, and of course the Queen cannot Answer back. A lot of what he has to say has been heard before,through interviews with such as Countess Mountbatten, who is always ready to tell all it seems. but those of use who saw the tv film of this book could see that those like Countess Mountbatten said very little indeed. It is a trite book like all the others. The only people to really know Philip and Elizabeth, are their children and grandchildren and close relatives, and the Late Bobo MacDonald who was with the Queen for 60 years and never said a word. This is a boring rehashe of countless other books and interviews about the Royal Couple.

Is this about the author or the Queen and her consort?, 05 Nov 2004
The two previous reviews have already clearly indicated that this double biography is rather a disappointment. I do share these views.

May I add a few remarks of my own: It was rather off-putting that the author constantly refers to theb fact how close he is to the Duke. What does he wants us to tell with that? That he had exclusive access to information otherwise not available or does he wants to boost his own standing? He is pretty clear about how he admires the Duke and well that does it say all: all is great about him. Actually no need to explore the life of the Duke further because he can do no wrong. Furthermore, why does the author states that certain things in the lives of the Queen and the Duke is not the reader's /public's business to deal with as it is private? Well what is the sense of investigating their lives if one is suppose to know only what they are willing to give away. Then just read the Queen's website!

All in all, I feel that the author is far to close to his subjects in order to give the reader an objective or even an interesting new inside in their lives, backgrounds etc.. It is a bit like the last books by Andrew Morton who writes in the style "I and Princess Di": this is "I and the Duke".

Philip and Elizabeth, 07 Oct 2004
I was pleasantly surprised by this after ploughing through the opening prologue. There are a number of mistakes in there, which grated with me. Page 16, Brandreth refers to the memorial service for the terror attacks of Sept. 11 2001 as being at Westminster Abbey - it was at St Paul's Cathedral. He also refers to the re-sheduled date of Edward VII's coronation as 9 Aug 1902, which is before the date he first mentions as the propsed date on 26 June 1903. As it was postponed because of illness, this cannot be right.

Once I was past that point, however, the book became very readable. Brandreth clearly has had access to Philip and Elizabeth, (though there is perhaps a touch more reference to Philip than Elizabeth) and a number of family and friends. The book seeks to put right a number of myths and rumours about them, he is fiercely loyal to both of them, and through the book, he offers the wit and light-hearted yet serious style of writing for which he is well-known.

A difficult start, but a pleasure to read

Good but not outstanding, 18 Jan 2008
Joan Haslip (1912-1994) was an author of historical books, often focussing on European royalty. Her books were generally regarded as accurate and fairly complete although at times falling prey to "outdated interpretations".

Her biography on the Empress Elizabeth reflects very much that reputation. I liked very much that she tries to get away from the romantic attitude and endless talk about the Elizabeth's beauty. She tries to get to the personality of this being. This is indeed difficult as she was very contradictory which tends to cofuse people. I liked the word "lonely" as it captures much about the Empress. All in all I feel it is a book worth reading, not an authorative beiography and not the great classic but one (of them many books on Sisi) worth reading. But it dit not match Brigitte Haman's "Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen" which is simply superb.

A serious book but vivid and easy to read., 03 Jul 2001
Haslip's writing is a joy to read. Her narrative skill, combined with the power of the tragic but romantic life she describes, makes the book hard to put down. I can't help agreeing with Edward Crankshaw, who said 'Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy...a serious book which is highly readable'.

behind close doors, 15 Oct 2004
This book is all about showing the Queen in a great light. The Queen is cast as the GOD and rest of the royal family, especially the outsiders are cast as the poor sad mortals who she looks down in dismay. All the outsiders those who marry into the Royal Family get all the blame for the various marriage break ups.

Elizabeth:Behind Palace Doors, 03 Mar 2003
An incredibly revealing publication, and a must-have for any die-hard fan of the British monarchy. The truth surrounding the "annus horribilis" and the breakdowns of the marriages of three of the Queen's children is revealed. As a result, one is made to feel genuine sympathy for the woman behind the public image. A very worthwhile read!!!

Treasonable Revelations of spite by Jeffrey Simmonns, 05 Sep 2007
I was interested in this book as I felt like many a concern for how the royal family were treated, I read a few comments in the Daily Mail and bought this book which is now firmly relagated to the bin. My reasons, I found it difficult to stomach and felt physically sick at the poison pen of Simmonns who is identified as the true author in my copy. Not only does it seem to apply that those in the society circle disdain royals but that they are eager to steal the money of anybody and humiliate the genuinely good work of royals. It seems to be particularly viscious in its treatment of KIng George and relish in humilating history with a spiteful vigour that I could only relate to castrated viscious old men and superficial women. I would consider this malicious work which when reading between the lines reads as the spiteful and worse than that (someone who takes glee in hurting the traditions of this country and wrongly believes that they have the write to publish it)cause a class and civil war in this country when, excuse me for saying so, but this country had supposedly overcome its prejudice and ignorance. It seems that the author and co authors have paid scant notice of facts but have produced pure drivel designed to further the cause of people who wrongly believe the monarchy is to blame for atrocieties in war and out of war time. I fervently believe that the little "coup" this book is designed to cause in its supposed creation of "new" historic royals and its malintent towards royalty belongs in the bin along with the copious pages of badly written and ill thought actions of the authors/co authors who seem to gleefully be trying to explain that they have no respect for life, anybodies life and indulge in cruelties which defy their ability to be called gentleman and ladies and seems to infer that any person not on their side in govt or police or who stands for decency is a target of guzzling society hyenas. Any persons loss of life and values to curtsey to this pack of snivelling, howling jealousies is an injustice that defies definition. Read this book if you wish but throw the malintent of this book in a bonfire when you've finished

Top Read!, 12 Aug 2006
After reading the Excellent book - Double Standards by the same authors, i was not dissapointed in continuing the read about the Royals and their motives before, during and after World War 2. This book gives more ground to the events in the forementioned book.
The star of this book is undoubtably Mountbatten and his quest to integrate his legacy to the throne. Also Interesting is the Power of the Queen Mother and also Prince Phillips background.
One of the later chapters goes into the Diana Crash, while the authors make it clear that they were not going to get too involved, By keeping brief and to the point of the inconsistancies, they create an interesting chapter, which i believe they could make into a whole book about the subject.
Excellent sources & biblography, - Highly Recommended

Very enlightening Book, 19 Apr 2005
Once I started reading this book it was hard for me to put it down. The more I read about what went on during the war the more I am concerned how the monarchy acting in a way that could be classed as treason. A definite recommend.

The Queen, 10 Aug 2003
A very readable biography of the Queen. Unlike most biographers he treats the Queen as a serious figure in the post-war political scene. That's not to say that he ignores the Queens' personality entirely - rather he does not get involved with the kind of comment and speculation that mars many other books on this subject.

He rights with a wonderful detached irony and is on occaisions very funny. The section describing the 'Royal Family' film in particular made me laugh out loud.

An unbiased examination of the Monarchy, 08 Sep 2002
Pimlott writes crisply and intelligently and charts both the personal life of Elizabeth and the way she operates in modern politics. He can criticise and praise when either is needed, making this potentially the most valuable and authentic book on the monarchy.

Egotistical but fascinating, 23 Jun 2007
The Queen is just about my most admired living person, her dedication is amazing.

Brandreth quotes what makes them happy which I think is very true:

1) Dont be introspective
2) Live a full busy useful life.

He drops a lot of names - a lot - but so what, it is a really good insight into a wonderful couple.

Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table on the island of Corfu, 13 Apr 2006
And other irresistible tidbits make this book an honest and enchanting look at the Royal Family. For me, it was a real page turner. I could not put it down. As an American, perhaps I am naive, and more interested in the mystique of British royalty rather than looking for some prurient expose. This book gave me insight into some of the more charming aspects of palace life. Particulary endearing was the young "Princess Elizabeth's" relationship to her grandfather, King George V, who with his own two sons was gruff and angry, but with his grandbaby "Lillibet" was soft and yielding. She was the apple of his eye. Brandreth's description of Elizabeth pulling King George V by his beard as they played "horse and groom" is priceless, as well as his getting down on all fours to play with her. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in British history and the British Royal Family.

Ego Trip, 16 Sep 2005
Gyles Brandreth claimes to know the real Philip and Elizabeth, Well this book just shows one what an ego trip these so called royal insiders are on. If he were a FRIEND of prince Philip, would he have written about it, and he is none to flattering about the Queen, which would have hurt is FRIEND Philip, and of course the Queen cannot Answer back. A lot of what he has to say has been heard before,through interviews with such as Countess Mountbatten, who is always ready to tell all it seems. but those of use who saw the tv film of this book could see that those like Countess Mountbatten said very little indeed. It is a trite book like all the others. The only people to really know Philip and Elizabeth, are their children and grandchildren and close relatives, and the Late Bobo MacDonald who was with the Queen for 60 years and never said a word. This is a boring rehashe of countless other books and interviews about the Royal Couple.

Is this about the author or the Queen and her consort?, 05 Nov 2004
The two previous reviews have already clearly indicated that this double biography is rather a disappointment. I do share these views.

May I add a few remarks of my own: It was rather off-putting that the author constantly refers to theb fact how close he is to the Duke. What does he wants us to tell with that? That he had exclusive access to information otherwise not available or does he wants to boost his own standing? He is pretty clear about how he admires the Duke and well that does it say all: all is great about him. Actually no need to explore the life of the Duke further because he can do no wrong. Furthermore, why does the author states that certain things in the lives of the Queen and the Duke is not the reader's /public's business to deal with as it is private? Well what is the sense of investigating their lives if one is suppose to know only what they are willing to give away. Then just read the Queen's website!

All in all, I feel that the author is far to close to his subjects in order to give the reader an objective or even an interesting new inside in their lives, backgrounds etc.. It is a bit like the last books by Andrew Morton who writes in the style "I and Princess Di": this is "I and the Duke".

Philip and Elizabeth, 07 Oct 2004
I was pleasantly surprised by this after ploughing through the opening prologue. There are a number of mistakes in there, which grated with me. Page 16, Brandreth refers to the memorial service for the terror attacks of Sept. 11 2001 as being at Westminster Abbey - it was at St Paul's Cathedral. He also refers to the re-sheduled date of Edward VII's coronation as 9 Aug 1902, which is before the date he first mentions as the propsed date on 26 June 1903. As it was postponed because of illness, this cannot be right.

Once I was past that point, however, the book became very readable. Brandreth clearly has had access to Philip and Elizabeth, (though there is perhaps a touch more reference to Philip than Elizabeth) and a number of family and friends. The book seeks to put right a number of myths and rumours about them, he is fiercely loyal to both of them, and through the book, he offers the wit and light-hearted yet serious style of writing for which he is well-known.

A difficult start, but a pleasure to read

Another history undermined by forgery, 05 May 2008
Although Martin Allen will not face prosecution, the investigation into 29 allegedly forged documents discovered at the National Archives has concluded that all of them are 'amateurish' fakes. Since these documents form the back-bone of Allen's history, be aware that what you are reading is substantively fictional.

Be warned, 03 May 2008
The author of this book has twice been exposed as using forged, tainted historical sources. He faces prosecution for tampering with the British National Archives. Mr.Allen denies the allegation (he would, wouldn't he?) but anyone considering buying his books should consider whether they want to read fact or fantasy. In Mr.Allen's case it is probably the latter.

Who betrayed whom?, 02 Jul 2003
Martin Allen‘s book „Hidden Agenda - How the Duke of Windsor betrayed the Allies“ provides us with an interesting look behind the stage on which the beginning of the Second World War was taking shape. Martin Allen describes in considerable detail the interests of the various parties involved in this conflict - the actors, the observers, and the by-standers, and he adroitly shows how some of the players, at times, would switch from one category to the other.

The lynchpin of the book is a letter, supposedly written in late 1939 by the Duke. Its purpose was to introduce to Hitler the Duke‘s messenger, the Franco-American industrial consultant, Charles E. Bedaux who, in those early months and years of the war, was able to travel quite freely from one side of the „Sitzkrieg“ front to the other.

A facsimile of the letter is shown in the book. Obviously, for a mere reader, it is impossible to say whether the letter is genuine or not. The (German!) text of the letter is, however, just ever so slightly off the track with respect to normal German style, grammar, and vocabulary that it may well have been written by a person, such as the Duke, whose command of the language was good, but not perfect. It would have taken an excellent forger to achieve such a convincing degree of (im)perfection.

The immediate military results of the Duke‘s overtures toward Hitler were twofold. They represent, in a way, each party‘s ante in the bargain: the Duke‘s information on the French defenses allowed the Germans to turn the „sitzkrieg“ into a „blitzkrieg“ in the summer of 1940, whereas the German contribution was to hold their panzers back when they reached the Channel, thus allowing the British Expeditionary Force to retreat from Dunkerque with acceptable losses.

At this point, the book argues more or less explicitly, it would have been possible for some sort of peace deal to be reached. However, the Duke‘s position at home had been undermined by internal machinations that had led to his resignation and he was unable to realize his ambition which, according to Allen, was to recover his throne through this admittedly risky alliance with Berlin.

The obvious argument that comes to mind at this point is that any peace with Hitler would have constituted an abandonment of Poland for whose integrity and protection the Allies had, after all, gone to war. We must realize, though, that at the end of September, 1939, when the war in Poland had come to its rapid end, the Germans had occupied only the western half of that country. The eastern half of Poland was, by then, under Soviet domination, because the Soviets had, on 17 September 1939 (when the victory of their German ally was evident) sent in the Red Army to take over the rest - and to hold on to it to the present day.

This overt act of aggression did not cause a stir in the camp of the Allies and voids the argument sketched out above. The value of Allen‘s book lies in its exposure of the duplicity of the policy of the Allies. Only five years later, the world witnessed and for the most part, welcomed the complete hand-over of Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe to Stalin who, by that time, had become the West‘s most valuable ally in the fight for the ideals of freedom and democracy. It took History a mere fifty years and millions of dead to rectify that situation. One wonders if the price that might have had to be paid to Hitler would have been quite as high as that.

INTERESTING SUPPOSITION, BUT . . ., 07 Feb 2003
This book charges that the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, gave Allied military secrets to Germany in a deliberate scheme to help the Nazis against his own country.

The British establishment, the author says, used Edward's love for Wallis Simpson as a pretext to force his abdication because of his pro-German views. Then, he says, that same establishment used Edward to spy on French military installations for Britain--but that Edward simultaneously passed the secrets along to the Germans through Charles Bedaux, a shady character with ties to both Edward and Adolf Hitler.

The book is built around a handwritten letter, in German, from Edward to Hitler, which the author says his father received years later from Hitler's architect, Albert Speer. The book surmises that Edward gave the letter to Bedaux, who hid it in his hat band, or elsewhere, and then personally delivered it to Hitler.

On the surface the letter is cryptic. Was Edward really trying to hurt Britain--or help Hitler put him back on the Throne? Was he being solicitous, or devious? If the circumstances surrounding the letter are indeed what the author claims, then this book has a real story to tell.

Unfortunately, the book's shortcomings as a serious history cast doubt on its conclusions. There is some original research, particularly with respect to the background of Bedaux himself. Most of the text, however, rests either on secondary sources or on no acknowledged source at all. The author does not cite the particular pages of the secondary sources, so it is virtually impossible for readers to evaluate the information for themselves. Worse yet, many highly accusatory and critical passages have no source references whatsoever, leaving frustrated readers to wonder whether the undocumented conversations and events actually happened. The overall tone suggests that the author has let his own animus toward Edward dictate the scholarship, rather than the other way around.

The author explains that many of the primary source documents have been destroyed, are not available for inspection, or are perhaps even being hidden by the British royal family itself. That, though, is not a license to make critical assumptions that result, essentially, in a charge of treason.

The letter appears to bear Edward's handwriting, as far as one can tell from the lithographic reproduction in the book. In an appendix the author recounts that a handwriting expert authenticated the letter. Sadly, however, he does not identify the expert, and the glaring absence of the expert's identity further undermines this book's claims.

Even if the letter is genuine, it does not prove the author's thesis. Edward was not anti-German, and he may well have thought that the Nazis were Europe's best defense against Soviet expansionism. He may also have been careless in his dealings with both Bedaux and Hitler. But that certainly does not mean that Edward would deliberately seek to harm the Empire that he served so long as Prince of Wales, and later as King.

The overreaching premise of this book makes the story of royal intrigue entertaining, but one should not uncritically accept all of the story.

Treason wears a crown., 22 Mar 2001
A riveting account of the involvement of the Duke of Windsor in the growing Nazi movement. The Duke's abdication, stage-managed by the government of the day, was an attempt to remove his pro-German leanings from influencing official policy.

Good but not outstanding, 18 Jan 2008
Joan Haslip (1912-1994) was an author of historical books, often focussing on European royalty. Her books were generally regarded as accurate and fairly complete although at times falling prey to "outdated interpretations".

Her biography on the Empress Elizabeth reflects very much that reputation. I liked very much that she tries to get away from the romantic attitude and endless talk about the Elizabeth's beauty. She tries to get to the personality of this being. This is indeed difficult as she was very contradictory which tends to cofuse people. I liked the word "lonely" as it captures much about the Empress. All in all I feel it is a book worth reading, not an authorative beiography and not the great classic but one (of them many books on Sisi) worth reading. But it dit not match Brigitte Haman's "Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen" which is simply superb.

A serious book but vivid and easy to read., 03 Jul 2001
Haslip's writing is a joy to read. Her narrative skill, combined with the power of the tragic but romantic life she describes, makes the book hard to put down. I can't help agreeing with Edward Crankshaw, who said 'Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy...a serious book which is highly readable'.

behind close doors, 15 Oct 2004
This book is all about showing the Queen in a great light. The Queen is cast as the GOD and rest of the royal family, especially the outsiders are cast as the poor sad mortals who she looks down in dismay. All the outsiders those who marry into the Royal Family get all the blame for the various marriage break ups.

Elizabeth:Behind Palace Doors, 03 Mar 2003
An incredibly revealing publication, and a must-have for any die-hard fan of the British monarchy. The truth surrounding the "annus horribilis" and the breakdowns of the marriages of three of the Queen's children is revealed. As a result, one is made to feel genuine sympathy for the woman behind the public image. A very worthwhile read!!!

Treasonable Revelations of spite by Jeffrey Simmonns, 05 Sep 2007
I was interested in this book as I felt like many a concern for how the royal family were treated, I read a few comments in the Daily Mail and bought this book which is now firmly relagated to the bin. My reasons, I found it difficult to stomach and felt physically sick at the poison pen of Simmonns who is identified as the true author in my copy. Not only does it seem to apply that those in the society circle disdain royals but that they are eager to steal the money of anybody and humiliate the genuinely good work of royals. It seems to be particularly viscious in its treatment of KIng George and relish in humilating history with a spiteful vigour that I could only relate to castrated viscious old men and superficial women. I would consider this malicious work which when reading between the lines reads as the spiteful and worse than that (someone who takes glee in hurting the traditions of this country and wrongly believes that they have the write to publish it)cause a class and civil war in this country when, excuse me for saying so, but this country had supposedly overcome its prejudice and ignorance. It seems that the author and co authors have paid scant notice of facts but have produced pure drivel designed to further the cause of people who wrongly believe the monarchy is to blame for atrocieties in war and out of war time. I fervently believe that the little "coup" this book is designed to cause in its supposed creation of "new" historic royals and its malintent towards royalty belongs in the bin along with the copious pages of badly written and ill thought actions of the authors/co authors who seem to gleefully be trying to explain that they have no respect for life, anybodies life and indulge in cruelties which defy their ability to be called gentleman and ladies and seems to infer that any person not on their side in govt or police or who stands for decency is a target of guzzling society hyenas. Any persons loss of life and values to curtsey to this pack of snivelling, howling jealousies is an injustice that defies definition. Read this book if you wish but throw the malintent of this book in a bonfire when you've finished

Top Read!, 12 Aug 2006
After reading the Excellent book - Double Standards by the same authors, i was not dissapointed in continuing the read about the Royals and their motives before, during and after World War 2. This book gives more ground to the events in the forementioned book.
The star of this book is undoubtably Mountbatten and his quest to integrate his legacy to the throne. Also Interesting is the Power of the Queen Mother and also Prince Phillips background.
One of the later chapters goes into the Diana Crash, while the authors make it clear that they were not going to get too involved, By keeping brief and to the point of the inconsistancies, they create an interesting chapter, which i believe they could make into a whole book about the subject.
Excellent sources & biblography, - Highly Recommended

Very enlightening Book, 19 Apr 2005
Once I started reading this book it was hard for me to put it down. The more I read about what went on during the war the more I am concerned how the monarchy acting in a way that could be classed as treason. A definite recommend.

The Queen, 10 Aug 2003
A very readable biography of the Queen. Unlike most biographers he treats the Queen as a serious figure in the post-war political scene. That's not to say that he ignores the Queens' personality entirely - rather he does not get involved with the kind of comment and speculation that mars many other books on this subject.

He rights with a wonderful detached irony and is on occaisions very funny. The section describing the 'Royal Family' film in particular made me laugh out loud.

An unbiased examination of the Monarchy, 08 Sep 2002
Pimlott writes crisply and intelligently and charts both the personal life of Elizabeth and the way she operates in modern politics. He can criticise and praise when either is needed, making this potentially the most valuable and authentic book on the monarchy.

Egotistical but fascinating, 23 Jun 2007
The Queen is just about my most admired living person, her dedication is amazing.

Brandreth quotes what makes them happy which I think is very true:

1) Dont be introspective
2) Live a full busy useful life.

He drops a lot of names - a lot - but so what, it is a really good insight into a wonderful couple.

Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table on the island of Corfu, 13 Apr 2006
And other irresistible tidbits make this book an honest and enchanting look at the Royal Family. For me, it was a real page turner. I could not put it down. As an American, perhaps I am naive, and more interested in the mystique of British royalty rather than looking for some prurient expose. This book gave me insight into some of the more charming aspects of palace life. Particulary endearing was the young "Princess Elizabeth's" relationship to her grandfather, King George V, who with his own two sons was gruff and angry, but with his grandbaby "Lillibet" was soft and yielding. She was the apple of his eye. Brandreth's description of Elizabeth pulling King George V by his beard as they played "horse and groom" is priceless, as well as his getting down on all fours to play with her. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in British history and the British Royal Family.

Ego Trip, 16 Sep 2005
Gyles Brandreth claimes to know the real Philip and Elizabeth, Well this book just shows one what an ego trip these so called royal insiders are on. If he were a FRIEND of prince Philip, would he have written about it, and he is none to flattering about the Queen, which would have hurt is FRIEND Philip, and of course the Queen cannot Answer back. A lot of what he has to say has been heard before,through interviews with such as Countess Mountbatten, who is always ready to tell all it seems. but those of use who saw the tv film of this book could see that those like Countess Mountbatten said very little indeed. It is a trite book like all the others. The only people to really know Philip and Elizabeth, are their children and grandchildren and close relatives, and the Late Bobo MacDonald who was with the Queen for 60 years and never said a word. This is a boring rehashe of countless other books and interviews about the Royal Couple.

Is this about the author or the Queen and her consort?, 05 Nov 2004
The two previous reviews have already clearly indicated that this double biography is rather a disappointment. I do share these views.

May I add a few remarks of my own: It was rather off-putting that the author constantly refers to theb fact how close he is to the Duke. What does he wants us to tell with that? That he had exclusive access to information otherwise not available or does he wants to boost his own standing? He is pretty clear about how he admires the Duke and well that does it say all: all is great about him. Actually no need to explore the life of the Duke further because he can do no wrong. Furthermore, why does the author states that certain things in the lives of the Queen and the Duke is not the reader's /public's business to deal with as it is private? Well what is the sense of investigating their lives if one is suppose to know only what they are willing to give away. Then just read the Queen's website!

All in all, I feel that the author is far to close to his subjects in order to give the reader an objective or even an interesting new inside in their lives, backgrounds etc.. It is a bit like the last books by Andrew Morton who writes in the style "I and Princess Di": this is "I and the Duke".

Philip and Elizabeth, 07 Oct 2004
I was pleasantly surprised by this after ploughing through the opening prologue. There are a number of mistakes in there, which grated with me. Page 16, Brandreth refers to the memorial service for the terror attacks of Sept. 11 2001 as being at Westminster Abbey - it was at St Paul's Cathedral. He also refers to the re-sheduled date of Edward VII's coronation as 9 Aug 1902, which is before the date he first mentions as the propsed date on 26 June 1903. As it was postponed because of illness, this cannot be right.

Once I was past that point, however, the book became very readable. Brandreth clearly has had access to Philip and Elizabeth, (though there is perhaps a touch more reference to Philip than Elizabeth) and a number of family and friends. The book seeks to put right a number of myths and rumours about them, he is fiercely loyal to both of them, and through the book, he offers the wit and light-hearted yet serious style of writing for which he is well-known.

A difficult start, but a pleasure to read

Another history undermined by forgery, 05 May 2008
Although Martin Allen will not face prosecution, the investigation into 29 allegedly forged documents discovered at the National Archives has concluded that all of them are 'amateurish' fakes. Since these documents form the back-bone of Allen's history, be aware that what you are reading is substantively fictional.

Be warned, 03 May 2008
The author of this book has twice been exposed as using forged, tainted historical sources. He faces prosecution for tampering with the British National Archives. Mr.Allen denies the allegation (he would, wouldn't he?) but anyone considering buying his books should consider whether they want to read fact or fantasy. In Mr.Allen's case it is probably the latter.

Who betrayed whom?, 02 Jul 2003
Martin Allen‘s book „Hidden Agenda - How the Duke of Windsor betrayed the Allies“ provides us with an interesting look behind the stage on which the beginning of the Second World War was taking shape. Martin Allen describes in considerable detail the interests of the various parties involved in this conflict - the actors, the observers, and the by-standers, and he adroitly shows how some of the players, at times, would switch from one category to the other.

The lynchpin of the book is a letter, supposedly written in late 1939 by the Duke. Its purpose was to introduce to Hitler the Duke‘s messenger, the Franco-American industrial consultant, Charles E. Bedaux who, in those early months and years of the war, was able to travel quite freely from one side of the „Sitzkrieg“ front to the other.

A facsimile of the letter is shown in the book. Obviously, for a mere reader, it is impossible to say whether the letter is genuine or not. The (German!) text of the letter is, however, just ever so slightly off the track with respect to normal German style, grammar, and vocabulary that it may well have been written by a person, such as the Duke, whose command of the language was good, but not perfect. It would have taken an excellent forger to achieve such a convincing degree of (im)perfection.

The immediate military results of the Duke‘s overtures toward Hitler were twofold. They represent, in a way, each party‘s ante in the bargain: the Duke‘s information on the French defenses allowed the Germans to turn the „sitzkrieg“ into a „blitzkrieg“ in the summer of 1940, whereas the German contribution was to hold their panzers back when they reached the Channel, thus allowing the British Expeditionary Force to retreat from Dunkerque with acceptable losses.

At this point, the book argues more or less explicitly, it would have been possible for some sort of peace deal to be reached. However, the Duke‘s position at home had been undermined by internal machinations that had led to his resignation and he was unable to realize his ambition which, according to Allen, was to recover his throne through this admittedly risky alliance with Berlin.

The obvious argument that comes to mind at this point is that any peace with Hitler would have constituted an abandonment of Poland for whose integrity and protection the Allies had, after all, gone to war. We must realize, though, that at the end of September, 1939, when the war in Poland had come to its rapid end, the Germans had occupied only the western half of that country. The eastern half of Poland was, by then, under Soviet domination, because the Soviets had, on 17 September 1939 (when the victory of their German ally was evident) sent in the Red Army to take over the rest - and to hold on to it to the present day.

This overt act of aggression did not cause a stir in the camp of the Allies and voids the argument sketched out above. The value of Allen‘s book lies in its exposure of the duplicity of the policy of the Allies. Only five years later, the world witnessed and for the most part, welcomed the complete hand-over of Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe to Stalin who, by that time, had become the West‘s most valuable ally in the fight for the ideals of freedom and democracy. It took History a mere fifty years and millions of dead to rectify that situation. One wonders if the price that might have had to be paid to Hitler would have been quite as high as that.

INTERESTING SUPPOSITION, BUT . . ., 07 Feb 2003
This book charges that the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, gave Allied military secrets to Germany in a deliberate scheme to help the Nazis against his own country.

The British establishment, the author says, used Edward's love for Wallis Simpson as a pretext to force his abdication because of his pro-German views. Then, he says, that same establishment used Edward to spy on French military installations for Britain--but that Edward simultaneously passed the secrets along to the Germans through Charles Bedaux, a shady character with ties to both Edward and Adolf Hitler.

The book is built around a handwritten letter, in German, from Edward to Hitler, which the author says his father received years later from Hitler's architect, Albert Speer. The book surmises that Edward gave the letter to Bedaux, who hid it in his hat band, or elsewhere, and then personally delivered it to Hitler.

On the surface the letter is cryptic. Was Edward really trying to hurt Britain--or help Hitler put him back on the Throne? Was he being solicitous, or devious? If the circumstances surrounding the letter are indeed what the author claims, then this book has a real story to tell.

Unfortunately, the book's shortcomings as a serious history cast doubt on its conclusions. There is some original research, particularly with respect to the background of Bedaux himself. Most of the text, however, rests either on secondary sources or on no acknowledged source at all. The author does not cite the particular pages of the secondary sources, so it is virtually impossible for readers to evaluate the information for themselves. Worse yet, many highly accusatory and critical passages have no source references whatsoever, leaving frustrated readers to wonder whether the undocumented conversations and events actually happened. The overall tone suggests that the author has let his own animus toward Edward dictate the scholarship, rather than the other way around.

The author explains that many of the primary source documents have been destroyed, are not available for inspection, or are perhaps even being hidden by the British royal family itself. That, though, is not a license to make critical assumptions that result, essentially, in a charge of treason.

The letter appears to bear Edward's handwriting, as far as one can tell from the lithographic reproduction in the book. In an appendix the author recounts that a handwriting expert authenticated the letter. Sadly, however, he does not identify the expert, and the glaring absence of the expert's identity further undermines this book's claims.

Even if the letter is genuine, it does not prove the author's thesis. Edward was not anti-German, and he may well have thought that the Nazis were Europe's best defense against Soviet expansionism. He may also have been careless in his dealings with both Bedaux and Hitler. But that certainly does not mean that Edward would deliberately seek to harm the Empire that he served so long as Prince of Wales, and later as King.

The overreaching premise of this book makes the story of royal intrigue entertaining, but one should not uncritically accept all of the story.

Treason wears a crown., 22 Mar 2001
A riveting account of the involvement of the Duke of Windsor in the growing Nazi movement. The Duke's abdication, stage-managed by the government of the day, was an attempt to remove his pro-German leanings from influencing official policy.

Useful collection of Stuart social portraits, 31 Oct 2005
As an editor and biographer, Lewis Melville (the pseudonym for Lewis Saul Benjamin) produced numerous works of literary and social history. Though written nearly a century ago, his books on such figures as William Makepeace Thackeray, John Gay, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu persevere as well-written and insightful studies of their subjects. This book is something different, a collection of chapter-length biographical studies of women who were prominent in the court life of King Charles II. Eleven of them were noblewomen who were the subjects of a series of portraits commissioned from Peter Lely by the Duke of York, to which Melville added studies of the Duchess of York, Nell Gwyn, Louise de Keroualle and the Duchess Mazarin.

First published in 1921, this book has been reissued by Victorian Heritage Press in a revised edition, with explanatory footnotes, translations, and a glossary added. This is obviously a labor of love, one designed to make Melville’s enjoyable accounts accessible to a new generation of readers. Though the research could have been more solidly based (I had a problem with the reliance on Wikipedia as a source, especially when the shelves overflow with so many excellent scholarly works on Stuart England), this is a welcome resuscitation of a useful study of the English upper class in the 17th century.

Good but not outstanding, 18 Jan 2008
Joan Haslip (1912-1994) was an author of historical books, often focussing on European royalty. Her books were generally regarded as accurate and fairly complete although at times falling prey to "outdated interpretations".

Her biography on the Empress Elizabeth reflects very much that reputation. I liked very much that she tries to get away from the romantic attitude and endless talk about the Elizabeth's beauty. She tries to get to the personality of this being. This is indeed difficult as she was very contradictory which tends to cofuse people. I liked the word "lonely" as it captures much about the Empress. All in all I feel it is a book worth reading, not an authorative beiography and not the great classic but one (of them many books on Sisi) worth reading. But it dit not match Brigitte Haman's "Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen" which is simply superb.

A serious book but vivid and easy to read., 03 Jul 2001
Haslip's writing is a joy to read. Her narrative skill, combined with the power of the tragic but romantic life she describes, makes the book hard to put down. I can't help agreeing with Edward Crankshaw, who said 'Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy...a serious book which is highly readable'.

behind close doors, 15 Oct 2004
This book is all about showing the Queen in a great light. The Queen is cast as the GOD and rest of the royal family, especially the outsiders are cast as the poor sad mortals who she looks down in dismay. All the outsiders those who marry into the Royal Family get all the blame for the various marriage break ups.

Elizabeth:Behind Palace Doors, 03 Mar 2003
An incredibly revealing publication, and a must-have for any die-hard fan of the British monarchy. The truth surrounding the "annus horribilis" and the breakdowns of the marriages of three of the Queen's children is revealed. As a result, one is made to feel genuine sympathy for the woman behind the public image. A very worthwhile read!!!

Treasonable Revelations of spite by Jeffrey Simmonns, 05 Sep 2007
I was interested in this book as I felt like many a concern for how the royal family were treated, I read a few comments in the Daily Mail and bought this book which is now firmly relagated to the bin. My reasons, I found it difficult to stomach and felt physically sick at the poison pen of Simmonns who is identified as the true author in my copy. Not only does it seem to apply that those in the society circle disdain royals but that they are eager to steal the money of anybody and humiliate the genuinely good work of royals. It seems to be particularly viscious in its treatment of KIng George and relish in humilating history with a spiteful vigour that I could only relate to castrated viscious old men and superficial women. I would consider this malicious work which when reading between the lines reads as the spiteful and worse than that (someone who takes glee in hurting the traditions of this country and wrongly believes that they have the write to publish it)cause a class and civil war in this country when, excuse me for saying so, but this country had supposedly overcome its prejudice and ignorance. It seems that the author and co authors have paid scant notice of facts but have produced pure drivel designed to further the cause of people who wrongly believe the monarchy is to blame for atrocieties in war and out of war time. I fervently believe that the little "coup" this book is designed to cause in its supposed creation of "new" historic royals and its malintent towards royalty belongs in the bin along with the copious pages of badly written and ill thought actions of the authors/co authors who seem to gleefully be trying to explain that they have no respect for life, anybodies life and indulge in cruelties which defy their ability to be called gentleman and ladies and seems to infer that any person not on their side in govt or police or who stands for decency is a target of guzzling society hyenas. Any persons loss of life and values to curtsey to this pack of snivelling, howling jealousies is an injustice that defies definition. Read this book if you wish but throw the malintent of this book in a bonfire when you've finished

Top Read!, 12 Aug 2006
After reading the Excellent book - Double Standards by the same authors, i was not dissapointed in continuing the read about the Royals and their motives before, during and after World War 2. This book gives more ground to the events in the forementioned book.
The star of this book is undoubtably Mountbatten and his quest to integrate his legacy to the throne. Also Interesting is the Power of the Queen Mother and also Prince Phillips background.
One of the later chapters goes into the Diana Crash, while the authors make it clear that they were not going to get too involved, By keeping brief and to the point of the inconsistancies, they create an interesting chapter, which i believe they could make into a whole book about the subject.
Excellent sources & biblography, - Highly Recommended

Very enlightening Book, 19 Apr 2005
Once I started reading this book it was hard for me to put it down. The more I read about what went on during the war the more I am concerned how the monarchy acting in a way that could be classed as treason. A definite recommend.

The Queen, 10 Aug 2003
A very readable biography of the Queen. Unlike most biographers he treats the Queen as a serious figure in the post-war political scene. That's not to say that he ignores the Queens' personality entirely - rather he does not get involved with the kind of comment and speculation that mars many other books on this subject.

He rights with a wonderful detached irony and is on occaisions very funny. The section describing the 'Royal Family' film in particular made me laugh out loud.

An unbiased examination of the Monarchy, 08 Sep 2002
Pimlott writes crisply and intelligently and charts both the personal life of Elizabeth and the way she operates in modern politics. He can criticise and praise when either is needed, making this potentially the most valuable and authentic book on the monarchy.

Egotistical but fascinating, 23 Jun 2007
The Queen is just about my most admired living person, her dedication is amazing.

Brandreth quotes what makes them happy which I think is very true:

1) Dont be introspective
2) Live a full busy useful life.

He drops a lot of names - a lot - but so what, it is a really good insight into a wonderful couple.

Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table on the island of Corfu, 13 Apr 2006
And other irresistible tidbits make this book an honest and enchanting look at the Royal Family. For me, it was a real page turner. I could not put it down. As an American, perhaps I am naive, and more interested in the mystique of British royalty rather than looking for some prurient expose. This book gave me insight into some of the more charming aspects of palace life. Particulary endearing was the young "Princess Elizabeth's" relationship to her grandfather, King George V, who with his own two sons was gruff and angry, but with his grandbaby "Lillibet" was soft and yielding. She was the apple of his eye. Brandreth's description of Elizabeth pulling King George V by his beard as they played "horse and groom" is priceless, as well as his getting down on all fours to play with her. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in British history and the British Royal Family.

Ego Trip, 16 Sep 2005
Gyles Brandreth claimes to know the real Philip and Elizabeth, Well this book just shows one what an ego trip these so called royal insiders are on. If he were a FRIEND of prince Philip, would he have written about it, and he is none to flattering about the Queen, which would have hurt is FRIEND Philip, and of course the Queen cannot Answer back. A lot of what he has to say has been heard before,through interviews with such as Countess Mountbatten, who is always ready to tell all it seems. but those of use who saw the tv film of this book could see that those like Countess Mountbatten said very little indeed. It is a trite book like all the others. The only people to really know Philip and Elizabeth, are their children and grandchildren and close relatives, and the Late Bobo MacDonald who was with the Queen for 60 years and never said a word. This is a boring rehashe of countless other books and interviews about the Royal Couple.

Is this about the author or the Queen and her consort?, 05 Nov 2004
The two previous reviews have already clearly indicated that this double biography is rather a disappointment. I do share these views.

May I add a few remarks of my own: It was rather off-putting that the author constantly refers to theb fact how close he is to the Duke. What does he wants us to tell with that? That he had exclusive access to information otherwise not available or does he wants to boost his own standing? He is pretty clear about how he admires the Duke and well that does it say all: all is great about him. Actually no need to explore the life of the Duke further because he can do no wrong. Furthermore, why does the author states that certain things in the lives of the Queen and the Duke is not the reader's /public's business to deal with as it is private? Well what is the sense of investigating their lives if one is suppose to know only what they are willing to give away. Then just read the Queen's website!

All in all, I feel that the author is far to close to his subjects in order to give the reader an objective or even an interesting new inside in their lives, backgrounds etc.. It is a bit like the last books by Andrew Morton who writes in the style "I and Princess Di": this is "I and the Duke".

Philip and Elizabeth, 07 Oct 2004
I was pleasantly surprised by this after ploughing through the opening prologue. There are a number of mistakes in there, which grated with me. Page 16, Brandreth refers to the memorial service for the terror attacks of Sept. 11 2001 as being at Westminster Abbey - it was at St Paul's Cathedral. He also refers to the re-sheduled date of Edward VII's coronation as 9 Aug 1902, which is before the date he first mentions as the propsed date on 26 June 1903. As it was postponed because of illness, this cannot be right.

Once I was past that point, however, the book became very readable. Brandreth clearly has had access to Philip and Elizabeth, (though there is perhaps a touch more reference to Philip than Elizabeth) and a number of family and friends. The book seeks to put right a number of myths and rumours about them, he is fiercely loyal to both of them, and through the book, he offers the wit and light-hearted yet serious style of writing for which he is well-known.

A difficult start, but a pleasure to read

Another history undermined by forgery, 05 May 2008
Although Martin Allen will not face prosecution, the investigation into 29 allegedly forged documents discovered at the National Archives has concluded that all of them are 'amateurish' fakes. Since these documents form the back-bone of Allen's history, be aware that what you are reading is substantively fictional.

Be warned, 03 May 2008
The author of this book has twice been exposed as using forged, tainted historical sources. He faces prosecution for tampering with the British National Archives. Mr.Allen denies the allegation (he would, wouldn't he?) but anyone considering buying his books should consider whether they want to read fact or fantasy. In Mr.Allen's case it is probably the latter.

Who betrayed whom?, 02 Jul 2003
Martin Allen‘s book „Hidden Agenda - How the Duke of Windsor betrayed the Allies“ provides us with an interesting look behind the stage on which the beginning of the Second World War was taking shape. Martin Allen describes in considerable detail the interests of the various parties involved in this conflict - the actors, the observers, and the by-standers, and he adroitly shows how some of the players, at times, would switch from one category to the other.

The lynchpin of the book is a letter, supposedly written in late 1939 by the Duke. Its purpose was to introduce to Hitler the Duke‘s messenger, the Franco-American industrial consultant, Charles E. Bedaux who, in those early months and years of the war, was able to travel quite freely from one side of the „Sitzkrieg“ front to the other.

A facsimile of the letter is shown in the book. Obviously, for a mere reader, it is impossible to say whether the letter is genuine or not. The (German!) text of the letter is, however, just ever so slightly off the track with respect to normal German style, grammar, and vocabulary that it may well have been written by a person, such as the Duke, whose command of the language was good, but not perfect. It would have taken an excellent forger to achieve such a convincing degree of (im)perfection.

The immediate military results of the Duke‘s overtures toward Hitler were twofold. They represent, in a way, each party‘s ante in the bargain: the Duke‘s information on the French defenses allowed the Germans to turn the „sitzkrieg“ into a „blitzkrieg“ in the summer of 1940, whereas the German contribution was to hold their panzers back when they reached the Channel, thus allowing the British Expeditionary Force to retreat from Dunkerque with acceptable losses.

At this point, the book argues more or less explicitly, it would have been possible for some sort of peace deal to be reached. However, the Duke‘s position at home had been undermined by internal machinations that had led to his resignation and he was unable to realize his ambition which, according to Allen, was to recover his throne through this admittedly risky alliance with Berlin.

The obvious argument that comes to mind at this point is that any peace with Hitler would have constituted an abandonment of Poland for whose integrity and protection the Allies had, after all, gone to war. We must realize, though, that at the end of September, 1939, when the war in Poland had come to its rapid end, the Germans had occupied only the western half of that country. The eastern half of Poland was, by then, under Soviet domination, because the Soviets had, on 17 September 1939 (when the victory of their German ally was evident) sent in the Red Army to take over the rest - and to hold on to it to the present day.

This overt act of aggression did not cause a stir in the camp of the Allies and voids the argument sketched out above. The value of Allen‘s book lies in its exposure of the duplicity of the policy of the Allies. Only five years later, the world witnessed and for the most part, welcomed the complete hand-over of Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe to Stalin who, by that time, had become the West‘s most valuable ally in the fight for the ideals of freedom and democracy. It took History a mere fifty years and millions of dead to rectify that situation. One wonders if the price that might have had to be paid to Hitler would have been quite as high as that.

INTERESTING SUPPOSITION, BUT . . ., 07 Feb 2003
This book charges that the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, gave Allied military secrets to Germany in a deliberate scheme to help the Nazis against his own country.

The British establishment, the author says, used Edward's love for Wallis Simpson as a pretext to force his abdication because of his pro-German views. Then, he says, that same establishment used Edward to spy on French military installations for Britain--but that Edward simultaneously passed the secrets along to the Germans through Charles Bedaux, a shady character with ties to both Edward and Adolf Hitler.

The book is built around a handwritten letter, in German, from Edward to Hitler, which the author says his father received years later from Hitler's architect, Albert Speer. The book surmises that Edward gave the letter to Bedaux, who hid it in his hat band, or elsewhere, and then personally delivered it to Hitler.

On the surface the letter is cryptic. Was Edward really trying to hurt Britain--or help Hitler put him back on the Throne? Was he being solicitous, or devious? If the circumstances surrounding the letter are indeed what the author claims, then this book has a real story to tell.

Unfortunately, the book's shortcomings as a serious history cast doubt on its conclusions. There is some original research, particularly with respect to the background of Bedaux himself. Most of the text, however, rests either on secondary sources or on no acknowledged source at all. The author does not cite the particular pages of the secondary sources, so it is virtually impossible for readers to evaluate the information for themselves. Worse yet, many highly accusatory and critical passages have no source references whatsoever, leaving frustrated readers to wonder whether the undocumented conversations and events actually happened. The overall tone suggests that the author has let his own animus toward Edward dictate the scholarship, rather than the other way around.

The author explains that many of the primary source documents have been destroyed, are not available for inspection, or are perhaps even being hidden by the British royal family itself. That, though, is not a license to make critical assumptions that result, essentially, in a charge of treason.

The letter appears to bear Edward's handwriting, as far as one can tell from the lithographic reproduction in the book. In an appendix the author recounts that a handwriting expert authenticated the letter. Sadly, however, he does not identify the expert, and the glaring absence of the expert's identity further undermines this book's claims.

Even if the letter is genuine, it does not prove the author's thesis. Edward was not anti-German, and he may well have thought that the Nazis were Europe's best defense against Soviet expansionism. He may also have been careless in his dealings with both Bedaux and Hitler. But that certainly does not mean that Edward would deliberately seek to harm the Empire that he served so long as Prince of Wales, and later as King.

The overreaching premise of this book makes the story of royal intrigue entertaining, but one should not uncritically accept all of the story.

Treason wears a crown., 22 Mar 2001
A riveting account of the involvement of the Duke of Windsor in the growing Nazi movement. The Duke's abdication, stage-managed by the government of the day, was an attempt to remove his pro-German leanings from influencing official policy.

Useful collection of Stuart social portraits, 31 Oct 2005
As an editor and biographer, Lewis Melville (the pseudonym for Lewis Saul Benjamin) produced numerous works of literary and social history. Though written nearly a century ago, his books on such figures as William Makepeace Thackeray, John Gay, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu persevere as well-written and insightful studies of their subjects. This book is something different, a collection of chapter-length biographical studies of women who were prominent in the court life of King Charles II. Eleven of them were noblewomen who were the subjects of a series of portraits commissioned from Peter Lely by the Duke of York, to which Melville added studies of the Duchess of York, Nell Gwyn, Louise de Keroualle and the Duchess Mazarin.

First published in 1921, this book has been reissued by Victorian Heritage Press in a revised edition, with explanatory footnotes, translations, and a glossary added. This is obviously a labor of love, one designed to make Melville’s enjoyable accounts accessible to a new generation of readers. Though the research could have been more solidly based (I had a problem with the reliance on Wikipedia as a source, especially when the shelves overflow with so many excellent scholarly works on Stuart England), this is a welcome resuscitation of a useful study of the English upper class in the 17th century.

Egotistical but fascinating, 23 Jun 2007
The Queen is just about my most admired living person, her dedication is amazing.

Brandreth quotes what makes them happy which I think is very true:

1) Dont be introspective
2) Live a full busy useful life.

He drops a lot of names - a lot - but so what, it is a really good insight into a wonderful couple.

Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table on the island of Corfu, 13 Apr 2006
And other irresistible tidbits make this book an honest