The Royal Governess by Wendy Holden
publication: August 25th 2020 by Berkley
In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring their Royal Highnesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she bring some doses of normalcy into the sheltered and privileged lives of the two young princesses.
At Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Balmoral, Marion defies oppressive court protocol to take the girls on tube trains, swimming at public baths, and on joyful Christmas shopping trips at Woolworth’s. From her ringside seat at the heart of the British monarchy she witnesses the upheaval of the Abdication and the glamour and drama of the 1937 Coronation.
During the war, as Hitler’s Heinkels fly over Windsor, she shelters her charges in the castle dungeons (not far from where the Crown Jewels are hidden in a biscuit tin). Afterwards, she is there when Elizabeth first sets eyes on Philip. But being beloved governess and confidante to the Windsor family has come at a cost. She puts her private life on hold until released from royal service following Princess Elizabeth’s marriage in 1947.
In a majestic story of love, sacrifice, and allegiance, bestselling novelist Holden shines a captivating light into the years before Queen Elizabeth II took the throne, as immortalized on the popular television series The Crown.
My Thoughts...
Oh my, I am a
huge fan of the television series The Crown and this book brought it all back
to me on why I love everything Queen Elizabeth II. The spunk, the regalness (is that a
word?), and the history of Lilibet becoming Queen Elizabeth II. The added bonus is that there is the history of
WWII, which is my favorite era to read about, and how it affected the Royals.
I loved Mrs.
Crawford. She took a privileged
upbringing and taught the princesses how to appreciate the everyday
people. She taught them history,
reading, and all the other regular school topics but she also showed them how
the everyday people lived and most of all Marion Crawford gave the princess
love and a mother. Marion gave her
whole life to the Royals and the Princesses.
She loved them, protected them, and taught them right from wrong. This was not the life she had envisioned for
herself but she excelled at what she did.
The story of
Marion and the princesses is a new story to me.
I am now looking for more about the governess and the Royals.
Add The Royal
Governess to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your
own copy on Amazon and Barnes and Noble
No comments:
Post a Comment