Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

Thank you to Berkley for gifting me a review copy of The Royal Governess by Wendy Holden.

While I wouldn’t say I’m royal-obsessed I do think that generally speaking Australians follow the goings on of the British Royal Family significantly more than Americans do…you know, because Australia is still part of the Commonwealth and all that. So, it’s always interesting to learn more about the current royal family and those from previous generations as well.

This book really brings to life the early years of Queen Elizabeth II and how her young governess, Marion Crawford, tried to get her to see things from a less privileged point of view despite being so sheltered. While it took me a little while to get into it, once I did I was really hooked and thought the characters were very well written.

It was also fascinating to read this book while Harry and Megan are speaking out about their experience with the monarchy and the institution that surrounds it. It sheds extra light on things in a way, and really shows how things that can seem glamorous from the outside might really just be a gilded cage.

I also enjoyed reading things from the outside perspective of the governess, who came from an ordinary family, who assumed she’d head back to her ‘regular life’ after a short stint with the princesses, but in fact, ended up staying for 16 years.

So if you love historical fiction and want to learn more about Elizabeth’s early years this book is a must!

Synopsis:

Sunday Times bestselling author Wendy Holden brings to life the unknown childhood years of one of the world’s most iconic figures, Queen Elizabeth II, and reveals the little-known governess who made Britain’s queen into the monarch we know today.

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.