Ah, the year of 2020 has started off with a bang for the British royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced that they will be stepping down from being senior members of the royal family. As of right now, none of us really know what that means. (As more information becomes available, I will update this post.) No matter what it means, though, it once again has people questioning the stability and necessity of the monarchy. These questions have been asked before, and will undoubtedly be asked again. So, I’ve got 5 books on the modern Windsors to give you the background to and weight of the situation!
As a royal watcher and a royal historian, the current situation fascinates me. I don’t think that it spells the end of the British monarchy, but I think that it means that the modern house of Windsor needs to re-assess their current communication strategy and each of their roles. (I’m not placing blame on anyone or any office, but clearly, there has been a breakdown somewhere.) However, this isn’t the first time that the house of Windsor has faced a crisis or two. At various points in the last 50 years, people believed that the end of the monarchy was right around the corner. But, it is still here! These 5 books on the modern Windsors give you background into the people and the recent history at play here.
Note: I unfortunately don’t have any books to recommend on the Duke or Duchess of Sussex- the books I’ve read on them and their relationship aren’t great. I’ve got a few on my to-read list for 2020, though, and I will update if I have any to recommend!
1. Prince William: Born to be King, Penny Junor
Prince William has emerged as the people’s prince, surfacing from a lifetime of scrutiny and speculation as a discerning and charming young man, determined to serve the nation he loves. His wedding to long-term sweetheart Kate Middleton last year was watched by over two billion people around the world. Protective of his new bride, William has emphasised that he’s keen to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. William has inherited her instinctive empathy for others and in both his professional and personal life he has demonstrated a rare ability to get on with people from all walks of life.
In Born To Be King acclaimed royal writer Penny Junor tells his fascinating story – from growing up in the spotlight; the tragic death of his mother; his career serving in the RAF; the love story with Kate and their fairytale wedding. This is the definitive portrait of a remarkable young man.
The Duke of Cambridge is one of the key players in the current British royal family. As second in line to the throne, Prince William is increasingly taking on more responsibilities. We have heard and seen acknowledgement of a rift between William and Harry in 2019. Without diving into gossip, I think that William’s opinion on the current state of affairs does need to carry weight as an heir. Although this is an older biography (published in 2012), it still gives fantastic insight into his life. I think this book is particularly useful right now because Junor focuses on the media aspect of William’s life. (I will update this if I find a more recent biography that is more informative.)
2. Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch, Sally Bedell Smith
From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II has been the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well do we really know the world’s most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who has led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last sixty years with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.
In Elizabeth the Queen, we meet the young girl who suddenly becomes “heiress presumptive” when her uncle abdicates the throne. We meet the thirteen-year-old Lilibet as she falls in love with a young navy cadet named Philip and becomes determined to marry him, even though her parents prefer wealthier English aristocrats. We see the teenage Lilibet repairing army trucks during World War II and standing with Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on V-E Day. We see the young Queen struggling to balance the demands of her job with her role as the mother of two young children. Sally Bedell Smith brings us inside the palace doors and into the Queen’s daily routines—the “red boxes” of documents she reviews each day, the weekly meetings she has had with twelve prime ministers, her physically demanding tours abroad, and the constant scrutiny of the press—as well as her personal relationships: with Prince Philip, her husband of sixty-four years and the love of her life; her children and their often-disastrous marriages; her grandchildren and friends.
I know that I recommend this book quite often; that is for good reason. There have been many biographies of Queen Elizabeth II, but this 2012 bio is one of the best. It is well-researched, well-written, and humanising, a rare feat in this genre. I know that there is currently quite a bit of debate on the Queen’s involvement with the future. Is she deferring to Charles, because the monarchy will be his soon and at the age of 93, a slight step back is warranted? Or is she using her 60+ years of experience to keep a grip on the situations? In any case, she is still at the heart of the monarchy. And Elizabeth the Queen does a wonderful job of introducing the Queen as a person and as a monarch. The Queen’s childhood and adolescence was at times turbulent and tense, due to her uncle’s abdication and the Second World War. Those effects are still seen in her behaviour and decisions today. So, we cannot look at the current state of the monarchy without first understanding the monarch herself!
3. The Secret of the Crown: Canada’s Affair with Royalty, John Fraser
Award-winning journalist, author, and royal authority John Fraser explores the endurance and allure of the Crown in Canada. With his trademark wit and artful agility, Fraser looks at the Crown’s evolution from the Age of Deference to the era of celebrity to the present popular revival. He examines the differences between tribal monarchy and constitutional monarchy, the key roles of the governor general and the lieutenant governor, and the media’s insatiable appetite for the Royal Family. Finally, he speculates on the future reign of Charles, Prince of Wales, and pays homage to Queen Elizabeth II on her Diamond Jubilee.
This is a fairly light-hearted read, and quite a specific book. As Head of the Commonwealth, the Queen is also Canada’s Head of State. And as such, the British royal family does have a real and tangible connection to Canada. Add on that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent several weeks in Canada at the end of 2019, and now may be spending more time here. I thought that a look at the actual relationship between Canada and the Crown might be useful. It is a fast read, and I’m wondering if we will see an update in the next few years! (Due to either Charles becoming King at some point, Harry and Meghan spending more time here, or just a regular update.
4. The Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor, Donald Spoto
A portrait of the royal Windsor family follows Queen Victoria through the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and covers the relationship of Charles and Camilla, Diana’s emotional roller coasters, and the Duke of Kent’s lovers.
This book is from the mid ’90s (1996, to be exact). Written at the tail end of the House of Windsor’s last crisis period, but before Diana’s death, it does give some insight into the current questions being asked. (Especially by older journalists and courtiers, who have vivid memories of this.) 1992 was Queen Elizabeth’s annus horribilis. However, the horrible-ness continued on for several years after. I don’t know that that will happen at all in 2020, but I do understand why alarm bells are ringing for some people. This book does cover from Queen Victoria to the present royals (up to 1996), so if you are looking for the modern Windsors, I would focus on the last four chapters. While this book is quite sensationalist- the point is to highlight the downfall of a dynasty- it shows clusters of issues and situations that you might not ordinarily put together. 2019 was rather a difficult year for the British royal family (an understatement); car accidents, interviews, legal cases, and now they are continuing on with potential strife. I don’t think that it is a time for panic, but this certainly can show how people arrive there. (If people thought the end of the monarchy was nigh in the ’90s, I think it only shows that they will find their way and soldier on in 2020.) And if you want to go further back for the scoop on the whole dynasty, feel free to start at the beginning.
5. Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Sally Bedell Smith
Sally Bedell Smith returns once again to the British royal family to give us a new look at Prince Charles, the oldest heir to the throne in more than three hundred years. This vivid, eye-opening biography–the product of four years of research and hundreds of interviews with palace officials, former girlfriends, spiritual gurus, and more, some speaking on the record for the first time–is the first authoritative treatment of Charles’s life that sheds light on the death of Diana, his marriage to Camilla, and his preparations to take the throne one day.
Prince Charles brings to life the real man, with all of his ambitions, insecurities, and convictions. It begins with his lonely childhood, in which he struggled to live up to his father’s expectations and sought companionship from the Queen Mother and his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten. It follows him through difficult years at school, his early love affairs, his intellectual quests, his entrepreneurial pursuits, and his intense search for spiritual meaning. It tells of the tragedy of his marriage to Diana; his eventual reunion with his true love, Camilla; and his relationships with William, Kate, Harry, and his grandchildren.
Ranging from his glamorous palaces to his country homes, from his globe-trotting travels to his local initiatives, Smith shows how Prince Charles possesses a fiercely independent spirit and yet has spent more than six decades waiting for his destined role, living a life dictated by protocols he often struggles to obey. With keen insight and the discovery of unexpected new details, Smith lays bare the contradictions of a man who is more complicated, tragic, and compelling than we knew, until now.
This is one of the most recent Prince Charles’ biographies, published in 2017. Given that he is the longest-serving Prince of Wales, he is no insignificant figure in the current monarchy. In the beginning of 2020, we are consistently asking how much authority he has, and even more so with the Sussex situation. However, much like Bedell Smith’s biography of Elizabeth, this biography of Charles gives fantastic insight into the future King Charles III. (Or King-something-else, should he change.) I will warn you, it is firmly in the Charles camp; Diana is given a particular treatment. However, I don’t know that we will ever get a biography or history of the modern Windsors to give the same treatment to both. If you are curious about the man who will next become king, grab this book! (I listened to the audiobook, one of the best biographies I’ve heard.)
What 5 books on the modern Windsors would you recommend to royal watchers? Do any stand out to you?
Cheers,
The Historian
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