If you have ever watched The Crown, you will be more than familiar with Tommy Lascelles, aka Sir Alan Lascelles. Lascelles served as Assistant Private Secretary to King George V, King Edward VIII, King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth II, and was a first-hand witness to countless crucial moments in history. While he never shied away from sharing his opinion, we now have the chance to read his thoughts directly. This week’s Book Bite, we are looking at King’s Counsellor by Sir Tommy Lascelles!
King’s Counsellor Abdication and War: The Diaries of Sir Alan Lascelles, Sir Alan Lascelles, Duff Hart-Davis (Editor)
As Assistant Private Secretary to four monarchs, ‘Tommy’ Lascelles had a ringside seat from which to observe the workings of the royal household and Downing Street during the first half of the 20th century
These fascinating diaries begin with Edward VIII’s abdication and end with George VI’s death and his daughter Elizabeth’s Coronation. In between we see George VI at work and play, a portrait more intimate than any other previously published.
This compelling account also includes Princess Margaret’s relationship with Peter Townsend, and throws an intriguing new light on the way in which King George VI and Winston Churchill worked together during the Second World War.
Lascelles was a fine writer – like most of the best diaries his are a delight to read as well as being invaluable history.
Why You Should Read This…
A note before we begin: these are edited diaries. Presumably Lascelles edited them himself, but Hart-Davis and the publishers have also edited them.
I know a fair bit about Lascelles, his career, and his life. However, I still learned quite a lot reading this. As one might expect, Lascelles was rather snarky in his diaries, and it made the reading all the more entertaining. It strikes me how quickly he moves from the momentous to the mundane, and back again. (The funniest entry to me was when he complained during the war that his suit did not have “a full Christian complement of pockets” due to rationing, and went to the minister in charge to get his pockets…) I will say, these diaries are better for learning about Lascelles’ own life and his thoughts on politicians, rather than his thoughts on the royals- those have already been included in countless biographies.
I chose to do the audiobook for this one, and it made for fascinating listening. Pip Torrens, the actor who plays Lascelles in The Crown narrated the audiobook, and it was a brilliant choice. Diaries can be an odd thing to read on the page, I find listening to an audiobook can help.
Have you read King’s Counsellor by Sir Tommy Lascelles?
Cheers,
The Historian
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