Best and Worst Royal Biographies

[GloiredeDijon]

I posted this in What We Are Reading but then thought I might get more suggestions here.

I am currently mostly reading various biographies and enjoy finding out more about our royal family.

So far I have read:
Entitled by Andrew Lownie
The Traitor King by Andrew Lownie
The Palace Papers by Tina Brown
The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown
Betrayal by Tom Bower
Lady In Waiting by Anne Glenconner

About to start Queen Elizabeth II by Robert Hardman

I also have a copy of Spare, passed on to me by somebody else, but I couldn’t get past the first couple of chapters as it was just so self pitying that it made my teeth itch.

Any reviews for books you have personally read please?

I know there are lots of others available but wanted a steer to the good ones and to hear about any to avoid.

Would you prefer any particular time period?

Good point!
I think from 1900 onwards.

Try:

• Sarah Bradford's biographies of the Queen and Diana. I think this is the best biography of the Queen I've read. The Diana biography isn't as good as Tina Brown's but still very good.
• Another good biography of Diana is the Sally Bedell Smith one, if you can find a copy.
• Going back further, James Pope Hennessy's biography of Queen Mary is old fashioned but really does take you back into her world. I love it. I'd have a look at an excerpt on Amazon and see if you are ok with the writing style.
• An outlier is Hugo Vickers' biography of Princess Alice, Prince Philip's mother. Not technically British royalty but she had an incredible life.

Avoid:

• Omid Scobie. If you didn't like Spare, you won't like Scobie.
• Anything by Lady Colin Campbell. She has had some good intel but she is a bit too vitriolic and she jumps the shark when she claims the Queen Mother wasn't her mother's biological daughter.
• I don't think anything on William and Kate is worth the money to be honest.

James Pope Hennessey’s original biography has been reissued and edited by Hugo Vickers. It’s got lots of bits not in the original as they could not be published at the time and needed to be ‘held’ for 50 years. It had very good reviews -it’s now called the Quest for Queen Mary. I have bought it, but is languishing in a queue.

Jane Ridley on George V and Edward VII is excellent.

I have both Tina Brown (Palace Papers and Diana Chronicles). Really enjoyed them both.

Also enjoyed:

Sally Bedell Smith's Diana.
Tom Bower's Harry and Meghan one.
Entitled - Lownie.

One I haven't seen mentioned yet is Tom Bower's Prince Charles one. I usually like Bower's stuff.

Did not like the Omid Scobie one.

Waiting for a decent QE11 bio now! Find existing ones generally too sycophantic.

Recommend:
Courtiers - Valentine Lowe
Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth - Robert Hardman
Do Let’s Have Another Drink (The Dry Wit and Fizzy Life of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother - Gareth Russell
Dianaworld: An Obsession - Edward White (this is less a biography of Diana but more an observation of the Diana phenomenon)

Avoid:
Finding Freedom - Omid Scobie
Endgame - Omid Scobie
Meghan & Harry: The Real Story - Lady Colin Campbell

I also agree that a lot of books about William and or Catherine are lacking because they’re more private and well behaved compared to other royals so give writers less to work with!

Anna Keay has been named as the late Queen's official biographer. She seems to be a 17th century specialist, but I suppose there must be something in her cv which makes her suitable. It'll be a good while before anything appears.

Has an official biographer for Prince Philip been announced?

I read the official bio of QEQM. I found it a bit dry. Can't remember the author.

Two by Robert Hardman I enjoyed were Queen of the World, about the late Queen's overseas trips and relations with the Commonwealth, and the one about the King's first year and preparations for the Coronation. Can't recall the title. There was a tv documentary to go with it.

And on a lighter note, Angela Kelly's The Other Side of the Coin, about dressing the Queen and how she approached the job of designing outfits.

A bit further back, I like Elizabeth Longford's bio of Queen Victoria.

Tina Brown has a pacy writing style and her books are enjoyable.
Robert Hardman's new one about QEII is good.

I read "Entitled", and some of the content was interesting but Lownie just chucks info at you, so I'm not a fan of his style.

Hugo Vickers is very old school, mostly gets his facts right, and is excellent on all the connections in the European 19th and early 20th century royal families. His biography of Princess Alice is the best.

I also enjoyed Valentine Low's "Courtiers".

Omid Scobie is unreadable!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Shopping to be done!

I note that nobody has mentioned Gyles Brandreth’s efforts. Were these too sycophantic? I thought they might be.

Angela Kelly’s The Other Side of the Coin was already on my list so good to see somebody mention that one.

Also has anybody read Ingrid Stewart’s My Husband and I?

Or Camilla by Angela Levin?

I'm part way through Angela Levin's book. Like many of these books, it adds to the detail but doesn't really give any new insights. It was written before she became Queen, too, and I feel something more up to date is needed.

I think I've read something by Gyles Brandreth on Philip. He did know Philip personally, which is something. If it's the book I'm thinking of, he wrote about Philip's personal library, and how it reflected his enormous range of interests, which was interesting.

Just to note “The Quest for Queen Mary” is an entirely different book for James Pope Hennessy’s biography of Queen Mary.

“Queen Mary: An Official Biography” is his lengthy, weighty, heavily researched tome on the former Queen, now out of print though you can download an audio book.

”The Quest for Queen Mary” pulls together the diary notes that James Pope Hennessy made while researching the official biography, and is fascinating reading - he interviewed as many surviving Edwardian and Victorian Royals and Royal-Adjacents as he could, and they were often quite nuts. I have read this one and found it very entertaining. The current Duke of Gloucester’s father for example came across as utterly unsuited to the real world…

I've recently read Tom Bower's 'Rebel Prince' . I think it might have been updated now to 'Rebel King' but my library hasn't caught up. It was a very useful reminder of the kind of controversial causes and meddling C3 was noted for some 20 odd years ago but which have now subsided under the radar.

I've read other Bower books (House of Beckham and Revenge) but tend to find there are too many dry facts to fully take on board although I'm waiting for my library to supply me with 'Betrayal'

'Entitled' is a masterly collation of an awful lot of already known facts with a few surprises thrown in.

I've read 'Spare' and 'Endgame' again supplied by the library and just because I could. 'Spare' entirely deserves its mocking 'Waaagh' moniker and I hope and suspect reports Penguin Random House got their greedy little maulers burnt on it are entirely correct.

Not a biography but a very interesting sentence or so in Norman Baker's 'Royal Mint, National Debt' notes that both the press and he are well aware of certain very newsworthy items about W that can't be disclosed for legal reasons.

I have no doubt there will be disclosure in the fullness of time. Just hope I'm around to see it 😁

I am currently reading Gyles Brandreth's biography of the late Queen, which so far I I think is really good. Brandreth is/was on personal terms with many of the key players, especially Prince Philip. I haven't finished the book yet, but I think Brandreth manages to spill a bit of the tea, while also being respectful of more confidential matters.

I also really enjoyed Tina Brown's books.

I enjoyed Ma'am Darling by Craig Brown ( Princess Margaret)

and the Little Princesses by Marion Crawford

I read the official bio of QEQM. I found it a bit dry. Can't remember the author.

That would be William Shawcross, @HelenaWilson . It is a bit dry but boy do you get your money’s worth, it’s a hefty volume.

Fun fact; WS is Alex (The Hotel Inspector) Polizzi’s step father.

That would be William Shawcross, It is a bit dry but boy do you get your money’s worth, it’s a hefty volume.

Yes, I had it as an actual book from the library. It was indeed a tome. Now I would borrow it as an e-book.

Norman Baker books:

And What Do You Do?
Royal Mint, National Debt

Traitor King by Andrew Lownie gives a good perspective on Wallis and E8.

I still own this weighty tome in hardback. I agree it's a bit dry (as I think official biographies sometimes tend to be), but it is very well researched and worth a read.

I thought Shawcross was good for the early part of the Queen Mother's life. I particularly liked the section outlining her developing relationship with George VI before they got married. The (very long) section after his death went into far too much detail on the very many foreign tours the QM went on and I lost interest at that point.

I have just read a memoir of the Duchess of Windsor by Diana Mitford. It's interesting because she knew so many of the people. BUT you do have to read it with an eye to author bias. A interesting counterpoint to the Traitor King though.

I enjoyed the Alexandra biography by Georgina Battiscombe. I think it might be out of print though.

It just squeezes into your date remit OP, she died in the mid-1920s.

I enjoyed the Alexandra biography by Georgina Battiscombe. I think it might be out of print though.

There are copies on Abebooks for under £10.

Oh interesting thread. Spare is awful, agree a self pity party without any concept of the real world and struggles, ones across as very privileged. I was unable to finish it. I’m interested in Alice, Philips mother so looking for a book on her currently.

It has been a while since I read it, but as I recall, Hugo Vickers' Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece is a good read.