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2 years ago
Engrossing royal reads
Looking to learn more about British royal history? Robert Hardman’s Charles III is making headlines right now, but there are plenty more compelling royal books indulge your desire for all-things royal, from Omid Scobie’s Endgame and Tina Brown’s The Palace Papers to Sean Smith’s Meghan Misunderstood. Here are our favourites.
Historian and technical advisor to Netflix’s The Crown, Robert Lacey’s Battle of Brothers gives readers an inside glimpse into Prince William and Harry’s relationship, their differences bestowed by birth, contrasting duties and ever-growing distance.
HarperCollins Publishers, £10, waterstones.com
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One for fashion enthusiasts, Elizabeth Holmes’ HRH dissects the style of royal icons the Queen, Princess Diana, The Duchess of Cambridge and The Duchess of Sussex – the intentions and influence behind what they wear, and how royal style has carried through the generations.
Celadon Books, byelizabethholmes.com
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‘The palace has been described as a royal menagerie, a hive of industrious freeloaders, an ant heap and even a lunatic asylum.’ Author Tom Quinn introduces us to the real Kensington Palace in this enthralling book – a place which, despite playing host to British monarchs for more than 200 years, is not exempt from a series of captivating shenanigans and scandals.
Biteback Publishing, £9.99, waterstones.com
A close look at Harry and Meghan’s captivating life together, Finding Freedom explores the young couple’s divergence from the royal family and progressive aspirations. With exclusive access to the couple’s most intimate circles, as well as profound experience writing about the royals, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand provide a sincere and engrossing account of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
HarperCollins Publishers, £20, waterstones.com
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If you’re eager to learn about the late Duke of Edinburgh’s engrossing life, Ingrid Seward’s biography guarantees an interesting read. Discover more about the Prince’s Greek and Danish royal descent, his complicated time spent at boarding school and role as husband and consort to the most famous woman in the world.
Simon & Schuster Ltd, £20, waterstones.com
A light-hearted, thoroughly interesting and entertaining book for those who can’t get enough of the royals, brimming with historic facts, stories, style notes, profiles and more.
Running Press Adult, £12.99, waterstones.com
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A dual-biography from author, journalist and renowned royal biographer Andrew Morton, Elizabeth & Margaret delves into the captivating and complex lives of the divergent royal sisters, their early life, relationship, and legacy.
Michael O’Mara Books, £20, mombooks.com
Leading celebrity biographer Sean Smith brings us this trailblazing book about the Duchess of Sussex. Drawing on Markle’s intriguing life before royalty, from her charitable efforts to her successful acting career, Smith writes of her bitter treatment from the press and palace, and why she has become one of the most ‘misunderstood’ women in Britain.
HarperCollins Publishers, £16.99, waterstones.com
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Another one from Tina Brown is this 20th anniversary commemorative edition of the bestselling book about ‘the people’s princess’, Diana. Chronicling the Princess’s tumultuous life, from her complex family and celebrity status to her relationship with the late Queen, Brown looks to her own personal relationship with Lady Diana to share a compelling account of the Princess’ life and legacy.
Anchor Books, £10.99, waterstones.com
Getty Images Royal Photographer, Chris Jackson’s book is a compendium of over two decades of the late Elizabeth II’s rule. During a time of seismic change and turbulence in the British Monarchy, Jackson is privy to special access to photographing both public occasions and private moments. Documenting the Queen over official engagements, Jackson shares his own insights with behind the scene anecdotes and shots too.
Rizzoli Publications, £38, waterstones.com
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Picking up where Tina Brown’s bestseller The Diana Chronicles left off, her latest book, The Palace Papers, promises searing insight on the new era of the Royal Family since the death of Princess Diana. The former editor of Tatler and Vanity Fair tells a story of survival, chronicling the late Queen‘s loosening grip with Harry and Meghan; her stoic resolve with the loss of Prince Philip; the ascendance of Kate Middleton; and the disturbing allegations that swirl around Prince Andrew. With intimate access and sources, Brown promises an understanding of the royal family that Netflix’s The Crown would envy.
Cornerstone, £20, waterstones.com
Hotly anticipated and highly controversial, Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, was published by Penguin Random House and co-written by acclaimed ghostwriter JR Moehringer. Offering a firsthand account of Prince Harry’s life, told with ‘raw, unflinching honesty’, the book charts his journey from childhood through to the present day, covering his time in the military, meeting Meghan and becoming a father. While the one-word title might seem vague, it’s actually hugely significant. It alludes to the concept of ‘the heir and the spare’, which has long been used as a refrain to describe the monarch and their sibling. The ‘spare’ refers to the younger royal, who, unlike their older sibling, has no defined role within the monarchy.
Penguin Random House, £19.99, waterstones.com
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Omid Scobie’s follow up to his 2020 Royal book Finding Freedom (co-authored with Carolyn Durand) is making the headlines for its brash claims about the Royal Family. It declares the family is ‘in crisis’ due to its lack of interest in cultivating younger supporters, as well as tensions between Kate and Meghan, Charles’ apathy towards Meghan and Harry, and the King’s apparent inability to ‘command’ his family. Is any of it true? There’s know way of knowing. But it makes for a spicy read.
HarperCollins Publishers, £22, waterstones.com
Acclaimed journalist and renowned expert on the royal family Robert Hardman has just released one of the most hotly-anticipated biographies of 2024: that of the monarch himself, King Charles III. Hardman, who is described as having ‘unrivalled access’ to the King, gives us the inside story on the monarch’s most pivotal year – from the death of Queen Elizabeth II to the Coronation, the rise of the new Prince and Princess of Wales to the growing tensions with the Sussexes following a surprise autobiography.
Pan Macmillan, £22, waterstones.com
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