Customer Rating:  
Summary: Enjoyed
Comment: This was a gift, & the recipient tells me they are really enjoying it & that it is much better written than many similar books on the subject (& she reads them all!).
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Summary: Enjoyable well-written biography of Prince Philip and the Queen
Comment: I became interested in reading more about the life of the Queen and her husband after seeing "Windsor Castle: A Royal Year." Prince Philip is the star of one of the hours of that multi-part documentary. He came across as a down-to-earth man of many interests about whom I wanted to learn more. I purchased this book mainly interested in it as a biography of Prince Philip.
Prince Philip of Greece had a difficult early life. He was the youngest son of Prince Andrea of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenburg/Milford-Haven. His three older sister all married German nobles. The Greek royal family was subject to on-again off-again exile. His parents were separated after their exile. Not having any Greek ancestry, the Greek royal family was in a precarious position in the early part of the twentieth century. Philip had no fixed permanent residence for much of his life before marrying Princess Elizabeth. As a great great grandson of Queen Victoria, he is 550th or so in line for the British monarchy himself. Philip lived with various relatives and went to school in Germany and later Gordonstoun in Scotland. He served in the British Navy and famously was first photographed with Princess Elizabeth at the Royal Naval College. At the Battle of Cape Matapan Philip was manning a searchlight and had the good fortune to illuminate an Italian (enemy) ship resulting in devastating fire being directed at that ship.
Philip and Elizabeth were married in 1947. Elizabeth became Queen upon the death of her father five years later. Philip duties in supporting the Queen have involved endless ceremonial events and public appearances for over sixty years, and continues to maintain a full schedule of public functions into his late eighties.
Author Brandeth take pains to dismiss all claims of Philip's famously alleged infidelity as untrue both by reason of his loyalty to the Queen and by virtue of logistic impossibility. He even explains Philip's absence from the Queen's bed early in the morning on July 9, 1982 when a deranged man sneaked into Buckingham Palace. The lunatic sat on the Queens bed talking to her until she was able to summon her guard. The man later admitted that he intended to commit suicide in the Queen's presence. Brandeth explains that Philip and the Queen normally share the same bed but on that morning Philip slept alone having travel plans that would require him to get up unusually early.
Brandeth places most of the blame for the difficult relationship between Diana and the Royal couple on poor communication and especially to the immature and emotionally unstable Diana. Many very sensitive matters were discussed in letters rather than face-to-face leading to misunderstandings and later causing great embarrassment when those letters got into the hands of the press. Maintaining some privacy while living in the fishbowl of Palace life has been a matter of obsession for the Queen and Philip. Courtiers that have discussed royal personal business or, even worse, written books about the Royals have been completely cut off. The author recalls how the Queen broke off all contact with her much loved governess "Crawfie" after that servant wrote a tell-all book about the Queen's childhood in 1950s. It was to avoid unwanted public disclosure that the 2003 Burrell trial was halted. Paul Burrell, Diana's butler was charged with stealing and selling some of the late Lady Di's personal effects. Just as the trial was about to begin, the Queen remembered a conversation with the valet in which he told her that he holding on to some of Diana's possession for safekeeping.
The author describes himself as a friend of Prince Philip's. While this account can not be considered an authorized biography, the author does include the Prince's wry reaction to various controversies that have surfaced during his long life. On the other hand the Queen remains a distant aloof figure in this biography. Like the aforementioned documentary, where Philip talks directly to the camera about his duties as Ranger of Windsor Park, this book gives a rare look at otherwise inscrutable Prince Philip explaining himself in his own words.
Highly recommended.
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Summary: A Look at a Royal Marriage
Comment: This is not just a book about the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip-it is a story of their lives both before and after their marriage in-in sections.
First Section: details about their early lives and details surrounding their parents and grandparents.
First was Elizabeth growining up in England-with her parents the Duke and Duchess of York and then after Edward VIII abdicated King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
Second was Philip born a Greek and Danish Prince but shortly after his birth his family was forced to move to France to live near his uncle George and Aunt Marie.
Second Section: Details their lives as teenagers around the time of WWII
Elizabeth was forced to live apart from her parents and was sent to live with her sister outside of London. After the war the family was reunited and at 13 Elizabeth met Philip for the first time
Philip lived in France for several years before his mother was institutionalized and his father ran off with his mistress. His sisters help raise him and then sent him to schools in Germany, and England. During the War he was a Navey Man where at 18 he met 13 year old Elizabeth.
The Next several Sections detail their courtship, marriage, becomeing first time parents to Charles and Anne, becoming Queen and Consort and then having Andrew and Edward afterward.
An interesting book with interviews from Prince Philip, Elizabeth's cousin and others that give a detailed account of two interesting people.
Customer Rating:
Summary: beautiful one
Comment: one of the most beautiful biographies i have ever read . it reavels the humaneterian side of queen elizabith and prince philip . they are like us they love and hate like every ordinary person . mr brandreth is great .do not miss this book
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Summary: Another Royal Book?
Comment: Having read a lot of books about the royals, I didn't know if I wanted to read another. I'm very glad I read this one. Enjoyed how it was written. Very witty remarks, a lot of them in parenthesis. Having the book notes at the bottom of the various pages was a great help. One can't help but read them. There was alot of info that I had read before, but Mr Brandreth gave a more balanced view. It was a fun read!
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