Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters
Biography & Autobiography
Grand Central Publishing
March 30, 2021
Hardcover
384
Free from publisher
They were the closest of sisters and the best of friends. But when, in a quixotic twist of fate, their uncle Edward Vlll decided to abdicate the throne, the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Forever more Margaret would have to curtsey to the sister she called 'Lillibet.' And bow to her wishes. Elizabeth would always look upon her younger sister's antics with a kind of stoical amusement, but Margaret's struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system-and her fraught relationship with its expectations-was often a source of tension. Famously, the Queen had to inform Margaret that the Church and government would not countenance her marrying a divorcee, Group Captain Peter Townsend, forcing Margaret to choose between keeping her title and royal allowances or her divorcee lover. From the idyll of their cloistered early life, through their hidden war-time lives, into the divergent paths they took following their father's death and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne, this book explores their relationship over the years. Andrew Morton's latest biography offers unique insight into these two drastically different sisters-one resigned to duty and responsibility, the other resistant to it-and the lasting impact they have had on the Crown, the royal family, and the ways it adapted to the changing mores of the 20thcentury.
My review:
I don't read a lot of nonfiction, but I do enjoy some royal gossip. I thought this would be the perfect book to get a truthful (not gossipy) look into the lives of Queen Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret. This author, best known for his wonderful biographies (particularly that of Princess Diana), does a wonderful job of telling a nonfiction story. I tend to get bogged down with the details in nonfiction, and find my mind wandering with so many facts being tossed around. This book read more like a fictionalized story of two sisters growing up, it just so happened that they grew up under a huge spotlight, not even of their own making. Elizabeth and Margaret would have been an offshoot on the line to the throne, until their uncle abdicated, thus changing their lives immeasurably. I liked that the book took the reader in a chronological order from birth to the death of Princess Margaret, with lots of interesting tidbits along the way. There is a lot of focus on the loves of Margaret, and how she broke the barrier around current views of divorce in the monarchy. I have a much more favorable picture of Elizabeth after reading this (the Queen Mother, not so much!).
For those who love royal history, or are fans of The Crown, pick up a copy of this well written and documented biography of two women who despite their fame, remained sisters at heart.
