Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage
£0.39
Egotistical but fascinating - The Queen is just about my most admired living person, her dedication is amazing.Brandreth quotes what makes them happy which I think is very true:1) Dont be introspective2) Live a full busy useful life.He drops a lot of names - a lot - but so what, it is a really good insight into a wonderful couple.
Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table on the island of Corfu - And other irresistible tidbits make this book an honest and enchanting look at the Royal Family. For me, it was a real page turner. I could not put it down. As an American, perhaps I am naive, and more interested in the mystique of British royalty rather than looking for some prurient expose. This book gave me insight into some of the more charming aspects of palace life. Particulary endearing was the young Princess Elizabeth s relationship to her grandfather, King George V, who with his own two sons was gruff and angry, but with his grandbaby Lillibet was soft and yielding. She was the apple of his eye. Brandreth s description of Elizabeth pulling King George V by his beard as they played horse and groom is priceless, as well as his getting down on all fours to play with her. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in British history and the British Royal Family.
Ego Trip - Gyles Brandreth claimes to know the real Philip and Elizabeth, Well this book just shows one what an ego trip these so called royal insiders are on. If he were a FRIEND of prince Philip, would he have written about it, and he is none to flattering about the Queen, which would have hurt is FRIEND Philip, and of course the Queen cannot Answer back. A lot of what he has to say has been heard before,through interviews with such as Countess Mountbatten, who is always ready to tell all it seems. but those of use who saw the tv film of this book could see that those like Countess Mountbatten said very little indeed. It is a trite book like all the others. The only people to really know Philip and Elizabeth, are their children and grandchildren and close relatives, and the Late Bobo MacDonald who was with the Queen for 60 years and never said a word. This is a boring rehashe of countless other books and interviews about the Royal Couple.
Is this about the author or the Queen and her consort? - The two previous reviews have already clearly indicated that this double biography is rather a disappointment. I do share these views. May I add a few remarks of my own: It was rather off-putting that the author constantly refers to theb fact how close he is to the Duke. What does he wants us to tell with that? That he had exclusive access to information otherwise not available or does he wants to boost his own standing? He is pretty clear about how he admires the Duke and well that does it say all: all is great about him. Actually no need to explore the life of the Duke further because he can do no wrong. Furthermore, why does the author states that certain things in the lives of the Queen and the Duke is not the reader s /public s business to deal with as it is private? Well what is the sense of investigating their lives if one is suppose to know only what they are willing to give away. Then just read the Queen s website! All in all, I feel that the author is far to close to his subjects in order to give the reader an objective or even an interesting new inside in their lives, backgrounds etc.. It is a bit like the last books by Andrew Morton who writes in the style I and Princess Di: this is I and the Duke.
Philip and Elizabeth - I was pleasantly surprised by this after ploughing through the opening prologue. There are a number of mistakes in there, which grated with me. Page 16, Brandreth refers to the memorial service for the terror attacks of Sept. 11 2001 as being at Westminster Abbey - it was at St Paul s Cathedral. He also refers to the re-sheduled date of Edward VII s coronation as 9 Aug 1902, which is before the date he first mentions as the propsed date on 26 June 1903. As it was postponed because of illness, this cannot be right.Once I was past that point, however, the book became very readable. Brandreth clearly has had access to Philip and Elizabeth, (though there is perhaps a touch more reference to Philip than Elizabeth) and a number of family and friends. The book seeks to put right a number of myths and rumours about them, he is fiercely loyal to both of them, and through the book, he offers the wit and light-hearted yet serious style of writing for which he is well-known.A difficult start, but a pleasure to read