Synopses & Reviews
This book tells the story of four sons of King George V during the period that the monarchy faced the greatest threats to its survival in the modern era and#150; the crisis of the abdication, and the nationwide threat to Britain of the Nazis, inside and out. The threat of world war echoed the war within the royal family. Played out against the cataclysm of the Second World War the princesand#8217; actions and#150; for good or ill and#150; became all the more significant and magnified on a world stage. The war served to unleash passions at a time when the very function of royalty as head of the empire was under threat. It served as a crucible that made or destroyed each of the princes. One would die in mysterious circumstances forever mired in conspiracy and scandal; another was destroyed in all but name, a third slipped into comfortable obscurity, and the fourth rose to new heights of achievement redefining the monarchy for the modern age.
The catalyst for the story is one dangerous American woman: Wallis Simpson. The consequences of her actions drive one prince to an early grave and the other to become a living wreck of a man nursing long held grievances. Recently discovered letters show that Wallis herself was caught in a trap of her own making: a life entombed in a gilded cage with a man she could not respect and whom she tried to leave. Everything she wished for, she destroyed. Famously she is said to have been sent 17 carnations by the Nazi Joachim von Ribbentrop, representing their 17 sexual trysts.
George VIand#8217;s story is also an allegory for a much wider theme. Starting where the film The Kings Speech ends, a revealing transformation in his character takes place. As he steps up with some dread to the role of king that his older brother spurns, his horizons are widened and he falls into the sphere of influence of brilliant leaders such as Winston Churchill. As Hitler stole country after country for the Third Reich, George VI rose to the challenge, to find the very best in himself, and was transformed by the effort. By the end he can stand alone at the helm, without the support of those who helped him on his way Like fables of old, taking on the challenge transforms the quality of the man and#150; but it is also killing him.
Review
and#147;A spirited historical lessonand#133;Cadbury weaves an engaging portrait of a king resigned to his fate yet honorably resolute, gaining the cooperation of his two loyal brothers, Gloucester and Kent, and keeping his wayward brother at arm's length and out of trouble. A lively tale of monarchical machinations.and#8221; andmdash;Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A thrilling account...Cadbury artfully captures the exhilaration of Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk...her nuanced exploration of the kingand#8217;s reticent temperament and the psychic toll taken by his many troubles creates a fuller picture of the man.and#8221;and#151;
Publishers Weekly, *STARRED*and#147;A spirited historical lessonand#133;Cadbury weaves an engaging portrait of a king resigned to his fate yet honorably resolute, gaining the cooperation of his two loyal brothers, Gloucester and Kent, and keeping his wayward brother at arm's length and out of trouble. A lively tale of monarchical machinations."and#151;Kirkus Reviews
and#147;Right from the opening vignette of the 1936 abdication, I was absorbed into a world of jealousy and back-biting but also loyalty, courage and sacrificeand#133;. What makes this biography so extraordinary is that Cadbury has carefully plotted a timeline, placing each person, and each event in context, building a clear, concise and riveting web of stories into a wondrous book.and#8221;and#151;Maclean's
and#147;Cadburyand#8217;s history of the royal family at war reads like a novel, emphasizing the uncertainty of the early years of the hostilities when the outcome was unknown. and#133; Princes at War is a gripping account of a royal family at war and the lasting consequences of the conflict for the modern monarchy.and#8221;and#151;Carolyn Harris, royal historian
and#147;Deborah Cadbury has written a moving and deeply researched account of the relationships between the royal brothers who were at the heart of history before and during the Second World War. Her story is gripping, illuminating and generous in its recognition of the central, dramatic role of the monarchy in Britain's finest years, and particularly of the quiet heroism of King George VI.and#8221; and#151;William Shawcross, author of THE QUEEN MOTHER
and#147;Impeccably researched, and written with all the brio and understanding of a major historical novel, Princes at War takes us intimately and even shockingly into the human dynamics of a barely functional family at the time of our greatest peril.and#8221; and#151;David Kynaston, author of /i>Family Britain and Austerity Britain
and#147;What happened next? After the abdication of Edward VIII, the crown passed to his reluctant and painfully shy younger brother, George, and the royal and#145;firmand#8217; was faced with the task of putting together again the shattered shards of monarchy. This was no easy task given the disparate personalities and life styles of the royal brothers as this fascinating, detailed and often surprising book reveals.and#8221; and#151;Juliet Gardiner, author of Wartime: Britain 1939and#150;1945
Synopsis
In 1936, the British monarchy faced the greatest threats to its survival in the modern eraand#151;the crisis of abdication and the menace of Nazism. The fate of the country rested in the hands of George Vand#8217;s sorely unequipped sons:
and#149;a stammering King George VI, terrified that the world might discover he was unfit to rule
and#149;a dull-witted Prince Henry, who wanted only a quiet life in the army
and#149;the too-glamorous Prince George, the Duke of Kentand#151;a reformed hedonist who found new purpose in the RAF and would become the first royal to die in a mysterious plane crash
and#149;the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, deemed a Nazi-sympathizer and traitor to his own countryand#151;a man who had given it all up for love
Princes at War is a riveting portrait of these four very different men miscast by fate, one of whom had to save the monarchy at a moment when kings and princes from across Europe were washing up on Englandand#8217;s shores as the old order was overturned. Scandal and conspiracy swirled around the palace and its courtiers, among them dangerous cousins from across Europeand#8217;s royal families, gold-digging American socialite Wallis Simpson, and the Kingand#8217;s Lord Steward, upon whose estate Hitlerand#8217;s deputy Rudolf Hess parachuted (seemingly by coincidence) as London burned under the Luftwaffeand#8217;s tireless raids.
Deborah Cadbury draws on new research, personal accounts from the royal archives, and other never-before-revealed sources to create a dazzling sequel to The Kingand#8217;s Speech and tell the true and thrilling drama of Great Britain at war and of a staggering transformation for its monarchy.
About the Author
Deborah Cadbury is the author of seven acclaimed books including Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, for which the accompanying series received a BAFTA nomination for Best Series; The Feminization of Nature; The Dinosaur Hunters; The Lost King of France; Space Race; and Chocolate Wars. Before turning to writing full time, she worked for thirty years as a BBC TV producer and executive producer and has won numerous international awards, including an Emmy Award. She lives in London.