Favorite Authors, Books and Royal Correspondents

Many readers have asked me to recommend books or for my opinion of some specific authors. My library contains over 200 volumes and admittedly there are some that I could never make it all the way through, but for the most part I've read them all. To start out on a high note, my favorite royal correspondent, author, columnist, television reporter is James Whitaker for several reasons. First, he maintains an overall opinion of each of the people he reports on. In other words he doesn't portray people as their last public act. For example, at one time the tabloids turned on Diana, Princess of Wales portraying her as an actress who had snowed the world with a false compassion. James Whitaker said something to the effect that she'd been in the public eye for many years under the most stressful of circumstances, if her compassion had not been genuine she would have been exposed long before then. Very quickly public opinion caused the tabloids to reverse their conclusions. James didn't have to. He also has a very conversational writing style which make his books easy to read. My favorite is "Royal Blood Feud" which tells of the disintegration of the Wales' marriage. Mr. Whitaker is a feature writer for the Sunday Mirror whose internet address is www.sundaymirror.co.uk. Worth checking out!

The other authors I like are Ralph G. Martin, whose book "The Woman He Loved" is my favorite book on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor after "A King's Story: The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor" which was written by the Duke of Windsor himself. Ralph's writing style is unique to me in that he presents his views with anecdotes and quotes from the people who actually lived the events with the subjects of his books along with reports from newspapers, magazines, etc. His thorough research and presentation of facts makes his books interesting and most importantly very believable. Another of his books, "Charles and Diana" is so well written that I felt as if I was reliving the entire experience with an insider's view. Other favorite books about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor are written by Michael Bloch who was employed by the Windsor's attorney for many years. He has two volumes of their intimate correspondences in which he fills in the blanks for you and also a great book on the Duchess called "The Duchess of Windsor" among others. I have six other volumes on the Windsor's, but these are my favorites.

With regard to Diana, Andrew Morton's books have got to be the greatest as they are written with her full participation. A second author I enjoy on this subject is Donald Spoto who wrote "Diana: Her Last Year" and also "The Decline and Fall of the House of Windsor". I have many of the picture books that I derive great pleasure from because they allow me to look back on how innocent and na�ve she was and how strong and independent she became. The transformation becomes so poignantly obvious through the photographs of her official engagements. I'm now reading "Princess Diana: Her Last Love" by Kate Snell. So far I'm half way through it and enjoying it quite a bit. Also, I'm reading the serialization of Patrick Jephson's book "Shadow of a Princess" in The Sunday Times which I'd pre-ordered through Amazon.co.uk via the link on Geraldine's "Current News" page. The jury will be out on that one until I've read the entire book.

Other writers whose style I enjoy are Wendy Leigh who wrote the book "Edward Windsor: Royal Enigma". She did a great job setting up the stories and let others deliver the "punch lines" via quotes. I also found the "Author's Note" and "Introduction" quite entertaining. Robert Lacey is an excellent royal biographer - especially if you love history. Examples are "Majesty: Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor" and "Henry VIII". Other volumes I own and have enjoyed are "Princess" about Princess Diana, "The Queen Mother" first published in 1987 and this year he has a second volume in honor of her one-hundredth birthday which is high on my wish list.

Speaking of history, a great surprise for me was a book called, "Queen Mary's Photograph Albums" edited by Christopher Warwick. I'd always thought of Queen Mary as a stiff, dour woman, but after reading this book, found her to be a person who put duty before all else - even her feelings for her own family. Also, I tend to now believe she loved her children, but did not love bearing them or caring for them appreciating them much more as they grew older and were capable of interacting with her on an adult level. Elizabeth Longford is another favorite historical author. She wrote "The Royal House of Windsor" and "Queen Victoria" among others. One of my favorite Queen Victoria books is "Travels with Queen Victoria" by HRH The Duchess of York and Benita Stoney. This book is an excellent history of Victoria's travels with beautiful photographs of palaces, gardens, people and works of art which also gives a glimpse into the great undertaking travel was during Victoria's day.

Books I've never made it through have to be headed by Lady Colin Campbell's. I have three volumes "The Royal Marriages" "The Real Diana" and "Diana in Private: The Princess Nobody Knows". Sadly, I found them to be tomes of how royal she is, how if I were only as royal as she is it would all be clear to me yadda, yadda, yadda. Much as I obviously tried (three times!) these books were too boring to get through. Though I did make it through this next book, it was only through sheer determination. It is so flowery that I'd sometimes have to scan the page to see if there was a point and I'd missed it. The book? "Princess in Love" by Anna Pasternak as told by James Hewitt. Another book I read, but not the first half which was all about the author who is in a class by herself, "My Story: The Duchess of York her Father and Me" by Lesley Player. She never dressed in a navy business suit, drove to a destination brief case in hand, no not Lesley. She wore a navy Chanel suit as she slid behind the wheel of her perfectly polished Rolls carrying a Vuitton briefcase - with a combination lock. But what else, dear reader, would you expect from a woman in a class by herself? The point being, I don't appreciate books that are as much about the authors as about the subjects the books are supposedly about.

The only royal magazines I'm aware of and purchase are "Royalty" and "Majesty" which are available by subscription or at some bookstores. Of the two, I think "Royalty" paints the more accurate picture of events. Overall, the magazine with all its lovely color photographs is quite interesting. Ingrid Seward edits "Majesty" magazine and I believe her to be James Whitaker's antithesis. Though this magazine also contains some beautiful color photographs I've become disenchanted with Ingrid's slanted presentations of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. The opinion began to change after the divorce but now that our poor princess is dead and no longer able to grace what used to seem like every other of Majesty's covers; she portrays her very poorly indeed. Believe it or not, A&E's "Biography" magazine has some great bios, royalty quizzes, etc. It does not contain as many photographs as the others do, but it definitely has some outstanding, in-depth coverage. AandE.com also has carries the "Biography" installments on video. Recently, the segment on the Queen Mother at 100 amazed me as I had forgotten how much Queen Elizabeth speaks like her mother. That's something you can't get from a book or your imagination.

Of course the best way to get up-to-the-minute news about the British Royal Family is to log on daily to www.etoile.co.uk/Rnews.html and find the links to all the tabloids, newspapers, television stations, royal news letters, etc. It is a wealth of information that will save you from having to scan many sources as all royal news for any given day is right in one spot - only a hyperlink away. This site also has connections to royal celebrations, important dates, history, biographies/profiles, speeches, royal diary of engagements, Buckingham Palace press releases and a plethora of other information. It has been my favorite and most constant source of royal information for over three years now. I find it impressive and always improving - but, since you are reading this, I'm sure you already know that!

As a final note, I'm sure many people are going to be wondering where in the world to get copies of these old books as some are out of print. I'd start with the web. If you go through the link on the "Current News" page of this site into Amazon.com you can search for a book. If it is out of print, they'll research it for you. They may come back with some choices of used books or used book dealers. Other web-based booksellers offer this same service. Another way to go is via an e-based book auction. Recently, I purchased a first edition of "A King's Story" using this method. It all worked out very well. My all time favorite way to accumulate royal books is to visit used bookshops. This summer I got a first edition book club edition of "The Little Princesses" by Marion Crawford, Nanny to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose that was published in 1950. My Dad was at a Flea Market recently and picked me up a fabulous old book. Since writing this column, a peer at the office, Conzuelo Salas, brought me in many issues of "Hola!" the Spanish language version of "Hello!" magazine in which all the world's royal families are presented. Also, my sister, Catherine, and brother-in-law, Chuck, noticed Charles Spencer was going to be signing copies of his new book, "The Spencers" locally and purchased an autographed copy for me - a very welcome surprise as well as a treasured edition to my collection. Bottom line - if it's your passion, you'll find many creative ways to fulfill it and your enthusiasm will cause others to jump on the bandwagon with you - as evidenced from the above examples.

Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties last week I was unable to get to my email and my column was posted late. I believe a satisfactory resolution to this issue will be implemented by this week's end. Thank you for your patience.

Next week I'd like to write about Queen Elizabeth. All the best,