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bookwoman1967's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable audiobook to listen to while doing other things. Nothing new or groundbreaking.
As a historian, I took exception to his comment while ending the book with the death of Princess Diana: "As we reach that royal death, the past collides with memory, and history, which has no place in the present, comes to an end in a welter of judgment." In reality, I think we can translate this as, "Well, the queen gave me an OBE so I'm done here and not going to step on any toes after 1997."
As a historian, I took exception to his comment while ending the book with the death of Princess Diana: "As we reach that royal death, the past collides with memory, and history, which has no place in the present, comes to an end in a welter of judgment." In reality, I think we can translate this as, "Well, the queen gave me an OBE so I'm done here and not going to step on any toes after 1997."
monarchgirl's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
This was an interesting history of those people who are for want of a better word courtiers to royalty go about their roles and how those roles have evolved. Whilst the book was interesting I felt it was a little long. It also started in a bit of a weird place in my opinion as it started with the tudor era rather than the obvious place to start which would have been William the conquerer.
dexychik's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing, riddled with minor errors, no major revelations or any effort to be systematic.
hoveros's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun and informative read, although was thematically and structurally scattered. Each chapter supposedly covers the following Royal's house life and the lives of servants, workers and administrators, however, the author mainly talks about whatever stories they think were interesting or gossipy for that monarch's reign. Sometimes the lives of the domestic workers intersect with the main points in each chapter. Other times the "domestic" aspect of the history feels shoehorned into the piece. Despite this, I enjoyed learning more about a large swathe of historical characters from one Elizabeth to the next.
cpalisa's review against another edition
4.0
Fun book - lots of interesting history about the people behind the scenes in the royal household spanning Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II. Often it was hard to keep track of all the lords/earls/dukes, etc...but it was well written and kept me entertained!
cancermoononhigh's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
2.75
A well written read.
angela_juniper's review against another edition
I thought this book would be a lot more interesting than it really is, and in an effort to make room for really great reads I am going to DNF this one.
a_manning11's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this book based on the title, but found myself thoroughly disappointed. I am a huge fan of Liza Picard, and expected to find insights into the lives of the ordinary people who lived in palaces in centuries past. It wasn't until I got to Elizabeth II that I figured out what this book really is. It is a collection of historical gossip, interspersed with numbers of Pounds, people and goods. The book is almost entirely focused on royalty, despite its title, and in the basest gossipy way at that. Dull and irrelevant, I wanted to give up many times and was not rewarded with any meaningful takeaway at the end.
jonwood's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.0
Honestly felt like listening to a long list of facts and not a nonfiction book. I could tell the author put humor and funny anecdotes about occurrences in the royal families, but it still didn't do it for me. I was bored and it took motivation to keep listening. It goes through a lot of history in a relatively short read, but despite the years per chapter average, it felt rather slow in pace and frequently got lost in who was being talked about. Honestly, the last chapter I felt better listening too, but that's because I saw a lot of the events of Queen Elizabeth II's reign adapted in "The Crown" and had the joy of 'hey, I recognize that name and remember that'. Maybe if I had the same familiarity with all the other kings and queens this would have been closing to a 3 star rating, but still wouldn't recommend.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pregnancy, Classism, Death, and Infidelity