Customer Reviews

Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch

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A very entertaining biography of two women--Princess Charlotte and the young Queen Victoria. The author offers more information about Princess Charlotte than can be found elsewhere and gives an excellent account of what it must have been like to be the pawn between two unstable parents.

My only caveat--Ms. Williams calls Lord Melbourne the leader of the Tory party, (page 277--"Melbourne's Tory government was shaky") which he was not--he was a Whig Prime Minister.

All in all, it seems to be an unbiased and enjoyable read, much better than Gillian Gill's "We Two", which was full of conjecture and feminist bias.

This is history at its most entertaining. Talk about dysfunctional families! Victoria's grandfather was George III, the monarch during the time of our American Revolution, and he became quite mad. He had 4 sons, all of whom can be described as dissolute and not inclined toward respectable marriages. The only legitimate child of all of them was poor Charlotte who had a pretty miserable life and did not live to be queen. After Charlotte's death, there was a mad scramble among the 4 sons to produce another heir and Victoria emerged the winner. She had a hellishly restricted childhood but miraculously emerged from it intact. Following her father and uncles, I understood why the English people so adored Victoria who was a pillar of respectability after her spendthrift uncles and mad grandfather. A most readable and enjoyable book which I highly recommend.

I highly recommend this book if you are a Princess Charlotte and/or a Young Victoria fan.

Ms. Williams has a very inviting writing style...adding just the right touch of descriptive and entertaining comment when needed. Her addition of personal remembrances by family-and-friends who knew Charlotte and Victoria...and also clips from letters of the period.....help flesh out the distinct personalities of the two royal ladies.

Also...order Ms. Williams' book on Emma Hamilton at the same time. Wonderful read !!!

This is another great summer read. Kate Williams has written an enjoyable and very fascinating account of how Queen Victoria came to the throne of England. Williams begins with George III and details the intense, sometimes tragic and largely dysfunctional lives of the royal family.

By the time Victoria ascended to the throne the royal family was on the verge of irrelevance. The Monarchy was in disarray and mostly unloved by the people. One example is that when George IV died he had so neglected his position that some 50,000 official and government papers needed signing! Victoria brought a breathe of fresh air into the Royal Family, despite her own severely dysfunctional family.

Williams has done a fine, fine job. A fascinating, fun and very interesting read!

this is just a wonderful book it starts off with charlotte who the english people would hope to become queen of england, but ended in a tragic death. which left countless uncles tried to find an heir with only one to be successful producing the young victoria the future queen. This book will take you from charlotte to queen victoria and albert.
it is a wonderfully and beautifully written book. if you are looking for a book about the young victoria then this is the book for you.

i know that this is quite silly but one of my favorite things about this book are the actual pages themselves they are uneven not noticeably but just when you look at them from the side. i think that it gives it extra character and gives an old world feel to it that just entices you to want to read it more. an amazing book to read!!!

This book begins with the short, somewhat tragic, and often overlooked life of Princess Charlotte, the only child of George IV, and follows through after her death to the scramble of her uncles to get married and pop out some kids. The Duke of Kent wins the race, and Victoria is born.

The book does a good job of setting up how the people felt about Charlotte (and her father and uncles) and how Victoria in many ways took over that role (the hope of the people) after Charlotte's death. Although dry at times, Williams certainly has a witty way with words, and I was literally snorting with laughter at the image of Prince Albert practically having the vapors at a dance that lasted *gasp* past 11 PM!

I always knew Albert was a bit of a prig, but this book really highlights what a little priss he was. That said, Williams also manages to show how and why Victoria would be crazy about him. This is a very delicate balance, and she does it well.

5 stars and recommended to anyone: good to read if you don't know much about this period of history, and even if you do, you'll probably learn something new.