Customer Reviews

Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ok for all you royalty junkies out there, I know, I know, toothy Camilla and her breeches just don't do it for you, or Fergie now that she've given up toes and taken up Weight watchers. But here is a book for you all! If you are into ancestor worship, it covers the earliest Spencers from a penny pinching arriviste, to Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (formerly Ms Jenkins, a frisky lady in waiting to King Charles II, my all time favorite royal, the current ones gene pool is so sullied, those ears!). In fact the premise of the book is that Sarah's turbulent blood heritage has washed on down to the current Spencers, the late lamented Diana, her sons, and that Champagne Charlie of a brother of hers. The middle Spencers are not too interesting, mainly obsessed with acquiring goodies for Althorp (the stately home), but as I said it warms up really nicely by Diana's regime.I enjoyed it greatly, particularly the parts of how pained Queen Elizabeth II was by the gossip and infighting. Poor dear. Barbara Cartland's tacky daughter Raine deserves 2 chapters just for how she redecorated a beautiful estate, I'm surprised she didn't roll out the black velvet Elvis paintings. Thumbs up all the way!

Not a quickie biography of the late Princess, this is a story spanning centuries and generations.

It covers the rise of the Spencers from prosperous sheep farmers in the 16th century through the years and the monarchs they served or betrayed. A light - gossipy style helps to make the generations fly by. The foibles of the modern aristocracy pale in comparison with the lifestyles of their predecessors.

If all that you want is to read about the young girl who was 'hired' to prop up a tottering throne - then I suggest that you look elsewhere. If however you want an interesting light history of the rise of one of England's great noble families, this is a fine place to start.

My wife is addicted to all things Royal with a special sweet tooth for Diana books. Therefore, she went out and picked this up as soon as she heard it was out. She read it, loved it and then suggested I read it because it would give me a good history of the Spencer family. I didn't think I needed this education, but I gave it a go. I must say the book surprised me. Fist off it gave me a lot of history of the family but in doing so I learned a lot of the history of the UK, at least the last 400 years. The book was full of details and read well. It has an easy to read style that always comes through with a good bit of gossip here and there - like how did they spend all that money? Overall it is an interesting book and if you are into the Royals then my wife says it is a must read.