The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor [Hardcover]

Penny Junor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2005

The House of Windsor is a big business, though one with more ups and downs than the stock market. Prince Philip calls it “The Firm,” and all the royal executives and their powerful associates are supposed to make every effort to avoid even a hint of scandal that could diminish the reputation of the family business.

Unfortunately for the royals, for the past twenty years scandal and controversy have deluged the Queen’s family, putting everything at risk. Focusing primarily on the years after the death of Diana and leading up to the heir to the throne’s marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles this past April 9th, royal insider Penny Junor offers a sympathetic yet utterly candid look at a family that has made itself the world’s soap opera in THE FIRM: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor.

Can “The Firm” survive much longer? Will Charles or even William decide that the throne is not worth the trouble? Can this, the ultimate family business, weather this storm of spiritual (though not fiscal) bankruptcy, or will momentum and a cadre of brilliant advisors keep the enterprise in business for years to come?

THE FIRM investigates the Family’s relationship with government, the press and the people. It looks at whether the institution can reach out to those, particularly the young, who see the House of Windsor as insignificant. It asks, in short, whether the British monarchy has a future.

Penny Junor knows the answers in this sure-to-be controversial book—the first to be published on the newly restructured royal family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

London journalist and longtime Windsor-watcher Junor (Home Truths, Charles: Victim or Villian?, Charles and Diana: Portrait of a Marriage, etc.) considers the British royal family's continuation into the 21st century in this sympathetic account, covering Diana's death to the present day. The explanation, Junor believes, lies both in the "magic" of the monarchy and in the family's organization into the titular businesslike entity, a phrase coined by Prince Philip. She asserts that the value of the monarchy-during this era without hierarchy, deference and respect-is to act as "a fixture in this morass" of modern life. Junor has met nearly all the royals, as well as many of their associates, and her observations plus long excerpts from interviews give the book an insider feel. This is a favorable, respectful portrait: Junor tempers any criticisms with admiring descriptions of the royals' good deeds, especially their charity work. And despite the book's subtitle, she doesn't dwell on the royal scandals, focusing instead on the details of her subjects' lives and personalities. This approach generates some extraneous chapters, such as the passage exploring the minutia of the Queen's private interests (e.g. horses). However, this book's depth and gentle commentary on a subject usually dominated by tabloid exposés should gratify those with an affectionate interest in Britain's monarchy. Color photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

It is as a family-owned and -operated company that veteran royalty-watching British journalist Junor examines the contemporary British monarchy. Her book, then, reads like a company history, from the House of Windsor's recent PR mistakes and accomplishments to what goes on in "board" meetings (i.e., what the royal family talks about among themselves). The author acknowledges her monarchist beliefs, seeing the good of the institution for Britain and forecasting its continuance. She admits her appraisal is subjective, but obvious, too, is her considerable knowledge and well-balanced perceptions. Insisting that "it is very easy to lose touch with reality if your life is spent at Buckingham Palace," Junor sees the damage done to the monarchy by the disastrous marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and, rather astonishingly, she lays considerable blame for the problems of the House of Windsor over the past two decades at the feet of Camilla Parker Bowles--or, rather, at Charles' feet for refusing to give her up long ago. Subjective, yes, but a solid analysis of the monarchy. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (June 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312352743
• ISBN-13: 978-0312352745
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,068,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not much new information, August 31, 2005

By 

Gregory Johnson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor (Hardcover)

Although the reading was easy and interesting there was not much new information to learn. Also, it seemed as though the author needed pages of quoted information from others just to fill up the book time after time again. I would recommend checking the book out of the library rather than buying it.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Journalistic mishmash, August 23, 2005

By 

Lector Curiosus (New York) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor (Hardcover)

While this book does contain some new and interesting information; on the whole it clearly is not historiography in any normal sense of the term. The book reads like a series of newspaper columns untouched by editing or a thematic approach.
The author does however, as they say in the tabloids, 'name names' (whether or not the average reader knows who they are.)
As a piece of gossip and current events it bears reading; but a reader looking for serious scholarship or even decent biography should wait for the paperback edition.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read for Royalty Fans, August 23, 2005

By 

Royal Fan "rrrich7" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor (Hardcover)

Ms. Junor's book is a good read for lovers of the British Royal Family. Much of the latest news is included, and there are some handsome photos.

If I had one complaint, it would be that a bit too much time is spent on the interests of the Prince of Wales. Several chapters are devoted to his pursuits.