Customer Reviews

The Little Princesses: The Story of the Queen's Childhood by her Nanny, Marion Crawford

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the very FIRST book to present Royalty as human beings --and as such, it truly got its authoress, (to use the contemporary term), into much trouble with the English Royal family, whom she worked for in the capacity of Governess to the two Royal Princesses, Pss. Elizabeth and Pss. Margaret Rose, from the 1930s until they were grown young women -- and in Pss. Elizabeth's case, married.

This is the GENUINE article -- a first-person reminisence, the
REAL story of what went on behind the palace walls in the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. It is great reading for royal-watchers, as one can almost feel oneself actually there, a "fly on the wall" as it were, to these auspicious royal happenings. And seeing the royal personages themselves, through Ms. Crawford's eyes: the dilligent and almost too-dutiful Pss. Elizabeth, the rather diffident, but still very brave Duke of York who became George VI, the artistic, rebellious, and elfin Pss. Margaret, the warm, friendly, yet very, very Royal Queen Elizabeth, the King's Consort, and the extremely regal, yet still very human
Queen Mary.

I got this book out of the school library when I was in college....but was so excited to have found it, that I just skimmed it. However, I have recently bought a copy, and am forcing myself to read it all the way through! So far I am only up to the Abdication of King Edward VIII -- but I realize this is a true turning point, and am loathe to go futher, though I know I must. Never, (believe it or not), was there ever such a reluctant couple to mount the throne of England as George
VI and Elizabeth -- the responsibilites, and separation from their children, were great burdens to them. The "fairy-tale" existance they had as the very private Duke and Duchess of York was no more.....

Later on, of course, WWII intruded even more into the Royal lives, changing royal routine even more.....forever.

It is interesting to see, even in the professed "simplicity" of the Princesses pre-war, (and post-war), lives, that little luxuries were taken for granted, even so. As a small child, Princess Elizabeth plays with imaginary ponies before going to bed, later graduating to toy ponies, and stil later, to real horses. Large grounds, many servants, and many homes complete the picture.....and even though Ms. Crawford does give some middle-class amazement at some of the priviledges, others are just taken as natural for her royal employers. I find myself wondering how the Princesses would have reacted, had they suddenly found themselves, "Twilight-Zone"-like, waking up to suddenly find themselves, instead, as Ruby and Margaret McDonald -- the Princesses' real-life sister-maids. (Probably,
the Dutiful Elizabeth would have taken it as a matter of course....but the independent and talented Margaret Rose would have definitely rebelled!)

Still, this is truly a book to cherish and delight in...especially if one wishes, secretly or not so secretly, to imagine oneself one (or both) of the Royal Sisters. There are
many royal secrets in this book too -- such as Queen Mary's
recommended "royal pick-me-up receipie", and the fact that the secret of the perfectly coiffed hairdos of the royal ladies, even after hours in a car, lay in the fact that the Royal cars were, in fact, hermetically sealed!

I can understand why the Royal Family were so upset that this book -- which doesn't critize them, but merely shows all their human strengths, and some of their all-too-human weaknesses. Royals are supposed to be 100% perfet. This book shows them to be 100% Human. Secrets are shared. And -- contrary to Baghot's
admonition -- light is, indeed, shed on the magic.

In the end, however, Ms. Crawford, (who had married just before
Princess Elizabeth herself did), left all of her papers and
diaries, etc. to her royal employers -- the very ones she had once been so close to, but who had cut her off, completely, from their lives, once "The Little Princesses" was published. It is a sad thing for curious commoners, such as myself -- for no matter how many authors write about the Royal Family of England, none, I feel, will have as intimacy with their royal material as Miss Crawford did. (With the possible exception of Paul Burrell, and Stephen Birmingham, valets to Princess Diana and the pre-married Prince Charles, respectively.) For English -- and perhaps other royals -- now reqire a signed statement from their possible servants, before employment, not to disclose anything of their employment in future books. This is another reason why "The Little Princesses" is such a true classic: the reality of the book was recorded without any constraint or even thought of constraint.
This alone makes the "fairy-tale become reality" sense of this book even more genuine -- and to royal-watchers, even more precious.

So this book -- and the others written by Marion Crawford -- are the true and genuine articlesw -- 24-karat gold, amongst all the other books on the royals, no matter how well written, or how engrossing.

"The Little Princesses" is thus not only a wonderful, involving, exciting, and easily-read book.... It is a piece of history, in and of itself.

A lovely portrait of royalty as it used to be, painted in the words of a woman who devoted years of her life to royalty's service. "Crawfie," as a very young Princess Elizabeth nicknamed her new governess, had no idea when she accepted the post that she would be staying for more than a short time. She'd come to help the Duke and Duchess of York begin their little girls' education, after which Miss Crawford fully intended to take up the classroom teaching career of which she had always dreamed. She wasn't planning on growing to love Elizabeth and Margaret as she did. Nor had she any clue that one of her charges would someday sit on England's throne.

The interlude Miss Crawford planned to spend with the Yorks lasted until after Princess Elizabeth's marriage. As a member of their household, she experienced history first hand when the abdication of King Edward VIII - otherwise known as "Uncle David" - forced her employers to give up their private, comfortable, family-centered life. She kept their daughters out of harm's way during the frightening war years that soon followed; and after the war's end, helped the family that by now considered her indispensible in guiding its "little princesses" from adolescence into womanhood.

Charming, but in no way saccharine, this recently re-released book provides invaluable insight into the character of the woman who has reigned for more than half a century as Queen Elizabeth II. Not by any means just for "royal watchers"!

absolutely fascinating story of Nanny Crawford which brings to life how the Royal Family live. I cannot understand why the Royals thought it was disrespectful to write this and cut Nanny Crawford off for the rest of her life. I wonder what the real reason was?

and loved it. Back then I was reading mysteries and biographies, still am! An added benefit of it was reading about all the walking Ms. Crawford did, which made me want to do the same.
If the Royal family ever would publish some of her diaries, which she bequeathed to them upon her death, they would find that a lot of copies would sell! Just a suggestion, Mum.

I thoroughly enjoyed this gem. First published in 1950, it is the story of Marion Crawford, who was the nanny to Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Princess Margaret. It begins in 1932 when Marion, called Crawfie by Princess Elizabeth, joined the royal household of the, then, Duke and Duchess of York. Crawfie was 24, and came to be the princesses' teacher. She stayed with the royal family until the time of Prince Charles' birth in 1948.

The story is tender and revealing. The Duke and Duchess relished their quiet family life. Being the second son, the sensitive Duke never imagined the path his life would take when his brother abdicated the throne. Plunged into the roles of King and Queen, the royals relied on Crawfie to help raise their daughters while maintaining their family life as best they could.

Crawfie's affection for the family, but especially for Princess Elizabeth, or Lilibet as she is referred to, is strong. And, it is apparent that the affection they have for her is equally as strong. She shares details of their daily lives and provides an insight into the life of royalty that is fascinating. A significant portion of the story is told from the WW2 viewpoint and how the struggles and rationing affected the royal family. We also see the changes in Princess Elizabeth as she comes to accept her role as future queen. Her courtship and marriage to Prince Phillip are chronicled as well.

The class system has never left England. Even today. I have no understanding nor respect of "royalty". That of being important simply because of a person's birth, nor the devotion and loyalty that people show them, especially since they're mainly figureheads. Crawfie nearly gave up her chance for marriage, simply to serve the King and Queen. I don't get it. I never will. I don't share the public's fascination with royalty nor celebrity for that matter.

The story, however, is an entertaining one. It's a tender, touching account of the childhood of Britain's current queen by the woman who, perhaps, understood her best.

I enjoyed reading this book. Crawfie (as she is nicknamed by the princesses) uses a chronological framework to look inside the royal family. She shares about their daily routines and relationships within the extened family. It starts around the time Elizabeth is 8 or so and goes through her teen years. It gave me a better understanding of Queen Elizabeth than I had from only seeing Helen Mirren in The Queen (2006). It's not the kind of book you'd read to a child who loves princesses. It is written from one adult to another, but a young teen on up would probably enjoy it.

Written by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret's governess, this 1950 memoir is surprisingly intimate and an excellent read. `Crawfie,' as she was called, worked for the royal family for seventeen years and was the girls' teacher, playmate, role model, and confidant.

She describes everything from the interior of the royals' homes and the girls' study habits and hobbies to the hardships of War and Elizabeth's courtship and wedding. She paints a picture of an exceptionally loving family who devoted their lives to their country. There are many personal letters to Crawford from Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the princesses. Though she writes with great respect and admiration for the royal family, the book must have been a horrible shock and unforgivable betrayal of their trust; after the book's publication, they never spoke to her again.

The book is entirely positive toward the royals and without a hint of malice, but one does wonder why she chose to reveal their very private lives in this manner.

Loved reading this book. Its sad but understandable that'Crawfie' was frozen out by Royals after this book was published. Even though the content shows the Royals in a good light generally they had to protect themselves from the flood gates opening and more staff selling their stories/experiences. Maybe Crawfie was mislead or naive when approached for accounts of her time with the Princesses but it appears she was given no forgiveness before she died.

The final 15 pages of this book were difficult. I had been reading slower and slower, because I didn't want it to end, but I finally set aside 20 minutes and did my duty, just as Princess Elizabeth would do. As with Zeno's arrow, one can delay a finish only so long without rationing sentences ridiculously.

Marion Crawford met the Duchess of York (known to us as the Queen Mother) in 1932, when Elizabeth, the future queen, was around age 6. "Crawfie" served as the governess for both Elizabeth and her sister Margaret for 16 years, until the birth of Elizabeth's first child. Crawfie herself had married a few months before Elizabeth did, but she delayed for some time her retirement from service to the royal family. Supposedly it was Crawford's new husband (who had boorishly suggested investments to the royal family) who encouraged her to sell her memoirs to an American magazine publisher that clearly couldn't care less about the fallout, a publisher that quite probably edited the book liberally to make it more "interesting." Is this where the smug insider tone creeps in? One wonders if egoistic claims to closeness were original to Marion Crawford's manuscript, or if the publisher added them to lend a sense of legitimacy to the project.

What a dilemma for the reader such as myself, enjoying this inside peek at royal life, because it came at such a personal cost to Marion Crawford. She was handsomely paid for her personal memories, but after the book was published, the royal family was furious, and none of them spoke to her again. Crawford, who had studied to be a child psychologist, had devoted herself to the young princesses, and then was disowned after her own child-bearing years were past. Still, she was not a family friend, but part of the paid staff (which her husband apparently convinced her to forget), yet as their governess/teacher, she seems to consider herself more central to the girls' lives than even their personal nannies. But Elizabeth learned much from her mother that is outside the confidence of staff, no matter how close or devoted; Crawford herself notes the reserve that kept Elizabeth from confiding details of her long delayed engagement to Philip until it was certain.

Still, as a stand-alone work, the book is charming, full of the details of a warm family, yet with candid personal observations (e.g.,"Princess Juliana looked handsome too, although she is one of the people the camera is not kind to," adding that "she does not dress to advantage.") In retrospect, the content of the book was not the problem for the royal family; rather, it was the compromising of royal privacy - of which they have so little, as the book shows. When you see how far it went subsequently, with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, one begins to understand the reserve of the royal family and their attempts to ensure (at least through censure) the sanctity of the inner circle.

Possibly my favorite passage was a rare bit of preachiness of Crawfie's part: "There is nothing in the world so attractive as gentleness and good manners. I have often thought that the young people who copy the Princesses' hats and frocks, and shoes, and ways of dressing, would do well also to copy the beautiful manners of the Princesses. To me, gentleness and lovely manners are far more important that clothes. For good manners are a charm that never goes out of fashion, and requires no capital outlay."

Would that Crawfie had learned a similar lesson about royal discretion!

The Little Princesses was written by Marion Crawford who was the nanny to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret for seventeen years and whom Elizabeth called "Crawfie" and it stuck. First written in 1950, the language used is a bit more formal than what the current biography reader might be used to, but the book is charming and gives a portrait of royalty that seems like what royalty should be. More importantly the book provides insight into the woman, Elizabeth, that would become the current queen of England.

Elizabeth's parents, the Duke and Duchess, enjoyed their quiet lives and thought the Duke's brother Edward would rule until he died. When Edward abdicated, the couple was thrust into the job of King and Queen and relied upon Crawfie to provide their girls with stability, education, and protocol as befitted a royal.

If you enjoy history, much of the book is written around the effects of World War II on the family. Crawford, after writing the book, was banished from the royal family (their unwritten code of not speaking about the family). However, the seventeen years spent in their service is a fascinating look at history through the eyes of the woman who raised the future Queen. The book does not contain scandalous stories, but rather touching ones from the everyday life of the royals.