The Women of Windsor: Their Power, Privilege, and Passions [Paperback]

Catherine Whitney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2007

Who are the women of Windsor?

Queen Elizabeth: Born to duty, adored by her parents, she swore as a teenager to serve her country above all else . . . and she has lived up to her promise, even when her crown has been a burden.

Elizabeth, the Queen Mother: Hitler was afraid of her, the English people adored her. Her kind, sparkling blue eyes and cheerful manner belied a backbone of steel.

Princess Margaret: Beautiful, talented, vivacious, and complex, the Diana of her day. But the promise of her youth was destroyed when she was betrayed by her sister, now the queen, who needlessly forced her to give up the man she loved.

Princess Anne: Hardworking, hard-headed, and hot-tempered, arguably the most intelligent of the queen's four children and her father's favorite—yet she is forever forced to take second place to her older brother, Charles.

Catherine Whitney takes readers behind the palace doors to give us an intimate glimpse into the private lives of the women of the British royal family—four women who have shaped the world, each in her own way. Now, at last, their stories can be told.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Catherine Whitney is a New York-based writer who has written or cowritten more than forty books on a wide range of topics. She is the author of The Calling: A Year in the Life of an Order of Nuns and the coauthor with nine female U.S. senators of Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060765852
• ISBN-13: 978-0060765859
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,153,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Same old history, poorly repackaged. It's Windsor 101 (again)., October 18, 2006

By 

Adam A. Fine "Caretaker of the Arts" (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Women of Windsor: Their Power, Privilege, and Passions (Hardcover)

Don't be deceived by the cover of this book. This is the same old Windsor tale, written in a light and breezy manner. The idea of focusing specifically on these four women is an interesting idea, but the author only seems to remember the point in the last chapter. Instead, what we get is a pretty good portrait of the Queen Mother's early years, and then plow right into Windsor Lite-- standard fare, but certainly nothing new. A good book for starters, but don't be deceived here-- Princess Margaret and Princess Anne are not studied to any degree of depth, nor is Queen Elizabeth II probed and examined as any solid biography would demand.

Interestingly, Diana is in full force throughout the second half of the book because of her obvious impact on the Windsors. Also examined to some degree is Wallis Simpson, and this is important-- although she's an ambiguous character, her impact on the royals was perhaps greater than any other woman in that she literally shifted the course of the accession-- assuming Edward VIII was capable of fathering children, in which case the crown would have fallen to Elizabeth II anyway (as George V well knew).

Nearly invisible in the book is the indomitable Queen Mary, very much a Windsor, and largely responsible for setting the tone of the royal court in the first half of the 20th century-- and for moulding her granddaughter, Elizabeth, into the monarch she is today. This was probably some sort of marketing scheme-- the idea of putting the most well known women on the cover must have been too appealing. And sadly, the intelligent, complex and duty-bound Princess Anne, who truly does deserve a body of work dedicated to her own life, gets little more than superfluous treatment (as does Princess Margaret, who is basically written off as misunderstood, but superfluous in her own right-- haven't we heard all this before?).

Think of this book as Windsor Lite, a current "simple history" starting with Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon's youth and teen years, through her marriage to Bertie and ultimate accession to Queen Consort, through the highs of the coronation and declines of the 80s, ending with the death of Princess Diana. Nothing new here, and disappointing treatment of women who should be examined far more closely, but a decent job for those just getting to know the history of the royal family in the current century. Otherwise, move on.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Windsor "Lite" Indeed, March 20, 2007

By 

Lee Winston Wright (Monticello, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Women of Windsor: Their Power, Privilege, and Passions (Hardcover)

Having said that, and speaking as an Anglophile, I still found the book hard to put down. It doesn't purport to be an in-depth history of any of these women and the only revelation that was new to me was the fact that Princess Margaret could indeed have married Peter Townsend after all by merely giving up her place in the royal line of succession. I did note with dismay, however, that the author stated Prince William's birthday as June 22 when in fact it is June 21. Might that mean there are other, more serious, errors?

If you're looking for juicy bits of gossip, this is not for you but if you want a short walk through the House of Windsor, I would add this to my reading list.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A FACILE FOLLY, June 16, 2007

By 

Rosceo Street Reader "Roscoe Street Reader" (Winfield, Il) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Women of Windsor: Their Power, Privilege, and Passions (Paperback)

THE WOMEN OF WINDSOR has numerous inaccuracies...to confuse this book with a carefully researched history would be a major mistake for the serious reader. It is not true that Edward VIII "took the name of Edward when he came to the throne", Edward was the first of his given seven names, David being the last and employed by the royal famiy. The author tell us that the Duke of Edinburgh had Michael Parker stand as best man at the wedding...no indeed... the best man was a Mountbatten cousin, David, Marquess of Milford Haven. The Duchy of Cornwall is NOT amongst the Queen's estates...her income derives from the Duchy of Lancaster...Cornwall belongs to The Prince of Wales. Barbara Cartland is not "the step- grandmother of Diana's step- mother, Raine"...Cartland was Raine's mother, thus Diana's step grandmother. The author indulges in a tirade against the eulogy given by Earl Spencer at Diana's funeral, omitting the fact that the congregation and thousands gathered outside the Abbey cheered his words. This poorly researched book was a disappointment. This book is facile, it is a folly.