Elizabeth & Margaret : the intimate world of the Windsor sisters / Andrew Morton.

By:

Morton, Andrew, 1953-

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: New York : Grand Central Publishing, 2021Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First editionDescription: xiii, 362 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

1538700468
9781538700464 :

Other title:

Elizabeth and Margaret
Intimate world of the Windsor sisters

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

DDC classification:

941.085092/2 B 23

Contents:

Introduction: Sister, friend, judge -- Rising of the sun and the moon -- Sisters at war -- Love in a warm climate -- The long goodbye -- "Bad or mad" -- "My dear Prime Minister" -- The prince and the showgirl -- "Sex, sex, sex" -- Cool Britannia -- "I hate you" -- "My darling angel" -- Bud and her Rose.

Summary: A biography of Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret examines their early idyllic youth as the closest of sisters as well as their often fraught relationship after their father's death and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne.Summary: They were the closest of sisters until their uncle Edward Vlll decided to abdicate the throne. Then the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Forever more Margaret would have to curtsy to her sister and bow to her wishes. Margaret's struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system was often a source of tension. When the Church and government would not allow her to marry a divorcé, Group Captain Peter Townsend, Margaret had to choose between keeping her title and royal allowances or her lover. Morton explores their relationship, offering unique insight into a woman resigned to duty and responsibility, and a sister resistant to it. -- adapted from jacket.

List(s) this item appears in: New Adult Nonfiction

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	New Books	941.08509 MOR	Available		36748002535187

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Perfect for fans of The Crown , this captivating biography from a New York Times bestselling author follows Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret as they navigate life in the royal spotlight.

They were the closest of sisters and the best of friends. But when, in a quixotic twist of fate, their uncle Edward Vlll decided to abdicate the throne, the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Forever more Margaret would have to curtsey to the sister she called 'Lillibet.' And bow to her wishes.

Elizabeth would always look upon her younger sister's antics with a kind of stoical amusement, but Margaret's struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system--and her fraught relationship with its expectations--was often a source of tension. Famously, the Queen had to inform Margaret that the Church and government would not countenance her marrying a divorcee, Group Captain Peter Townsend, forcing Margaret to choose between keeping her title and royal allowances or her divorcee lover.

From the idyll of their cloistered early life, through their hidden war-time lives, into the divergent paths they took following their father's death and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne, this book explores their relationship over the years. Andrew Morton's latest biography offers unique insight into these two drastically different sisters--one resigned to duty and responsibility, the other resistant to it--and the lasting impact they have had on the Crown, the royal family, and the ways it adapted to the changing mores of the 20th century.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-347) and index.

A biography of Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret examines their early idyllic youth as the closest of sisters as well as their often fraught relationship after their father's death and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne.

They were the closest of sisters until their uncle Edward Vlll decided to abdicate the throne. Then the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Forever more Margaret would have to curtsy to her sister and bow to her wishes. Margaret's struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system was often a source of tension. When the Church and government would not allow her to marry a divorcé, Group Captain Peter Townsend, Margaret had to choose between keeping her title and royal allowances or her lover. Morton explores their relationship, offering unique insight into a woman resigned to duty and responsibility, and a sister resistant to it. -- adapted from jacket.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Introduction: Sister, Friend, Judge (p. ix)
1 Rising of the Sun and the Moon (p. 1)
2 Sisters at War (p. 31)
3 Love in a Warm Climate (p. 59)
4 The Long Goodbye (p. 89)
5 "Bad or Mad" (p. 115)
6 "My Dear Prime Minister" (p. 147)
7 The Prince and the Showgirl (p. 175)
8 "Sex, Sex, Sex" (p. 205)
9 Cool Britannia (p. 231)
10 "I Hate You" (p. 249)
11 "My Darling Angel" (p. 267)
12 Bud and Her Rose (p. 297)
Acknowledgments (p. 323)
Notes (p. 325)
Select Bibliography (p. 345)
Photo Credits (p. 349)
Index (p. 351)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

The British celebrity biographer and dogged royal watcher examines the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926) and her only sister, Princess Margaret (1930-2002). At the risk of stating the obvious, fans of the Netflix series The Crown will be keen to devour Morton's latest portrait of the royal family, following his 2018 book, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess. (The author has also written unauthorized biographies of Madonna, Tom Cruise, and Angelina Jolie.) Here, Morton focuses on the close relationship of the queen and her only sibling, who was both her closest supporter and sometime rival. From their earliest years, the two were rare peas in a royal pod. With their father's unexpected accession to the throne as George VI, following Edward VIII's scandalous abdication in 1936, the daughters became second and third in line to the throne. As in previous books on the royal family, the author captures their dramatic differences in temperament and character. Elizabeth was dutiful, shy, retiring, imperturbable, and content to embrace tradition and protocol; Margaret was theatrical, extroverted, individualistic, and self-indulgent. Their differences grew more pronounced over the years, even perilously so. Elizabeth dug into her role as queen with a dour sense of fatality while Margaret flaunted the royal boundaries at every turn. Morton focuses much attention on Margaret's unraveling, as she continually fought against her sister's staid public image and conventional marriage by capturing tabloid headlines in pursuit of "unsuitable" men--from the divorced, older Group Capt. Peter Townsend to the much younger Roddy Llewelyn. The author points out the double standard used against Margaret at the time, when "older women dating younger men had not yet been accepted by the mainstream." Morton cruises through the events of the decades to create a smooth, composite portrait of the messy yet indissoluble bond between sisters. A fairly evenhanded portrait sure to please fans of the royal-family genre. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.