Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

They were the closest of sisters and the best of friends. But when, in a quixotic twist of fate, their uncle Edward VIII 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 sisters antics with a kind of stoical amusement but Margarets 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 wartime lives, into the divergent paths they took following their fathers death and Elizabeths ascension to the throne, this book explores their relationship over the years. Andrew Mortons 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 way it has adapted to the changing mores of the twentieth century.

Reviews

Thoroughly researched and well written, the most comprehensive account of the complex relationship between the Queen and Princess Margaret to date. Fascinating and enjoyable. * Sarah Bradford, New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth *
The dynamic between the two royal sisters is endlessly fascinating when presented by Andrew Morton. Informative, insightful, and never a dull page. Morton at his forensic best. * Ingrid Seward, author of Prince Philip Revealed and My Husband and I, editor-in-chief of Majesty mag *
A smooth, composite portrait of the messy yet indissoluble bond between sisters... sure to please fans of the royal-family genre. * Kirkus *
Deliciously detailed, sometimes gossipy, often moving, this in-depth examination of royal siblings is sure to be in demand. * Booklist *
A comprehensive and compelling account of two complicated, often lonely lives... Morton is an accomplished royal writer. * The Sunday Times *
Andrew Morton is a consummate writer on celebrity. This book is royalty as celebrity...He has that great talent of readability, without which no popular writer can succeed. * Eastern Daily Press *

Author Bio

Andrew Morton is a leading authority on modern celebrity and royalty, and author of the internationally bestselling biography Diana: Her True Story. Revealing the secret world of the Princess of Wales, the book spent fifty-eight weeks in the bestseller lists, was translated into 35 languages, and inspired films, documentaries and commentaries about the royal family.

Since, Morton has gone on to write No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers on Monica Lewinsky, Madonna, David and Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie, as well as a ground-breaking new biography of Wallis Simpson, Wallis in Love: The Untold True Passion of the Duchess of Windsor. The winner of numerous awards, he divides his time between London and Los Angeles.