Reviewed by Katy Zignego (Library Staff)
Any conversation about the British royal family (and I get into a surprising number of these conversations) eventually comes around to the question of the succession: who will ascend the throne after Queen Elizabeth II? This engaging book considers that question in the context of the royal women: the Queen herself, her daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and her granddaughter-in-law Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Actually, he considers several questions: 1. Will the Queen die on the throne, or might she abdicate? 2. Will she leave the throne to her eldest son, the not-so-popular Prince Charles, or skip him in favor of her very popular grandson, Prince William? 3. If Prince Charles becomes king, will his wife, Camilla, become queen?
The author comes to the unsurprising conclusion that the monarchy, that most conservative of institutions, will pass to Charles, the Prince of Wales, after the Queen’s reign ends, although he leave the other questions unanswered. Perhaps the best part of the book is the author’s obvious delight in exposing royal scandal. He doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to light, but he enthusiastically delves into the details of the long affair between Charles and Camilla, as well as all the dirt on Kate and her family’s scheme to ascend the upper crust. The result is slightly more erudite than Us Weekly, but only slightly!
Located in Adult Nonfiction (941.0850 AND)
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