Writing about those Queens...

What is it like to write about Queens? For me, it seems like the natural thing to do. It's rather fun. Entertaining. Yes, those books to the right are mine...and that's just some of them. I picked up my first book on a royal at age 23, and couldn't put it down. It was called "The Woman He Loved." I couldn't get over that book--that story--which chronicled a King, who fell in love with an American, divorced woman. And it came to be that he gave up his Kingdom for her. After reading that I got hooked. Really hooked.

From there my interest grew and I'd bring home three and four biographies at a time and read. At first I started with that King and his immediate family and then I went to his parents, and then their parents---and then Queen Victoria. I bought my first Queen Victoria book while in England in 1988. I began reading the Stanley Weintraub biography in England on the train from London to Leigh-On-Sea, where my Great Aunt lived. And I bought more royal books...and even more royal books and tapes while visiting Buckingham Palace. I hurt my back lugging home those books to the U.S.--crates of them! But back in '88 you had no choice...we didn't have Amazon.com.UK!! You grabbed the books while you could.

And I had relatives sending me information from the papers in England, and I went to book sales whenever I could and grabbed anything that looked like it pertained to nobility or royalty---it didn't matter what country the royalty was from. And now I have hundreds of books. And even now I'm not satisfied.

I've studied Josephine...and her daughter Hortense....Marie Antoinette.....Princess Diana...the Queen Mother...Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra and all of their children...Queen Victoria and all of her children and her aunts and uncles and the Regent and his daughter Charlotte...Russian Royalty...Princess Grace...Henry's wives...some of Spain's royalty, and now I've got a real old bookstore near me and I've found so many wonderful memoirs of ladies-in-waiting...servants...dignitaries and writers and poets to go along with the royal books. And of course I study families such as the Devonshires...and homes like Chatsworth.

Today I sat with four books on Queen Victoria, and a fabulous memoir and studied the timetable in the months right before she assumed the throne and right after. Why? Why, you ask? In this case its because I've got a work in progress---a novel---and it's important I get my facts straight because she---Queen Victoria!!-- is in the novel and the characters are interwoven into her life in the months just before and after Victoria took the throne. And the poor, young Queen was pushed to her limits...there was such pressure around her, and who could she really trust? (Oh, if you only knew!) There was practically no one. It's amazing really, that she did as well as she did during that beginning period on the throne. She was conceived and born to be a Queen and once she was---that was it. There was no looking back. She grabbed those reigns and did what she had to do. She had a will of her own and knew her own mind. She pushed away her forceful, domineering mother and took charge of not only her life, but the Kingdom.

The novel is about done. The fictitious characters I've added seem very real to me...and blend in wonderfully with the new "Court" at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle ...some characters help Victoria in her new role...other characters are out to hurt and to see what they can get. But no matter who they are, they strive to keep their dirty laundry...er...private. It just wouldn't do if the Queen knew everything about the friends she is closest to. But what is the cost of keeping these secrets from her?

Next month I'm going to a big writing conference and I'm quite excited. It's being held in New Jersey and many big, big names will be attending. I'm sure that I will learn a lot and make some new friends. Luckily it's only about 35 minutes from me so I can commute.

I do get requests from readers and authors....can you suggest a certain book on a Queen or princess? What new books are coming out? What do I know about Princess so-and-so? Do I think Queen X is interesting? And I enjoy responding and helping when I can. I don't know why I do what I do..but I must examine everything and find out every little detail. For some reason I really need to know what happened behind the "facade" of royalty. I search and search and read between the lines. I need to find the hidden feelings of the royals and what they really did in their private life. Things like this----something cute about Prince Albert...he had an odd sense of humor. If he was in a room with Queen Victoria and perhaps a couple of his children, and a maid or footman happened to trip over the rug---there would be gales of laughter from the Prince-- once the servant had gone-- and the whole family would collapse with laughter. I mean, the man thought it was the funniest thing! Now, I'm not sure if that silly piece of information will get me the best table in a restaurant or even make me a large sum of money. But, if I put it all together...well, maybe it might amount to something. It may be small--mind you---but it could amount to something.

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I have one friend who loves to try to stump and test me. "How many years did so-and-so reign??" or "Explain WHY the throne went to a woman when there was a man in the family when the King died?" or "Explain the duties of a lady of the Bedchamber? Did they work in the bedroom?" he he...no, the Ladies don't really work in the Queen's bedroom or bedchamber at all. A maid would do that. For the longest time, though, I imagined the Lady of the Bedchamber did work in the bedroom!! Well....we all have a learning curve, don't we?

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Last night while I was researching, my husband made dinner and gave me my plate while I sat on my bed with my books. Later, I handed him the plate(with the food gone) and he took it. I said, "This is an important part of the research. I must feeeeel the part."

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He lets me get away with a little bit.

Her Majesty

A majestic picture... a moment in time, captured.

This portrait was taken when Queen Elizabeth returned to Buckingham Palace after her coronation ceremony. They say--truthfully---that she had a massive headache when she took off that crown. Wearing such a heavy crown takes practice and it's not particularly fun. (Not that I would know personally...but I have my sources

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This woman became Queen when she was a young wife and mother. She was in Africa with her husband Prince Philip---she had loved him from the time she was a young girl---and she got the terrible news that her father had died. Luckily, packed deep in her luggage was her black mourning clothes which were always packed, just in case. The night before his death, the King had followed his normal routine--he read in bed and had something hot to drink. In the morning, they summoned Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and gave her the news of his passing. She was bereft. Oh, she put on her Queenly composure for her daughter and the world...but she was utterly shattered for quite some time.

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As the new Queen and her husband flew back to England, without doubt she was overwhelmed by memories of her father and mother and their family life. It is well known that the King and Queen adored their daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Right before she married Prince Philip, the King told her in a letter that it would be the last time it would be "us four". It had always been "us four"---traveling, spending time at Royal Lodge in their garden, planning the garden, playing with their animals. The family spent cozy times together...times that I'm sure Her Majesty even now remembers with a sweet fondness. They were the ultimate, perfect royal family.

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I have a book which is rare, written by Marion Crawford. Marion was a trusted governess to the young Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. She was with them for many years in their youth. To their horror, she published a tell-all book. It was one of the first. It was quite devastating to the family...not that there is really anything shameful in it...nevertheless, they had trusted "Crawfie" and this was unexpected. From then on, whenever someone betrayed them, they'd say, "They're pulling a Crawfie." To them, "pulling a Crawfie" meant they were betrayed by someone trusted. There's no need to tell you what's in the book--since Her Majesty is alive and she might read this....well, she might...I just wouldn't dare breathe a word. She's a noble and classy woman and I respect her and I just can't in good conscience pass on secret, gossipy things about my Queen. Since I'm English, she is my Queen. As a matter of fact, the Queen's physician operated on my great grandmother Talbot in the late 1800's after a carriage accident. My great grandmother was blind after the carriage accident and could only see shadows. I think it was Queen Victoria's physician that attended to her. But she didn't feel sorry for herself...she raised 6 healthy children in the country. Her hearing was so good that the children couldn't even lift the lid off the cookie jar, no matter how hard they tried!!

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Back to the Queen, though. You aren't here to read about my grandfather trying to steal cookies...

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There's a picture called Three Queens, which was taken during the King's funeral. It's a picture of the new Queen, the Queen Mother and also the King's mother, Queen Mary. They are standing together, with black veils over their faces. It's rather chilling....sad.

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Luckily for Queen Elizabeth, her father spent much time with her, at his desk, going over the work of the sovereign...explaining what was expected and teaching her things. She loved and trusted him and learned from him. And I think he loved teaching her. They had a wonderful partnership of love and respect. Although the new Queen was probably not feeling quite ready to take on the heavy duties of the monarchy, her father undoubtedly had taught her well and I think she felt comfortable as she began her duties.

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Queen Elizabeth took much comfort from the rituals she was used to. There was Sandringham at Christmas and Balmoral in the summer. She spent many weekends at Windsor and the family has a set of apartments there. She still spends many weekends there and Prince Philip oversees the grounds. (no, he doesn't really do the work!) I'd love to be a fly on the wall there...or even a servant for that matter. I wouldn't mind polishing the furniture if it meant I could peek through some of the rooms...and maybe skip down the massive hallways and staircases. One day I'll get permission to visit the Royal Archives....I will! I have my mind and heart set on it. If I can get there, I'll produce something beautiful for sure. I don't want much in life...my family...a couple of bucks, a few books...and a long, long trip to the Royal Archives!

I do worry about the Queen these days. She's had a lot to cope with these past years, with the death of her sister Margaret and her beloved mother. The Queen, obviously, has only so many close people around her which she can really be herself with and I'm sure the loss of these two family members so close together has been very difficult. Still, she is surrounded by a large and loving family and like any matriarch, I'm sure she is adored and enjoys spoiling her grandchildren just a bit.

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She is still a vision---in her pastel suits and hats and her gowns and jewelry. She is always perfectly put together and rather elegant, if I do say so myself. As you probably know, she loves her privacy and her dogs. She loves riding and adores her horses and horse-racing.

If all Queens could be as Queenly as she---we'd have monarchies all over the world. Someday, the world will look back at her reign and she will be seen as a glittering gem, with a perfect countenance, wise... and I daresay she is quite loving and caring. She's got one of the hardest jobs in the world.

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She never really gets a vacation, you know!

A Decade...

I was sitting here thinking of what to write---I had the Marie Antoinette things laid out, and then I grabbed a book about ladies in waiting---but then remembered, its been a decade. And since its been ten years since her death, I'd be a terrible Writer of Queens if I didn't remember this beautiful woman, the woman we remember as Queen of our Hearts--Diana.

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We now know that when this picture was taken, at Highgrove--the family's country home--that Diana was simply miserable. There were many times she cried in the loo, or a locked room---and little William would pass her tissues under the door. Diana has said for all intents and purposes the marriage was over after the birth of Harry, yet---they still posed for pictures, still tried to be the happy family---at least to the world.

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It was at about this time that Diana began spending long, long stretches of time in their home in London, at Kensington Palace. Charles preferred Highgrove. Diana's sanctuary was her bedroom and sitting area, filled with her many stuffed animals...even a large hippo, which was placed by the fireplace. She and the kids loved to kick back, sit on the couch and watch movies, and eat on tray tables...they just had lots of fun. Those kids were everything to her and those children helped keep her sane. She had so many pressures that we cannot even imagine. Everyone was picking at her, everyone wanted a piece and she never knew who she could trust.

Her rooms were filled with all her favorite pictures of family---her sitting room had long, flowing chintzy drapes at the windows. There was a desk in there and couches...she loved it in there. That's where she entertained her children and friends---and even received her designers and secretary to discuss the days events--or look over clothing selections. The Diana in the above picture was just beginning to evolve into the Princess we knew in the 1990's.

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There is a new book out, which most of you probably have heard of by now--The Diana Chronicles. I have not read it myself, but will of course. But there are many, many others and I have read them all, even the very first one put out by Prince Charles's valet, back in the 1980's. Since then there's been so many tell alls---and they all paint a slightly different portrait. Andrew Morton's book has to been given serious credence, I think, because Diana herself was so involved in them. However, we are reading in there what Diana wanted us to know and not necessarily the whole unvarnished truth.

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One of the best books I've read, and it was very long and detailed, was the book written by Sally Bedell Smith. Diana's blue blood went back approximately 500 years---and being from a noble family, she knew her worth. There are the royals and the nobles. Diana was from a noble family. Some nobility have as much royal blood in them as the royals do. Smith went into that aspect of Diana's family history as well, and you come away with a better idea of what it felt like to be a Spencer. Being a Spencer was almost like being a---well, a Devonshire! The castles that the royals inhabit--Sandringham and Balmoral--- are much smaller and considered mere cottages as compared to Althorp House, the seat of the Spencers. And in the nobility circles---many of the royals now---well, let's just say they are considered "new" by noble standards...only being in the family 50 years or so. But of course, I say that with the deepest respect for the Crown. I'm just passing on what I've read. And Sally's book chronicles the marriage, and the behind the scenes machinations of both Diana's camp and Charles's, all the while letting you know what the average reader like us was hearing at the time...but what might have been really happening and why. And yes, this is the book where Sally says that Diana had a personality disorder. Oh, who will ever know, and do we even care at this point? Still, the book is packed with the most fascinating information and so, if you haven't studied her at all and are interested, I'd say try her book, "Diana". (I'll let you know about Royal Chronicles after I've read it.)

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I'd like to think that if she had lived---and oh, don't we wish she had!!---that she would've really come around and been comfortable in her own skin and a bit proud of her accomplishments. Her face would be lined a little more, but her smile still radiant. Her hair might have been a little shorter and looser---or maybe a little spikier in places and colored with light golden blond streaks, her make-up delicious, her skin still radiant, her gems brilliant. She'd be giving everyone a run for their money, and she would have been involved in so many charities and issues---she'd be jet setting all over the world on these missions. And I'm not saying she was a jet setter. But she would have been busy with important humanitarian issues--perhaps in a way that Angelina Jolie has sought to do. I think she would have spent much time abroad---in America, for one, because she was SO accepted in America. But enough of that. It appears her son's are doing much of this in their own quiet way.

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Did you know that Diana loved to clean and tidy? She was very good at it, too. She liked order. Before she married Prince Charles, her flat was immaculate. In later years she hated being alone--eating alone--sleeping alone. And she was alone a lot. She had her favorite close friends whom she'd phone and talk for hours and at the end of her life she even ventured into the kitchen to make a few dishes and she was quite proud of that. She was very good about writing thank-you's and she did them the minute she returned home from an event. She thanked everyone for what they did, no matter how small. She really was a lady in that way...and this was something instilled in her by her father..."Diana, have you finished your thank you's?" he'd

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It's been said that she was estranged from her mother at the time she died. I know that she adored her brother, but was hurt by him before she died---she had asked him for something---for a room or an area alone at Althorp--and he had declined saying that if she were to come, there would be her security to deal with and the press and he had turned her down, at least temporarily. Maybe he would have changed his mind and they would have worked that one out, but she died before they could. And there was some tension at times between she and a sister---her sister was married to one of the Queen's secretary's and so that sister probably heard things about Diana from a different vantage point and so it was hard for Diana to relax and be herself around that sister. But all in all, she loved her family. But--she was hurt. She felt she had no one to turn to--no one--that there was no where in the world she could go to get away and be by herself and be protected--no one to lean on. That's all she ever wanted...to be protected, and to have someone safe to lean on. She felt abandoned.

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And she may have been...abandoned...in a sense. You would never think of someone as beautiful as Diana as being alone. Lonely. Who could she trust? Who was really there for her?

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If she only knew how loved she really was....

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Hopefully, looking down now,(if she can) she is fully aware of the love there is for her, and she does not feel abandoned any longer.

Dark Skies Over Windsor Castle

It was on a cold and stormy day like this, at Windsor Castle, in December of 1841, that the servants and inhabitants of the Castle, and the family--the royal family, wandered the cold grounds in worry and worked in silence inside.

Inside the Blue room located near the family's apartments, was a man of 42 years of age, struggling to get better, laid up in bed, hot and sweaty. His daughter read to him, his wife stroked his head...his daughter played music for him, the doctors ministered to him. He would rally and be better...and then shockingly, turn feverish again...and the doctor's were not sure what to do. His wife whispered to him in german---sweet things--and then, when she was overcome--would leave the sickroom and go for a walk outside, in the cold air under grey, stormy skies, with the stark light grey of the castle stone hurting her eyes---well, she had been crying, and it hurt to look up.

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Below is the story of that time in December. I wrote this for The Royalist, and would like to share it with you now...

Victoria's Lasting Tribute to Her Beloved Albert

Written by Susan Flanders for the Royalist

On March 15th 1862, Queen Victoria laid the first stone in the foundation which would one day be her final resting place. It was an act she undertook for all of the new homes and buildings which would come to be of such importance in her life.This particular stone was laid with a heavy heart as it was being built years earlier than it should have been.

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Never, in her wildest dreams, would she have ever thought she would be laying the stone for the house that would hold Albert’s remains for all eternity. Her beloved Prince Consort had died in December 1861, having being seriously ill for several weeks. Although aware her husband was very sick, it was an understatement to say that his death came as a shock to the Queen. Days, even hours earlier, the doctors had believed the Prince to be making progress. Victoria had stayed with him, sitting by the bed, writing that she "found him very quiet and comfortably warm, and so dear and kind, {he} called me "gutes Frauchen" and kissed me so affectionately and so completely like himself, and I held his dear hands between mine." To the relief of the whole family, most especially the Queen, Albert seemed to continue to rally.

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The doctors were convinced the Prince had typhoid, possibly contracted due to the poor drainage system at Windsor Castle. However, it is a diagnosis which will likely never be fully confirmed. Victoria and Albert’s daughter, Princess Alice truly adored her father. Throughout his illness she sat by his sickbed, hour after hour, day after day, reading to Papa and playing the piano in an attempt to help soothe his ordeal. Queen Victoria was never far away, gently wiping her husband's brow, holding him in her arms, or whispering loving words in German. She rarely left Albert's side, except to get a few hours of fitful sleep or to take in a little exercise. On the evening of 14th of December — a date that would, for many terrible reasons, haunt the Queen forever — Albert became weaker.

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The Queen was summoned to his bedside, as were their children, although four of the nine royal offspring were missing. An increasingly distraught Victoria couldn’t believe what was happening. It couldn’t be. He was supposed to be getting better. After all, at 7am on that very morning she had been informed that the Prince was "better than he has been yet" and that "there is grounds to think that the crisis is over." Kneeling before her darling husband, the only man she had ever truly loved, Victoria watched in increasing horror and fear as Albert's life began to ebb away. How could the doctors have been so wrong? She had another eight children to raise; baby Beatrice was not even five years old. She needed him!

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All too soon, however, Victoria's worst fears were confirmed. Inside the Blue Room at Windsor Castle, Albert looked peaceful one moment and then, according to Victoria herself, "two or three long but gentle breaths were drawn, the hand clasping mine and...all, all was over...I stood up, kissed his dear heavenly forehead and called out in a bitter and agonising cry: "Oh! My dear darling!" and then dropped to my knees in mute, distracted despair, unable to utter a word or shed a tear!".The man born Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the somewhat brilliant man who had truly revolutionised not only Victoria's personal life, but her reign too, was gone. He was just 42 years old. How could Victoria ever, ever go on without him? He had been her dearest friend, her husband, lover, protector and advisor.

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Observers from the time suggested the Queen, in shock at the turn of events, was taken out of the Prince's bedchamber and helped to a sofa in the Red Room, where she laid down and uttered in despair: "There is no one to call me Victoria now." She spent the rest of the night lying with Albert’s nightshirt in her arms, baby Beatrice sleeping at her side. But Victoria herself did not sleep. Her life was in turmoil. She did not want to live. She could not cry.

Now, on March 15th 1862, here she was, laying the rock which would be Frogmore. It would be their mausoleum, and every waking second left to her would be spent making it beautiful for Albert. In some measure, the plans and building of the mausoleum brought the Queen some peace. A hugely religious lady, Queen Victoria believed he was waiting for her on the other side, and she set her thoughts "on the things above." Building Frogmore was important to the Prince Consort’s memory and equally as important to Queen Victoria’s great need to begin the healing process. She had personally chosen the spot for 'our' Frogmore, north of Home Park near Windsor Castle, just days after his death.

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Only after she made this decision did she agree to leave Windsor and return to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, to grieve and remain secluded. Osborne was the private house which Albert had built for her. But it was more than that: it was a home.Once here, however, the Queen was consumed with thoughts of Frogmore and spent many hours working on the plans for the beautiful place she would now build for him...for them. In the years to come, the aging but still mournful Victoria spent many hours inside Frogmore, it helping to soothe and comfort her. When she entered the ornate building, she was reminded of Albert at once and felt at peace with the world. It was a unique place; not gloomy, simply quite beautiful. Even on the day of the wedding of her son and heir, Edward, Prince of Wales to the beautiful Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the Queen sought solace inside the Royal mausoleum. Prior to the wedding, the Queen took her son and future daughter-in-law inside the mausoleum---telling the bride and groom 'he' would have approved of the marriage. At the end of the day, the final guests having left Windsor, the Queen took refuge once more inside the building and "prayed by that beloved resting place, feeling soothed and calmed

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The Queen's mourning continued for many, many years (perhaps too many years). Finally refreshed, Her Majesty finally returned to the role of England's Sovereign and mother to the Empire. It may only be a building to some, but the mausoleum at Frogmore gave the Queen the rest she needed and the strength to go on. Knowing there was Frogmore, and that it was just theirs, and theirs alone, Victoria had no fear of life, nor of death. The essence of Frogmore is a glimpse of Victoria herself. To visit Frogmore today is to gain, over a century and a half later, a glimpse into one of history's most remarkable royal love stories, the like of which we may never witness again.