The Queen's Secret

Product Information

She is supportive in her husband’s political decisions and is one of his closest advisors, often looking over his speeches. readers will appreciate the Queen Mother's story as the woman behind the crown is given a chance to shine on her own with all her faults and glory." Booklist

Robert (Lord Leicester) and Lettice’s forbidden romance is very sweet, but I also found their sneaking around despite everybody else to be a bit selfish so it was a dilemma for me whether to side with Lettice or disregard her as a cheater. It took me a while to decide whether I thought Lettice was just a selfish piece of work or a woman in life looking for something good, but by the end I’d quite firmly landed on her side. Her husband mistreats her horribly and she’s desperately in love with Robert, while the Queen just comes across as insecure and spoiled. Maybe you’ll think differently when you read it. And then there’s Robert with his vastly extravagant and colourful royal welcome, inviting along top performers and putting on shows and fireworks displays in an attempt to woo the Queen once and for all to marry him, yet quite pompously, he continues sneaking around with Lettice Knollys and dragging poor Lucy in the middle. He’s quite the rogue. Politicians infrequently question the procedure. One of the rare occasions was in 2015 when the Labour peer Lord Berkeley asked why the Queen’s consent was required for the enterprise bill after the rote passage had been read out.

Customer reviews

One aspect of this book I like best is the subject. I have been reading Phillipa Gregory's books on the War of the Roses and it is nice to read about those people's ancestor. Poor Katherine was a sad figure. It seems she just wanted to be safe and happy. Even her happiness comes at a cost. If the Queen grants her consent, parliament can debate the legislation and the process is formally signified in Hansard, the record of parliamentary debates. If the Queen withholds consent, the bill cannot proceed and parliament is in effect banned from debating it. Queen Lilac was once an assassin in training instead of doing her royal duties, and that all changed when she had to accept her fate. I have to admire her for wanting to keep up her training and seeing Cal on the side despite being married. Hansen, Lilac's husband, doesn't care for her or want to be married to her. The two have an agreement, but how long will that last? I have to say that I was pretty worried about these two lovebirds and how they might get separated after all.

Harper’s enchanting latest (after American Duchess) explores the private life of Queen Elizabeth, formerly Elizabeth Bowes Lyon...Harper’s evocative prose and able plotting make each twist and turn believable. This displays Harper’s mastery at fictional profiles of prominent 20th-century women." — Publishers Weekly The Queen's Secret follows the life of Katherine of Valois, Queen of England. When most people think of princesses, they think pampered little girls. Katherine's life was far from easy. She and her siblings were horribly neglected by their mother. Their father was attentive when he was sane, but his sanity was often short-lived. Then, Katherine marries the King of England and her life is so wonderful. Even during the best times, the scars left from her childhood remain. When her husband dies and her son is taken from her, she finds a new love and creates a new family. It is always dangerous," he said, "when a country extends its dominions. Communications have to be kept up. Armies have to be sent to guard the outposts. It is never easy." Praise for American Duchess:“This absorbing and evocative tale is an excellent reminder of what women have long sacrificed over the centuries for family honor and duty, and how they navigated their circumstances and influence to change the world for the better. Heather WebbThis book is set in the time period of Queen Elizabeth I and is about Lucy, a girl in the courts. She starts off by being an entertainer in a big group, but ends up being one of the Queens favourites as the time goes on. There is also a big love triangle between the Queen, her cousin and a man, Robert. Along with spying and lots of other things this book had the premise to be a very good book. I was SO excited to be chosen to review this book. The Queen Mother was a fascinating woman during a time of world crisis, and I felt sure a book about her would be riveting. This was not that book. I finished it, but it was a chore to do so. I found this book to be nothing but gossip, repeated over and over...and over. I periodically stopped to look items up and found that all of them were unsubstantiated rumors. The front of the envelope states: “On a suitable day to be selected by you in the year 2085 AD, would you please open this envelope and convey to the citizens of Sydney my message to them”. It was signed off with ‘Elizabeth R’ (with the 'R' standing for 'regina', which is latin for 'queen'). Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

I don't even know what to say about the ending. After all that desperate pining and hopelessness, all she had to do was... talk to her husband? Also, what was this whole pregnancy thing? Her willingness to give up one of her twin children was worrying, to say the least. Perhaps the funniest thing is that she had approximately 0 conversations with Cal in reference to being pregnant with his child and running away with him. It was rough, if anything. P.S. Highly recommend a parallel story about Winston Churchill’s wife – Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict. There are many facts in this book that are hard to believe, but this is historical fiction. Who knows for sure what is really true. It seemed like the author planned for something big, but got bored of it and then finished it with a lame plot. Harper's descriptions of London during the Blitz (and other elements of the war) were tales twice told---we all know the basics and I depend on good historical fiction to bring those stories to life. To make me feel part of the scene, part of history. This never happened for me with this book and I struggled to complete it. I did, and the end was just as flat as the beginning and the middle.Because Australia is a Commonwealth country, Queen Elizabeth II served as the country’s head of state for 70 years. While on the throne, she made 16 trips to Australia – the last visit being in 2011. Now, as the current reigning British monarch King Charles III is Australia’s head of state.

However, the passing of the Queen and the accession of the King draw attention to the republican sentiment that continues to bubble under the surface in Australia. Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

All I can say is how on earth has this writer sold many millions of books - as of the publication of this edition in '07 was "over 14 million" -? The writing is unbelievably flat and boring. Opening at random: With that in mind, Lucy really started to grow on me and I started to feel invested in her as a person, not just a character. She still made mistakes and errors of judgment, but also stood up for herself. I loved ‘The King’s Speech’, but Elizabeth’s personal life is not the focus of that story. I also enjoy ‘The Crown’ on Netflix, but once again, the Queen Mother’s personal life is not the primary focus of that series, either. I’m also not really a ‘royal watcher’, despite my recent interest in the history of the monarchy. Praise for American Duchess:“This absorbing and evocative tale is an excellent reminder of what women have long sacrificed over the centuries for family honor and duty, and how they navigated their circumstances and influence to change the world for the better.”— Heather Webb, international bestselling author of Last Christmas in Paris