Too much of a biography for me. So many names of people doing this and that…hard to keep my interest.

Although the title of Stella Tillyard's 'A Royal Affair' is intended to carry two meanings, it certainly signals its main preoccupation, the affair between George III's sister Caroline Mathilde and her doctor which led to a second coup and eventually her early death. This story, although undoubtedly interesting, occupies perhaps a disproportionate amount of space in the book. All that research in Danish archives and associated work which the author is keen to tell us about might have been better used for a separate book on the adulterous Queen of Denmark (there was after all a recent film on the subject), leaving this book about George III's siblings to have a better balance.
His brothers, although they undoubtedly led less glamorous lives are, one feels, a bit of a distraction. The book is still well worth reading; Ms Tillyard's skills in synthesising masses of material into readable narrative history are far from wasted. She is good at painting backgrounds and contexts, and showing us the milieu in which these most privileged, although often unhappy, people lived. The author is heavily biased against the king, although she strives to note some good points about him and the pressures he was acting under. So, the book is readable, informative and entertaining, and worth buying. But not so impressive as 'Aristocrats'. ( )

It doesn't sound like a promising topic does it? How the stolid George III - in the years before his porphyria and before losing America - was bothered by the reluctance of his siblings to adhere to standards of morality befitting Hanoverians. But its more interesting than it sounds - this all takes place at the dawn of broadcast media, as newspapers and pamphlets become widely read, by the elite at least, and their publishers discover for the first time the selling power of celebrity. And discover that scandalous behaviour of the royal family sell extremely well. So the scandalous behaviour of George's brothers Edward, William and Henry provided titilation for the masses and provide the first media studies cases. Not that we would consider their behaviour all that scandalous, they just married inappropriate people and were bored out of their wits from having no proper to job to do.

Its Caroline Matilde who is the star of the show. Shipped out as a teenager to marry in the interest of dynastic politics, as was the fate of Germanic princesses, she finds her self married to "mad" King Christian of Denmark - these days he seems more eccentric than "mad" and mostly just not very interested in being King - tries to do what is expected of her, but ends up (through boredom again) having a fairly open affair with the Royal doctor, supporting him in his ascent to power through manipulation of King Christian (who is basically willing to sign anything put in front of him), living a bohemian lifestyle, promoting a more open form of government, and generally enjoying herself. Of course such scandalous behaviour couldn't be permitted to continue and it all comes crashing down, with Caroline Matilde dying young. But no one could deny, she'd done it her way

To this is an interesting book and well researched with the author going to the trouble to learn Danish to read the gothic script of the Danish court in the original. There are lots of amusingly bitchy letters between courtiers quoted and humorously salacious trivia about courtesans and lords who should know better. But mainly, its about the birth of the cult of celebrity and very revealing ( )

The 18th-century Hanover dynasty had more than its share of scandal, but I knew little about George III's sister Caroline Mathilde, the Queen of Denmark, prior to this book. While George III and each of his siblings who survived into adulthood are covered, Caroline Mathilde definitely steals the show - she was unhappily married to the Danish king in her teens, had an affair with her husband's doctor as her husband descended into madness, practically ruled Denmark with her lover for a brief period before a coup forced her to flee, and she spent the remainder of her days plotting a comeback before dying of scarlet fever at the age of twenty-three. A truly fascinating woman and one certainly in good company with her scandalous brothers, even if she gave King George III plenty of headaches. This is certainly both fun reading and a good way to highlight a lesser-known 18th-century figure. ( )

Although the book is ostensibly about King George III of England and his numerous siblings, it is mostly about George and his youngest sister, Caroline Matilda. Tillyard follows their claustrophobic childhood and uneven educations, until they were separated when George took the throne and Caroline Matilda was married to the unstable King of Denmark, Christian VII. Teenaged Queen Caroline Mathilde tried to be a good queen, but her husband was going mad. She fell in love with Struensee, his idealistic doctor, and together the lovebirds ruled the King and the government. In the king's name they pushed through numerous reforms, all very good and necessary laws but very unpopular. Eventually, the king's step-mother and step-brother managed a coup, separating the queen and the doctor and ousting the humanist government. Caroline Mathilde physically struggled against her captors, but to no avail. She was locked in Kronberg slot (aka Elsinore) for months while the conspirators attempted to find proof of her adultery with Struensee. Struensee, like a dolt, confessed to everything and then, going against a lifetime of proud atheism, swore that he believed in Jesus Christ. He was brutally executed soon after. George III almost started a war to get his sister back to England, but after only a few tense months her divorce went through. The new Danish government shipped her away as quickly as they could, afraid of her influence over the king. Caroline Mathilde spent her remaining years with a large allowance from George III and no freedom. Her mail was opened, her servants chosen for her, and her visitors carefully vetted. After three years of this life, and a few desultary attempts to regain her throne, she died abruptly of scarlet fever.

Caroline's brothers, Edward, William and Henry, lead useless lives. Edward died young. William married a woman rather older, whose thwarted ambition made him miserable. Henry and his wife were rackety and seemingly happy, but certainly nothing but a drain on the treasury. And their oldest living brother, George III, was a priggish, rule-bound man who seems to have had little political insight and even less empathy. I didn't like any of the siblings, although I did pity them. ( )