I missed reading the first book about the Windsors by Alexander Larman, but this recent book was so full of details that I didn’t feel as if I came in in the middle of a story. Having already read quite a bit about England and Winston Churchill and WWII, I recognized many of the names within the pages of this book.

Having said that, I was hoping for more writing about the two brothers and their relationship, but in this book it seemed their relationship mostly consisted of letters and their staff carrying messages to each brother from the other.

I can understand the problem Edward presented during the war, having abdicated and needing to step aside to let George lead the country. Edward seemed blind to the fact that by abdicating he would lose his power and prestige. It was hard not to feel as if he was the big whiner all through the book, and constantly straddling the fence as to where his true loyalty lay. Personally, I feel he was loyal only to himself.

Reading this over 60 years later in history, it seems so silly that Wallis was treated so badly, yet now they are more willing to accept divorce and other scruples within the royal family. I could not help feeling that had the family accepted the marriage, they could have let Edward remain in England and kept more control over his activities and immediately put an end to his questionable behavior.

Readers who love History and WWII will find this interesting. I plan to read his first book at some point, just to get more background on the time when Edward abdicated.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy. ( )

The Windsors at War offers a highly readable, carefully researched exploration of the relationship during WWII between George VI and his brother, who ruled as Edward VIII before abdicating in order to marry U.S. divorcee Wallis Simpson. This title follows up on Alexander Larman's previous volume, The Crown in Crisis (I have not yet read this), which examines the lives of the Windsors during Edward VIII's years as the adult Prince of Wales, during his reign, and his ultimate decision to abdicate.

If you've seen The King's Speech, you know some of the backstory (at least the Hollywood version). Edward (called David by his family, but we'll stick with titular names for the sake of simplicity), the oldest of the Windsor sons, had been raised as a king-to-be. He was a dilettante, but he also knew what to expect in terms of his obligations to the nation and empire. He was gregarious and well-prepared to take on the role of King before courtiers, representatives of other governments, and the English people. George (called Bertie by his family, but again, we're sticking with titular names) was quite content as the second son. He was shy, tended to be awkward around people he didn't know, and stuttered, as well as having other nervous tics. For George, the abdication was devastating. He didn't want to be king; he wasn't trained to be king. But he was king—and at a time when war with Germany was becoming increasingly inevitable.

Larman's book reads like a novel—a very precise, historically accurate novel. He's a gifted story-teller always ready with an apt turn of phrase, but he sticks to facts and does little in the way of surmising. I'd expected reading The Windsors at War would be something of a slog—a task I was willing to take on and knew would yield information of a sort I enjoy—but I hadn't anticipated how engaging it would be and the difficulty I would have putting it down to attend to other responsibilities.

I gather that Edward's biographers tend to fall into one of two camps (perhaps I exaggerate just a little here): those who present his life as one ill-chosen conspiracy after another and those determined to exculpate him in the face of such accusations. Larman does neither. He is honest that he finds Edward thoroughly unlikable as an individual, but doesn't press readers to embrace that view. Instead, his depiction of Edward shows him to be rather self-centered, impractical, and unable to grasp the ramifications of his decision to abdicate.

Larman's depiction of George has a certain vagueness to it. He tells us what George did, cites excerpts from George's diaries and correspondence, but George never comes across as a personality in the way Edward does. This may be a result of George being exactly the sort of man he was: one not eager to share intimacies or to step into the limelight, who was utterly rigid in his expectations for himself in his role as war-time king.

If you're interested in WWII history, British history, or even historical scandals, you'll find The Windsors at War and excellent read. I was delighted to receive an electronic review copy of of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; my enthusiastic response to the book is genuine. ( )

This book was sent to me by the publishers St Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you.

The Windsors at War by Alexander Larman

What distinguishes this book from many of the books about the Windsors is the meticulous quoting of sources. When the author quotes an ourtageous statement by the Duke of Windsor, he backs it up with letter from Edward, a diary entry from a witness, a newspaper article etc. Was the Duke a traitor? Larman does not give definitive proof that he was actively colluding with Nazi Germany.

Was he does show is that the Duke was a selfish, egoist who could kept bothering Churchill and George VI during the height of the blitz about the recognition of Wallis as HRH the Duchess of Windsor. He seems at times to forget that he was a "former" king and expected Churchill and George VI to listen to and act upon his suggestions. He certainly demanded George VI defer to him as the older and wiser brother. There are veiled threats which amount to nothing, although the gorvernment kept having to try to appease him so he didn't do something stupid like declare himself a roving ambassaor for peace and muddy the diplomatic waters.

While the Duke was acting like a spoiled child, George VI was follownig the advice of the government preparing for war while still exploring the possibility of peace. He, supported by his wife, never faltered in his duty as king. The contrast between the two brothers is very clear: A rock and quicksand.

So was the Duke a traitor who actively worked against his country so he could be reenthroned as Edward VIII? The truth will only emerge if more records are released in the decades to come. ( )

Exhaustively researched, with a narrative that kept me turning pages, The Windsors at War continues the story begun in The Crown in Crisis about the abdication of King Edward VIII so he marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. His younger, unprepared, brother became King George VI. But what does a country do with an ex-king? Especially if he is too forthright with his opinions?

This installment continues the story with the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany. The man who used to be king, the Duke of Windsor. was way too cozy with some very iffy Germans, and even met the Fuhrer himself, and he was vehemently against war with Germany. Was he a fascist sympathizer? It wasn’t uncommon, we learn. The new king’s personal secretaries had fascist sympathies. Even FDR’s ambassador to Britain, Joe Kennedy, Sr., thought it was the logical next step from democracy based on Hitler’s turning the Germany economy around.

I have been accused of harshness towards Edward…My only regret is that I have been too generous towards him.
from the Introduction to The Windsors at War by Alexander Larman

Larman displays a well-deserved snarkiness about the Duke of Windsor. As king, he never cared for the officious duties of kingship, but he sure did enjoy the lifestyle. After his abdication, he expected to still get the royal treatment by family and friends. He was insistent that Wallis be given the title of HRH and be received at court. Instead, he was exiled from his homeland and lived in Europe, where he and his wife got chummy with a rich Nazi sympathizer. Hitler envisioned conquering Britain and his spies were grooming the Duke in take over, even plotting an abduction if he tried to leave Europe. The king got the Duke out of the country by making him governor of the Bahamas, where he and Wallis felt isolated, lonely, and resentful. Also, there was all that heat, and black people.

Meanwhile, the new king had to hit the ground running, tasked with the seemingly impossible: protecting England, keeping up morale under the Blitz, convincing isolationist America to get involved, with his self-involved brother constantly making demands. The king and his wife visited the bombed villages, winning the hearts of the people. He even won over Winston Churchill, who had been his brother’s supporter, but now knew that the ‘right man’ was on the throne.

The major players’ story lines are mesmerizing, but the bit players’ lives are just as fascinating. Like the king’s younger brother, the scandalous and well-beloved Duke of of Kent, and the king’s personal secretaries with their fascist leanings. We see the teenaged Princess Elizabeth making her first appearances, her first speech–and Larman ends the book with a teaser of her coming role in the divided family.

It is an account of treachery, and of cynicism. It is a tale of decent people doing thoughtless and inconsiderate, even dangerous things when faced with an intolerable amount of pressure, and of their getting it wrong as often as they succeeded.[…]But it is also a story of heroism and honour, of principles maintained against near-impossible odds.
from Introduction, The Windsors at War by Alexander Larman

I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. ( )

The Windsors at War, by Alexander Larman is an exhaustively researched, thoroughly detailed account of the events in Great Britain from 1937 to 1945, a period which includes World War II. The book focuses on the dysfunction of the ruling Windsor family of Great Britain and its effect on wartime politics. At the end of 1936, Edward VIII abdicated his throne because, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.” Edward was considered the nominal head of the Church of England, which would not allow him to marry a divorced woman whose former spouse was still alive. The Church, the British government, and the public were all against the marriage. Edward’s younger brother, Prince Albert, assumed the throne following the abdication. Although he had served in the in the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force during World War I, Albert was rather shy and had suffered from a serious stammer since childhood, a malady that caused him extreme embarrassment. Because he was the second son, he never anticipated becoming king and worried about replacing his well-spoken and popular (until the abdication) older brother.

Edward’s abdication was an embarrassment for the crown and he and his wife, the former Wallis Simpson, were not welcome in Great Britain. There were hard feelings all around. Adding to the poor situation was Edward’s interest in Hitler and his expansionist plans. His visits to Germany at a time when the rest of Europe, including his homeland, were contemplating war against Hitler caused a large media sensation. As Edward’s brother, now King George VI, and his counselors tried assiduously to come up with ways to deal with Edward, Edward became more and more bitter at what he considered his unacceptable treatment by his family.
Larman did an astounding amount of research for the book, and it shows in his attention to detail, his explanations of each personage, and the background information given regarding many circumstances. The treatise reads easily but is dense with detail. At over 400 pages, it may not be suitable for the casual reader. I enjoyed it tremendously, but I have a substantial interest in European and American history of this time period.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Alexander Larman for the ARC of this book. ( )