List of Official British Royal Biographies

[skye.009]

I'm looking to expand my collection of royal biographies and I'm looking for a list of official biographies written about members of the BRF (ie. Biographers appointed by the RF).

I already own William Shawcross' Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, Philip Ziegler's King Edward VIII: A Life, and I read in a Daily Mail article that the first official royal biography was written by Theodore Martin who was appointed to write a biography (which turned out to be in five volumes) on Prince Albert.

[PrincessKaimi]

I hope you get more responses, as I am very interested too. Loved The Queen Mother more than I ever thought I would, but I am hoping to go a little further back in time and then back to more present times. Is Prince Albert worth the 5 volumes (I feel terrible for putting it that way, but did anyone read it and love it?)

[Aliza]

Originally Posted by skye.009

I'm looking to expand my collection of royal biographies and I'm looking for a list of official biographies written about members of the BRF (ie. Biographers appointed by the RF).

I already own William Shawcross' Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, Philip Ziegler's King Edward VIII: A Life, and I read in a Daily Mail article that the first official royal biography was written by Theodore Martin who was appointed to write a biography (which turned out to be in five volumes) on Prince Albert.

What did you think of the Shawcross biography? I read it all, twice - and I felt I learned absolutely nothing about what made QEQM "tick". For example, I'd have liked to know what made her change her mind about marrying Prince Bertie and how she felt about the marriage of Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth, just for examples.

To me, it was more like reading one long hagiographical court circular on QEQM's public duties than it was true biography which is supposed to give insight about the person behind the public face. Of course, I know better than to expect sensationalistic or very private new material to appear in an officially commissioned work. Nevertheless, every other official biography of the BRF during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries has been enlightening, including some of the older examples. Nicolson's excellent "George V", for instance.

[IloveCP]

I would love to get the Edward and Albert books.

Sorry,I don't know other official bios.

[Aliza]

Originally Posted by IloveCP

I would love to get the Edward and Albert books.

Sorry,I don't know other official bios.

The Edward VIII bio by Ziegler is a classic and is also pretty even-handed, IMHO. I found the official Albert biography to be heavy furniture and too laudatory, although I did enjoy the first volume, which is generally agreed to as being written by Victoria, herself. I wish a good biographer would attempt a modern biography of the Prince Consort. I really think it is long overdue. All the modern works only delve into his relationship with Victoria and a man's relationship with his wife, even if she is Queen, only forms a portion of his life story, IMHO.

As far as I know, there is no official biography of Diana, Princess of Wales. I don't believe there will be one in the near future; I think we'll have to wait for William's reign before access will be permitted to the papers necessary to attempt that work... It's a real shame how her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, destroyed so much of Diana's papers. For that matter, Princess Margaret regularly went through and destroyed many of QEQM's papers, with her Mother's knowledge!

If anyone has read Hugo Vickers' biography of QEQM, I would be most grateful for any opinions about it. I'm trying to decide whether or not to buy it as after the Shawcross experience, I would even more like to discover the person behind that smile and those feathery hats. Don't we all still miss her!!!

[IloveCP]

Is Hugo more "honest" than Shawcross?

Anyone?

[Aliza]

Originally Posted by IloveCP

Is Hugo more "honest" than Shawcross?

Anyone?

Well, his other biographies have certainly not been as superficial as Shawcross' work... He obviously didn't have access to the same papers as Shawcross did, which is what makes me wary of purchasing it. I wish my local library would get it in and then I can test before I buy!

[skye.009]

Agreed. Though I overall enjoyed Shawcross' work on The QM, I felt that the book was a fact machine. Fact, after fact, after fact. Wasn't transported into QM's mind as I wanted to be, but still, accuracy is enough to seal the deal for me.

The reason why I'm seeking these "official" biographies is solely for accuracy. I think I already own enough Andrew Morton, Sarah Bradford, etc. - type biographies.

[skye.009]

So, with a little more research and a quick tip from Aliza, I was able to compile a list of all the official bio's I've found so far:

Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother: The Official Biography
by William Shawcross
King George VI: His Life and Reign
by John Wheeler-Bennett
King Edward VIII
by Philip Ziegler
The Life of His Royal Highness The Prince Concort (in 5 volumes)
by Theodore Martin
King George V, His Life and Reign
by Harold Nicolson
Queen Mary, 1867-1953
by James Pope-Hennessey

Now looking for Victoria, Edward VII, Alexandra (his wife) and Margaret (though probably a long-shot, since I haven't heard a word about the production of an official biography on her since she died), Wallis (another long-shot) and maybe even others that I'm not thinking of at the moment.

[Aliza]

Just off the top of my head, the bio of Queen Alexandra is by Georgina Battiscombe. There is no official bio of Victoria, I'd recommend two: Victoria RI by Elizabeth Longford and the latest and most complete: Queen Victoria by Walter L. Arnstein. The official biography of Edward VII is by Sidney Lee but leaves much out; I'd recommend King Edward the Seventh by Philip Magnus. Diana Mosley wrote the best, IMHO, biography of Wallis Windsor, you're correct, there has been no official bio commissioned (yet?). I am also hunting about Princess Margaret; please let me know if you discover anything and I'll do the same if I find an official or at least an approved biography of the Princess. Right now the best I can offer is Theo Aronson's work, "Princess Margaret: A Biography". Hope this helps!

Other serious biographies worth checking out are Kenneth Rose's "George V", Sarah Bradford, "George VI" and the Michael Bloch edited letters between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII - I'll check for the exact title. Happy reading!

[Grandduchess24]

Can anyone suggest a good royal read of the BRF one that is interesting, enough to underline information?