The Queen won't like it — but you will

Royal Governess revisits royal history and a famous cast of characters

The Royal Governess Wendy Holden Berkley

Perhaps the bulk of Wendy Holden's readers in 2020 won't recognize the name Marion Crawford, the main character of her new book, The Royal Governess. But once upon a time, Crawford was a bestselling author and the centre of an international controversy.

Crawford was governess to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, the daughters of the Duke and Duchess of York. The girls, who referred to her as Crawfie, cherished her energy and honesty, and she retained her position even when the duke and duchess became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1936 and their elder daughter, Lilibet, was suddenly heir to the throne. Those years are the playground of Holden's novel, which begins with Marion studying at a teacher training college in her native Scotland and falling in love with a handsome young communist named Valentine. Once The Royal Governess gets to the Windsors, it takes off like a grand parade. Holden obviously relishes bringing to life her famous cast of characters, from the Duke of York to Queen Mary, to Elizabeth, to her sister, Margaret, to the Duke's brother David.

The elder Queen Elizabeth is by far Holden's most winning fictional creation. Marion has no sooner met her than she's making the obvious comparison: “She was like something out of P.G. Wodehouse.”

The queen burbles, she merrily slings lingo such as “Tinkety-tonk, old fruit,” she slurps gin at untoward hours and underneath it all, as one character observes, she's as tough as an old boot. This Queen Elizabeth thoroughly steals the show.

It's doubtful the Queen would enjoy it, but pretty much everybody else will, both from Crawford and from the future Queen Elizabeth.