The Windsor Diaries cover art

The Windsor Diaries

A childhood with the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret

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The Windsor Diaries

By: Alathea Fitzalan Howard
Narrated by: Alice McMillan, Sandra Duncan
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About this listen

 The Windsor Diaries are the never-before-seen diaries of Alathea Fitzalan Howard, who lived alongside the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret at Windsor Castle during the Second World War.

Alathea's home life was an unhappy one. Her parents had separated and so during the war she was sent to live with her grandfather, Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent, at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park. There Alathea found the affection and harmony she craved as she became a close friend of the two princesses, visiting them often at Windsor Castle, enjoying parties, balls, cinema evenings, picnics and celebrations with the Royal Family and other members of the Court.

Alathea's diary became her constant companion during these years as day by day she recorded every intimate detail of life with the young Princesses, often with their governess Crawfie, or with the King and Queen.

Written from the ages of sixteen to twenty-two, she captures the tight-knit, happy bonds between the Royal Family, as well as the aspirations and anxieties, sometimes extreme, of her own teenage mind.

These unique diaries give us a bird's eye view of Royal wartime life with all of Alathea's honest, yet affectionate judgments and observations - as well as a candid and vivid portrait of the young Princess Elizabeth, known to Alathea as 'Lilibet', a warm, self-contained girl, already falling for her handsome prince Philip, and facing her ultimate destiny: the Crown.

(P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2020 Isabella Naylor-Leyland Diaries & Journals Europe Great Britain Memoirs, Diaries & Correspondence Politics & Activism Royalty War

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Critic reviews

'Funny, astute, poignant and historically fascinating'
'This is an enthralling book . . . often funny and sometimes truly moving
'I loved reading this. So reminiscent of my own childhood' (Anne Glenconner, author of LADY IN WAITING)
All stars
Most relevant
A wonderful insight into the life of the Princesses at Windsor, but also a slightly tragic tale as the sorrows and loneliness of Alathea’s life comes through. Would highly recommend.

Wonderful

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This is just the diary of a very sad girl who finds joy in being able to (sometimes) share the family life of the two princesses; to feel by proxy a love that she has nowhere else in her life. It’s a fascinating insight into who Queen Elizabeth is/was as a person perceived by someone close to her, but ultimately such a sad tale of loneliness.

So very sad

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