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A contemporary look at Cecil Beaton’s portraits of the Royal
Family and how they helped create the public face of the House of
Windsor. Cecil Beaton: The Royal Portraits looks back in time to
tell a very modern tale: the creation of a public image. Offering a
fresh appraisal of Beaton’s portraits of the British royal
family, the book explores not only the finished images but also the
sittings in which they were created, revealing Beaton’s central
role in shaping the public face of the House of Windsor and the
ways in which he collaborated with his subjects. Organised
chronologically, from the 1930s to the 1970s, each of the book's
four chapters comprises an introductory essay, plates with extended
captions, and one or two in-depth analyses of a particular sitting.
Throughout, a variety of contextual material – contact sheets,
test shots, out-takes, sketches, letters, journals, tear-sheets –
helps build a detailed picture of Beaton's working methods, the
relationships he developed with his sitters, and how the eventual
portraits were received. Drawing on the Victoria and Albert
Museum’s unparalleled collection of Beaton’s photographs, Cecil
Beaton: The Royal Portraits will appeal not only to those
interested in the photographer and his work, but also to anyone for
whom the distinction between the private world and the public face
of the royal family remains a source of fascination.
Princess Diana is seen as the first member of the British royal
family to tear up the rulebook, and the Duchess of Cambridge is
modernising the monarchy in strides. But before them was another
who paved the way. Princess Mary was born in 1897. Despite her
Victorian beginnings, she strove to make a princess's life
meaningful, using her position to help those less fortunate and
defying gender conventions in the process. As the only daughter of
King George V and Queen Mary, she would live to see not only two of
her brothers ascend the throne but also her niece Queen Elizabeth
II. She was one of the hardest-working members of the royal family,
known for her no-nonsense approach and her determination in the
face of adversity. During the First World War she came into her
own, launching an appeal to furnish every British troop and sailor
with a Christmas gift, and training as a nurse at Great Ormond
Street Hospital. From her dedication to the war effort, to her role
as the family peacemaker during the Abdication Crisis, Mary was the
princess who redefined the title for the modern age. In the first
biography in decades, Elisabeth Basford offers a fresh appraisal of
Mary's full and fascinating life.
Princess Diana is seen as the first member of the British royal
family to tear up the rulebook, and the Duchess of Cambridge is
modernising the monarchy in strides. But before them was another
who paved the way. Princess Mary was born in 1897. Despite her
Victorian beginnings, she strove to make a princess's life
meaningful, using her position to help those less fortunate and
defying gender conventions in the process. As the only daughter of
King George V and Queen Mary, she would live to see not only two of
her brothers ascend the throne but also her niece Queen Elizabeth
II. She was one of the hardest-working members of the royal family,
known for her no-nonsense approach and her determination in the
face of adversity. During the First World War she came into her
own, launching an appeal to furnish every British troop and sailor
with a Christmas gift, and training as a nurse at Great Ormond
Street Hospital. From her dedication to the war effort, to her role
as the family peacemaker during the Abdication Crisis, Mary was the
princess who redefined the title for the modern age. In the first
biography in decades, Elisabeth Basford offers a fresh appraisal of
Mary's full and fascinating life.
Elstree School celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2023. This is a
revised history of the school which gives a lively account of the
extraordinary Sanderson family who ran it for 100 years, the other
teachers who made it special and which celebrates some of its
distinguished old boys. Elstree was a feeder for Harrow, and in its
early days, had a strong intellectual background with figures such
as Joseph Conrad and John Galsworthy frequent visitors to the
school. The book explains the ethos of study, Christian faith, high
sporting achievement and good manners that have long given the
school its special quality, and brings the story right up to the
present day.
The Queen has been associated with Windsor throughout her life and
reign. She stayed at Windsor with her grandparents, King George V
and Queen Mary, for Easter every year from 1928 to 1935, and she
and Princess Margaret spent most of the Second World War there.
Windsor had a special significance for The Queen and Prince Philip:
they stayed at the Castle for weekends, for the Easter court,
Ascot, and other times of the year. They settled there for the
Covid-19 pandemic and Windsor is now The Queen's main residence.
The Queen and Windsor showcases local photographer Gill Heppell's
remarkable photographs of Windsor - of the Castle, the Park, the
town and St. George's Chapel - and never before published images of
Her Majesty The Queen at events in and around the town. The book
also includes a chapter of photographs and commentary on the
Platinum Jubilee celebrations, in June 2022. The book is introduced
by an essay by celebrated Royal historian, Hugo Vickers, on the
history of The Queen's relationship with Windsor. The photographs
are also accompanied by contributions from key Windsor figures: Sir
James Perowne (former Constable and Governor of the Castle), The
Right Reverend David Conner (Dean of Windsor), Charlotte Manley
(Chapter Clerk, College of St. George), Peter Wilkinson (The
Queen's Cameraman), Terry Pendry (Her Majesty's Stud Groom and
Manager), Paul Sedgwick (Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park) and
The Reverend Canon Martin Poll (Domestic Chaplain to The Queen and
Chaplain of The Great Park).
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A Royal Life (Hardcover)
HRH The Duke of Kent, Hugo Vickers
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R787
R643
Discovery Miles 6 430
Save R144 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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'A pleasure to read... a timely reminder of the need for service'
Telegraph HRH The Duke of Kent has been at the heart of the British
Royal Family throughout his life. As a working member of the Royal
Family, he has supported his cousin, The Queen, representing her at
home and abroad. His royal duties began when, in 1952, at the age
of sixteen, he walked in the procession behind King George VI's
coffin, later paying homage to The Queen at her Coronation in 1953.
Since then he has witnessed and participated in key Royal
occasions. He represented The Queen at independence ceremonies from
the age of twenty-five, he was riding with her when blanks were
fired at Trooping the Colour in 1981, he was the oldest soldier on
parade at Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in November 2020 and
he was alongside The Queen at her official birthday celebrations in
June 2021 as Colonel of the Scots Guards. No member of the Royal
Family has spoken extensively of the modern reign and their part in
it before. A Royal Life is a unique account based on a series of
conversations between the Duke and acclaimed Royal historian Hugo
Vickers. It covers some of the most important moments and
experiences of the Duke's life, from his upbringing at his family
home Coppins in Buckinghamshire, his twenty-one years of army life,
his royal tours and events, through to his work for over 140
different organisations, including presenting the trophies at
Wimbledon for more than 50 years. Here too are recollections of
family members including his mother, Princess Marina, his
grandmother, Queen Mary, his cousin, Prince Philip, the Duke of
Edinburgh, and his uncle, King George VI. The Duke is a keen
photographer and the book contains never before seen photographs
from his private collection. Other members of the Royal Family
contribute their memories, including his wife, the Duchess of Kent,
the Duke's siblings, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael of Kent,
his son, the Earl of St Andrews, his daughter, Lady Helen Taylor as
well as his cousins, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Archduchess
Helen of Austria and her brother, Hans Veit Toerring. A Royal Life
is an unprecedented, insightful and remarkable slice of Royal
history.
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A Royal Life (Paperback)
HRH The Duke of Kent, Hugo Vickers
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R405
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
Save R75 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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'A pleasure to read... a timely reminder of the need for service'
-- The Daily Telegraph 'The voices and reminiscence of family and
friends merge seamlessly, giving the impression of gathering round
the fire on a winter evening' -- The Oldie 'A remarkable memoir
penned by the Duke of Kent, whose entire life has been dedicated to
Queen and country... an insider's account of what it is like to be
a working royal.' -- Daily Mail HRH The Duke of Kent has been at
the heart of the British Royal Family throughout his life. As a
working member of the Royal Family, he supported his cousin The
Queen, representing her at home and abroad, until her death in
2022. His royal duties began when, in 1952, at the age of sixteen,
he walked in the procession behind King George VI's coffin, later
paying homage to The Queen at her Coronation in 1953. Since then he
has witnessed and participated in key Royal occasions. A Royal Life
is a unique account based on a series of conversations between the
Duke and acclaimed Royal historian Hugo Vickers. It covers the
Duke's upbringing, his army life, his royal tours and events and
associations with organisations. Here too are recollections of
family members including his mother, Princess Marina, his
grandmother, Queen Mary, his cousin, Prince Philip, the Duke of
Edinburgh, and his uncle, King George VI. Other members of the
Royal Family contribute their memories, including his wife, the
Duchess of Kent, the Duke's siblings, Princess Alexandra and Prince
Michael of Kent, his son, the Earl of St Andrews, his daughter,
Lady Helen Taylor as well as his cousins, Princess Elizabeth of
Yugoslavia, Archduchess Helen of Austria and her brother, Hans Veit
Toerring. Containing never before seen photographs from the Duke's
private collection and a new chapter on the Platinum Jubilee and
the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, A Royal Life is an unprecedented
and remarkable insight into Royal history.
Cecil Beaton (1904 1980) was one of twentieth- century Britain s
Renaissance men: photographer, costume designer, set designer,
playwright, creator of fashion fabrics, and writer on raffine
interiors and the personalities who inhabited them. He also
happened to be a fine interior decorator. Cecil Beaton at Home
focuses on two homes dear to Beaton s heart Ashcombe House, near
the Wiltshire village of Tollard Royal, and Reddish House, located
in Broad Chalke, another village in the same county as well as
London's Pelham Place and Beaton s New York hotel suites.
Simultaneously a retreat, an inspiration, a photographer s studio,
and a stage for impressive entertaining, Beaton s country homes
also fuelled his passion for art, gardening, and delight in village
life. Against his often-extravagant interiors, Beaton s private
life unfolds his unique talent for self-promotion, desire for
theatricality, and uncertain pursuit of love. This lavishly
illustrated visual biography brings together original photographs,
artworks, and possessions from his interiors to present an intimate
picture of Beaton s extraordinary life.
**A Mail on Sunday Book of the Year 2021** 'A fascinating document,
a window on to a lost world of glamour, grandeur and snobbery . . .
an elegy, sad and comical, to a passing era' Craig Brown, MAIL ON
SUNDAY 'I got as caught up in these distant but strangely evocative
events as Vickers did . . . delicious in its way, recreating a lost
world' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, THE TIMES 'A luxuriant trawl through
the recovered past . . . extraordinary book' John Walsh, SUNDAY
TIMES 'A quite brilliant record of a fading social and artistic
milieu . . . a world to which Vickers is an unrivalled cicerone'
Matthew Sturgis, THE OLDIE 'Vickers' diaries bristle with
injudicious indiscretion...it is no small compliment to say that
the biographer is here the equal of his subject' Michael Arditti,
THE SPECTATOR 'Beaton himself was one of the finest 20th-century
diarists. It is no small compliment to say that the biographer is
here the equal of his subject' THE SPECTATOR 'Illuminating and
brilliantly scurrilous' Marcus Field, THE STANDARD 'Scintillating'
DAILY MAIL 'When Mr Vickers has his eye to the keyhole, we see a
secret panorama' Dominic Green, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 'Vickers -
as ever - is a warm and enthusiastic guide to a nearly lost world'
TATLER.COM The witty and perceptive diaries kept by Cecil Beaton's
authorised biographer during his many fascinating encounters with
extraordinary - often legendary - characters in his search for the
real Cecil Beaton. Hugo Vickers's life took a dramatic turn in 1979
when the legendary Sir Cecil Beaton invited him to be his
authorised biographer. The excitement of working with the famous
photographer was dashed only days later when Cecil Beaton died. But
the journey had begun - Vickers was entrusted with Beaton's papers,
diaries and, most importantly, access to his friends and
contemporaries. The resulting book, first published in 1985, was a
bestseller. In Malice in Wonderland, Vickers shares excerpts from
his personal diaries kept during this period. For five years,
Vickers travelled the world and talked to some of the most
fascinating and important social and cultural figures of the time,
including royalty such as the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret,
film stars such as Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews,
writers such as Truman Capote, and photographers such as Irving
Penn and Horst. And not only Beaton's friends - Vickers sought out
the enemies too, notably Irene Selznick. He was taken under the
wings of Lady Diana Cooper, Clarissa Avon and Diana Vreeland. Drawn
into Beaton's world and accepted by its members, Vickers the
emerging biographer also began his own personal adventure. The
outsider became the insider - Beaton's friends became his friends.
Malice in Wonderland is a fascinating portrait of a now disappeared
world, and vividly and sensitively portrays some of its most
fascinating characters as we travel with Vickers on his quest.
SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION 'The most knowledgeable royal
biographer on the planet' The Financial Times Hugo Vickers is an
acknowledged authority on the British Royal Family. He has
commented on royal matters on television and radio since 1973 and
worked as historical adviser on a number of films. He is the author
of books on the Queen Mother, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess
Andrew of Greece (Prince Philip's mother) and Queen Mary - all of
whom are featured in the popular Netflix show, The Crown. Now, in
this sequel to The Crown: Truth & Fiction Vickers separates
fact from fiction in season 3 of this television series.
Episode-by-episode analysis dissects the plots, characterisation
and historical detail in each storyline. Vickers tells us what
really happened and what certainly did not happen. The Crown:
Dissected also includes commentaries on seasons 1 and 2.
'A delightful insight into an eclectic life' The Daily Telegraph
'Very funny and astute . . . a loathly feast for royal-watchers'
Hilary Mantel, New Statesman Books of the Year 2018 'A complete
delight, conjuring up, with a few sharp strokes of the pen, a mad,
exotic species from a world gone by' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
'Gloriously indiscreet . . . the best royal book ever' Harry Mount,
Financial Times * * * When James Pope-Hennessy began his work on
Queen Mary's official biography, it opened the door to meetings
with royalty, court members and retainers around Europe. The series
of candid observations, secrets and indiscretions contained in his
notes were to be kept private for 50 years. Now published in full
for the first time and edited by the highly admired royal
biographer Hugo Vickers, this is a riveting, often hilarious
portrait of the eccentric aristocracy of a bygone age. Giving much
greater insight into Queen Mary than the official version, and
including sharply observed encounters with, among others, the Duke
and Duchess of Windsor, the Duke of Gloucester, and a young Queen
Elizabeth, The Quest for Queen Mary is set to be a classic of royal
publishing.
|
A Royal Life (Paperback)
HRH The Duke of Kent, Hugo Vickers
|
R541
R445
Discovery Miles 4 450
Save R96 (18%)
|
Ships in 9 - 15 working days
|
'A pleasure to read... a timely reminder of the need for service'
Telegraph HRH The Duke of Kent has been at the heart of the British
Royal Family throughout his life. As a working member of the Royal
Family, he has supported his cousin, The Queen, representing her at
home and abroad. His royal duties began when, in 1952, at the age
of sixteen, he walked in the procession behind King George VI's
coffin, later paying homage to The Queen at her Coronation in 1953.
Since then he has witnessed and participated in key Royal
occasions. He represented The Queen at independence ceremonies from
the age of twenty-five, he was riding with her when blanks were
fired at Trooping the Colour in 1981, he was the oldest soldier on
parade at Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in November 2020 and
he was alongside The Queen at her official birthday celebrations in
June 2021 as Colonel of the Scots Guards. No member of the Royal
Family has spoken extensively of the modern reign and their part in
it before. A Royal Life is a unique account based on a series of
conversations between the Duke and acclaimed Royal historian Hugo
Vickers. It covers some of the most important moments and
experiences of the Duke's life, from his upbringing at his family
home Coppins in Buckinghamshire, his twenty-one years of army life,
his royal tours and events, through to his work for over 140
different organisations, including presenting the trophies at
Wimbledon for more than 50 years. Here too are recollections of
family members including his mother, Princess Marina, his
grandmother, Queen Mary, his cousin, Prince Philip, the Duke of
Edinburgh, and his uncle, King George VI. The Duke is a keen
photographer and the book contains never before seen photographs
from his private collection. Other members of the Royal Family
contribute their memories, including his wife, the Duchess of Kent,
the Duke's siblings, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael of Kent,
his son, the Earl of St Andrews, his daughter, Lady Helen Taylor as
well as his cousins, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Archduchess
Helen of Austria and her brother, Hans Veit Toerring. A Royal Life
is an unprecedented, insightful and remarkable slice of Royal
history.
'A fascinating document, a window on to a lost world of glamour,
grandeur and snobbery . . . an elegy, sad and comical, to a passing
era' Craig Brown, MAIL ON SUNDAY 'I got as caught up in these
distant but strangely evocative events as Vickers did . . .
delicious in its way, recreating a lost world' Ysenda Maxtone
Graham, THE TIMES 'A luxuriant trawl through the recovered past . .
. extraordinary book' John Walsh, SUNDAY TIMES 'A quite brilliant
record of a fading social and artistic milieu . . . a world to
which Vickers is an unrivalled cicerone' Matthew Sturgis, THE OLDIE
'Vickers' diaries bristle with injudicious indiscretion...it is no
small compliment to say that the biographer is here the equal of
his subject' Michael Arditti, THE SPECTATOR 'Beaton himself was one
of the finest 20th-century diarists. It is no small compliment to
say that the biographer is here the equal of his subject' THE
SPECTATOR 'Illuminating and brilliantly scurrilous' Marcus Field,
THE STANDARD 'Scintillating' DAILY MAIL 'When Mr Vickers has his
eye to the keyhole, we see a secret panorama' Dominic Green, THE
WALL STREET JOURNAL 'Vickers - as ever - is a warm and enthusiastic
guide to a nearly lost world' TATLER.COM The witty and perceptive
diaries kept by Cecil Beaton's authorised biographer during his
many fascinating encounters with extraordinary - often legendary -
characters in his search for the real Cecil Beaton. Hugo Vickers's
life took a dramatic turn in 1979 when the legendary Sir Cecil
Beaton invited him to be his authorised biographer. The excitement
of working with the famous photographer was dashed only days later
when Cecil Beaton died. But the journey had begun - Vickers was
entrusted with Beaton's papers, diaries and, most importantly,
access to his friends and contemporaries. The resulting book, first
published in 1985, was a bestseller. In Malice in Wonderland,
Vickers shares excerpts from his personal diaries kept during this
period. For five years, Vickers travelled the world and talked to
some of the most fascinating and important social and cultural
figures of the time, including royalty such as the Queen Mother and
Princess Margaret, film stars such as Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn
and Julie Andrews, writers such as Truman Capote, and photographers
such as Irving Penn and Horst. And not only Beaton's friends -
Vickers sought out the enemies too, notably Irene Selznick. He was
taken under the wings of Lady Diana Cooper, Clarissa Avon and Diana
Vreeland. Drawn into Beaton's world and accepted by its member
The fiercely intelligent beauty who married the 9th Duke of Marlborough and both dazzled and puzzled the glittering social circles of the Belle Epoque in which she moved.
One of the most beautiful and brilliant women of her time, Gladys Deacon dazzled and puzzled the glittering social circles in which she moved.
Born in Paris to American parents in 1881, Gladys emerged from a traumatic childhood - her father having shot her mother's lover dead when Gladys was only eleven - to captivate and inspire some of the greatest literary and artistic names of the Belle Epoque. Marcel Proust wrote of her, 'I never saw a girl with such beauty, such magnificent intelligence, such goodness and charm.' Berenson considered marrying her, Rodin and Monet befriended her, Boldini painted her and Epstein sculpted her. She inspired love from diverse Dukes and Princes, and the interest of women such as the Comtesse Greffulhe and Gertrude Stein.
In 1921, when Gladys was forty, she achieved the wish she had held since the age of fourteen to marry the 9th Duke of Marlborough, then freshly divorced from fellow American Consuelo Vanderbilt. Gladys's circle now included Lady Ottoline Morrell, Lytton Strachey and Winston Churchill, who described her as 'a strange, glittering being'. But life at Blenheim was not a success: when the Duke evicted her in 1933, the only remaining signs of Gladys were two sphinxes bearing her features on the west terraces and mysterious blue eyes in the grand portico. She became a recluse, and the wax injections she'd had to straighten her nose when she was 22 had by now ravaged her beauty. Gladys was to spend her last years in the psycho-geriatric ward of a mental hospital, where she was discovered by a young Hugo Vickers.
Hugo Vickers has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Royal Family,
and has had a fascination with the story of the Duchess of Windsor
since he was a young man. There have been a number of books about
this doomed couple, but this book brings a new perspective on the
story by focussing on the later years of exile. While Vickers has
his own theories about the Abdication itself, and he makes it very
clear that Mrs Simpson did not lure the King from the throne, the
drama of this narrative comes from the criminal exploitation of an
old sick woman after the death of her husband. She was ruthlessly
exploited by a French lawyer called Suzanne Blum. Some members of
the Royal Family, like Mountbatten and the Queen Mother, don't
emerge with much credit either. Hugo Vickers relates a tragic story
which has lost none of its resonance over the years since the
Duchess died in 1986.
Cecil Beaton was one of Britain's greatest cultural icons - not
just as a photographer capturing some of the most celebrated
portraits of the 20th century but also as designer of the iconic
sets and costumes for the films My Fair Lady and Gigi. In 1980,
Beaton personally chose Hugo Vickers to be his biographer,
entrusting him with his diaries and the entire body of letters he
had written - both personally and professionally - over the course
of his life. Drawing on five years of intensive research and
interviews with the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Truman Capote,
Princess Grace of Monaco and Sir John Gielgud, Vickers' biography
was an instant bestseller upon its publication in 1985. Exploring
Beaton's metamorphosis from being the child of a staid middle-class
family to an international figure mingling with the glittering
stars of his age, the biography also details his great love for
Greta Garbo and reveals his private sense of failure that the
success he always wanted - as a playwright - eluded him.
Republished in a new paperback edition in time for Bright Young
Things, a major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in
2020, Cecil Beaton is the definitive and authorised biography of
one of the world's most fascinating, famous and admired
photographers.
“In 1953, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Alice was dressed from head to foot in a long gray dress and a gray cloak, and a nun’s veil. Amidst all the jewels, and velvet and coronets, and the fine uniforms, she exuded an unworldly simplicity. Seated with the royal family, she was a part of them, yet somehow distanced from them. Inasmuch as she is remembered at all today, it is as this shadowy figure in gray nun’s clothes...”
Princess Alice, mother of Prince Phillip, was something of a mystery figure even within her own family. She was born deaf, at Windsor Castle, in the presence of her grandmother, Queen Victoria, and brought up in England, Darmstadt, and Malta.
In 1903 she married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and from then on her life was overshadowed by wars, revolutions, and enforced periods of exile. By the time she was thirty-five, virtually every point of stability was overthrown. Though the British royal family remained in the ascendant, her German family ceased to be ruling princes, her two aunts who had married Russian royalty had come to savage ends, and soon afterwards Alice's own husband was nearly executed as a political scapegoat.
The middle years of her life, which should have followed a conventional and fulfilling path, did the opposite. She suffered from a serious religious crisis and at the age of forty-five was removed from her family and placed in a sanitarium in Switzerland, where she was pronounced a paranoid schizophrenic. As her stay in the clinic became prolonged, there was a time where it seemed she might never walk free again. How she achieved her recovery is just one of the remarkable aspects of her story.
* * 'Very funny and astute . . . a loathly feast for
royal-watchers' Hilary Mantel, New Statesman Books of the Year 2018
'Almost every page is a gem' A. N. Wilson, Spectator Christmas
Books 'A complete delight, conjuring up, with a few sharp strokes
of the pen, a mad, exotic species from a world gone by' Craig
Brown, Mail on Sunday * * * When James Pope-Hennessy began his work
on Queen Mary's official biography, it opened the door to meetings
with royalty, court members and retainers around Europe. The series
of candid observations, secrets and indiscretions contained in his
notes were to be kept private for 50 years. Now published in full
for the first time and edited by the highly admired royal
biographer Hugo Vickers, this is a riveting, often hilarious
portrait of the eccentric aristocracy of a bygone age. Giving much
greater insight into Queen Mary than the official version, and
including sharply observed encounters with, among others, the Duke
and Duchess of Windsor, the Duke of Gloucester, and a young Queen
Elizabeth, The Quest for Queen Mary is set to be a classic of royal
publishing.
Mercedes de Acosta was a notorious figure. She had been brought up
as a boy and had taken a girlfriend on her honeymoon. Her conquests
included Isadora Duncan and Marlene Dietrich. Cecil Beaton first
met Garbo at a party in 1932, but it was more than a decade before
they became lovers. Despite her possessive friends and the presence
of an increasingly sinister Mercedes, Garbo and Beaton spent many
passionate months together in New York and California. For the rest
of their lives, Mercedes and Beaton remained enthralled by a star
who gave them little in return. Through his reading of the papers
of Mercedes de Acosta and his access to Beaton's estate, Hugo
Vickers has produced an account which throws light on many of the
mysteries surrounding Garbo and her admirers.
Harold Nicolson called her 'the greatest Queen since Cleopatra',
while Cecil Beaton called her 'a marshmallow made on a welding
machine'. Stephen Tennant said: 'She looked everything that she was
not: gentle, gullible, tenderness mingled with dispassionate
serenity, cool, well-bred, remote. Behind this veil she schemed and
vacillated, hard as nails.' Who was she? The Queen Mother's story
has not yet been properly told. This was partly due to her long
life, and the difficulty that always exists when a biography of a
living person is attempted, partly because she was a queen - and
the real person gets hidden behind the perceived image - and partly
because she is hard to pin down. From her privileged aristocratic
childhood, to the Abdication and the problems with Diana - this
book questions how she faced her challenges and crises, assesses
her role, how powerful she was, and how she coped. This is a
candid, personal portrait of one of Britain's most loved national
treasures. Hugo Vickers, an acknowledged expert on the House of
Windsor, has spent seventeen years researching this book, and
observed the Queen Mother in public and private over a period of
forty years.
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