Hey there bookworms! Happy middle of the week. Congratulations on making it this far. Now, we just need to make it to the weekend, right? Personally, I feel like a lot has been going on, while also staying the same if that makes sense. As you know, Friday is my last day at work, and then it’s time to take a step back, work on some writing projects, and trying to figure out what I want to do next. Of course I’m looking at jobs, but I’m also looking at grad school again. I’ve had it on the back burner for a long time, but it’s always been a goal, so fingers crossed we’ll see what comes of it all. For now, I see a possible tattoo to celebrate the next chapter, and then at the end of the month, I’ll be headed back to Book Expo in NYC. If you’re going, let me know!
Anyway, May also means we’re in Royal Wedding month, and I’m anxiously awaiting the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. I’ve got my fascinator ready to go, and I’m so excited! Normally, I’m not a fan of weddings, but when it comes to The Royals, I’ve not only found them on a very distant branch of my Ancestry family tree, but as a literature and history nerd, I’m totally on board with all the tradition. It’s so wonderful to watch. I just regret not booking a flight to London when I had the chance. Maybe around Christmas. Wishful thinking.
In the spirit of all things Royal, I figured why not bring you a British book review and discuss one of my favorite and most admired historical figures, HRM Queen Elizabeth in a work by Sally Bedell Smith. Let’s talk about Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch!
If you follow any of my social media feeds, I’m sure you’re aware of my anglophilia. It’s not just because HRM and myself have the same name, I swear. If you’ve been binging on The Crown at all, the story they tell comes mostly from the accounts in this book.
I spent roughly all of last month and a smidge of this month listening to this story on Audible during my commutes to and from the office, and I was enthralled from beginning-to-end. Simply put, Elizabeth astounds me. No matter how many times her life is told to me, I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that she became queen by time she was twenty-five. I’m thirty-three and I joke (although it’s mostly true) that I still don’t wear shoes with laces because I don’t like the responsibility that comes with tying them whenever they’re loose. Just to give a bit of comparison.
Elizabeth’s life is such a mix of enchantment, dedication, lavishness, while also being fairly sad all at the same time. From a very young age, she was groomed to rule, which she has done and continues to do, making England and The Commonwealth her priority. She’s well-versed and well-trained in her mannerisms somehow laying down the law, but exuding grace and dignity.
Through good times and bad, she’s endured and ruled with civility, and the traditional, british, stiff upper lip. I’ve always had this gut feeling that she’s rarely been able to convey her true self and true emotions, and if anything, this book solidified that for me. From losing family when their ship sank due to being bombed by the IRA, to trying to balance being a grandmother and a queen when losing her daughter in-law, or losing her mother and her sister a matter of weeks apart, and even having to grieve in solitude when she lost her father at such a young age, my heart really went out to her. At the end of the day, she’s simply human, while somehow so much more with the weight of one of the most powerful empires on her shoulders.
Smith’s detailing and recounting of the lives of The Royals, from their pasts with Elizabeth’s father, King George VI and her mom, The Queen Mother, Philip’s Mountbatten roots, every minute with Elizabeth, Philip and their children, and tying in the future of the monarchy with Harry and William was such an involved and interesting process. I enjoyed learning about the seemingly precarious balancing act this family faces every single day trying to adapt to the modern age, while also maintaining almost ancient traditions and ceremonies. It certainly makes for an interesting day-to-day.
Reading this account of this wonderful family just made me adore them even more than I already did. I loved discovering Lilibit’s cheeky personality and Philip’s keen interest with technology and progress. As a certified lover of all things Brit, there was a fair amount in this book I already knew, but so much more that I didn’t, so I thoroughly savored every single moment spent in the House of Windsor.
Needless to say, I’m practically chomping at the bit and gearing up for the impending wedding! Give me all the pomp and circumstance! God Save the Queen!
My Final Rating: five out of five stars
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