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A review by brooke_review
The Princess by Wendy Holden
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
To Princess Diana, she and Charles, Prince of Wales, were embarking on a fairytale love story when they were engaged in 1981. Diana was a mere 19 years old, over a decade younger than her betrothed, and had a head full of fanciful romance - she expected her marriage to be much like those that she read about in her beloved Barbara Cartland novels.
However, anyone who is familiar with the history of the ill-fated couple knows that there marriage was never meant to be, and it certainly was not written in the stars. At over 30 years old, it was time for Prince Charles to settle down, but the love of his life, the scandalous Camilla Parker-Bowles, was deemed totally unsuitable. With the prospects slim, there were few aristocratic girls fit for the role - the future Queen of England needed to be young and healthy enough to birth both an heir and a spare, as well as have a past without scandal. The young and naive Diana Spencer was perfect for the role … seemingly practically the only girl who would do. She was “the one.”
Such is how the tragic relationship of Diana and Charles began, which is detailed in Wendy Holden’s novel The Princess. Told through varying points of view from those who were close to and had interactions with the Princess of Wales, The Princess brings light to Diana’s life as a teenage girl in boarding school, and later how she was decidedly plucked out of a passel of aristocratic girls as being the one for Charles. Holden goes into Diana and Charles few encounters spent together before they were engaged, spotlights their glaring dissimilarities, and shows how the loneliness that Diana felt throughout much of what should have been a rather grand adult life was just taking off - when she and Charles were engaged. Rather, Diana spent much of her time disconnected from her future husband and everyone else of her former life.
Wendy Holden’s The Princess is a richly detailed, eye-opening look into Diana’s coming of age years. The Royal Family’s search for a suitable mate for Charles, and the fact that Diana was literally selected for the job with no regard for love was the most fascinating part of this story to me. It certainly made me feel for the young Diana, whose hopes for love and romance were dashed as soon as she said “I Do.”
Although I found some early parts of this book to be a bit laborious, I was totally invested by the end. Recommended to fans of the Royal Family, and those who enjoy following their various dramas and scandals.
However, anyone who is familiar with the history of the ill-fated couple knows that there marriage was never meant to be, and it certainly was not written in the stars. At over 30 years old, it was time for Prince Charles to settle down, but the love of his life, the scandalous Camilla Parker-Bowles, was deemed totally unsuitable. With the prospects slim, there were few aristocratic girls fit for the role - the future Queen of England needed to be young and healthy enough to birth both an heir and a spare, as well as have a past without scandal. The young and naive Diana Spencer was perfect for the role … seemingly practically the only girl who would do. She was “the one.”
Such is how the tragic relationship of Diana and Charles began, which is detailed in Wendy Holden’s novel The Princess. Told through varying points of view from those who were close to and had interactions with the Princess of Wales, The Princess brings light to Diana’s life as a teenage girl in boarding school, and later how she was decidedly plucked out of a passel of aristocratic girls as being the one for Charles. Holden goes into Diana and Charles few encounters spent together before they were engaged, spotlights their glaring dissimilarities, and shows how the loneliness that Diana felt throughout much of what should have been a rather grand adult life was just taking off - when she and Charles were engaged. Rather, Diana spent much of her time disconnected from her future husband and everyone else of her former life.
Wendy Holden’s The Princess is a richly detailed, eye-opening look into Diana’s coming of age years. The Royal Family’s search for a suitable mate for Charles, and the fact that Diana was literally selected for the job with no regard for love was the most fascinating part of this story to me. It certainly made me feel for the young Diana, whose hopes for love and romance were dashed as soon as she said “I Do.”
Although I found some early parts of this book to be a bit laborious, I was totally invested by the end. Recommended to fans of the Royal Family, and those who enjoy following their various dramas and scandals.