Ten books to kickstart your royal research

5-6 minute read

By Rose Staveley Wadham | March 20, 2023

Curious about the truth behind The Crown? Delve into these ten fascinating books to discover more about the history of the House of Windsor and to find out what makes the British royal family tick, curated just for you by Findmypast expert Rose Staveley-Wadham.

With the life of the late Queen Elizabeth II played out in Netflix's smash hit The Crown, have you ever wondered how accurate the show is?

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Tracing the highs and the lows of the modern monarchy, the books listed below will give you a remarkable insight into one of the world’s most famous families.

1. Life With Queen Victoria, Marie Mallet’s letters from Court, 1887-1901 - Victor Mallett

The Windsor family tree is a family tree like no other. To truly understand it, we have to travel back to the nineteenth century and examine the life of the matriarch of modern royalty, Queen Victoria. This book encourages you to forget everything you know about the famously dour Queen. An account of Queen Victoria’s later life through the eyes of one of her Maids of Honour, Marie Mallett, told through her letters and journals, we learn how Her Majesty was more often amused than not. It is a joyous account of a monarch who loved to go out and about, and completely dispels the image of Victoria as an ice queen.

2. The Little Princesses - Marion Crawford

The first-ever insider account of royal family life in the twentieth century, this book was published in 1950 by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret’s former nanny, Marion Crawford, who was affectionately known by them as ‘Crawfie'. An intimate look at the sixteen years the author spent with the young princesses, from the abdication crisis through to the Second World War, it is a fond account of the early life of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her sister.

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in 1944

The late Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, with her sister Princess Margaret, pictured in the Illustrated London News, 26 February 1944.

However, the publication of The Little Princesses would see its author ostracised by the Royal Family, in what the family saw as a huge betrayal of trust.

3. The Heart Has Its Reasons - The Duchess of Windsor

Another royal tell-all would emerge six years later in 1956, this time written by an actual member of the family. It was written by the Duchess of Windsor, who is perhaps better known as Wallis Simpson. In this book, the Duchess gives an account of her first two marriages and, most tantalisingly of all, the 1936 abdication crisis.

Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor, around the time of their engagement, pictured in The Sketch, 26 May 1937.

At the heart of one of the most infamous royal scandals of the 20th century, the Duchess of Windsor's The Heart Has Its Reasons goes someway to answering the burning question- was it all worth it?

4. My Memories of Six Reigns - Princess Marie Louise

Written by Queen Victoria’s granddaughter and daughter of Princess Helena, Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, this is another book penned by a Royal in 1956.

Princess Marie Louise in the 1939 Register. You can view the full record here.

From the pen of the Princess herself, this book offers a unique royal perspective on the reigns of six monarchs- Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V, King Edward VIII, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.

5. Working for the Windsors - Dina Wells Hood

Still wanting to know more about one of royalty’s most infamous couples, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor? This 1957 book was written by the former king’s secretary, Dina Wells Hood. The author had been recruited during the then Prince of Wales’s tour of Brazil, and was asked to accompany him into exile following his abdication of the throne. A ‘straightforward account of a young woman doing a straightforward job', this book offers an intimate and vivid look at the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as they attempted to achieve some kind of normality together.

6. The Prince of Wales – A Biography - Jonathan Dimbleby

Veteran broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby's masterpiece on the life of the man born to be king was published in 1994, amidst the turmoil of the breakdown of the then Prince of Wales’s marriage. Based on extensive interviews with Prince Charles and unprecedented access to the Prince’s life, this book covers everything from the Prince’s early years, his preparation for becoming king, and how he raised his sons, Princes William and Harry. For an insight into the first half of the life of King Charles III, this is a book like no other.

7. The Royals - Kitty Kelley

With The Crown now moving on to tackle the life of the royal family in its most turbulent of decades, the 1990s, this book takes a look behind palace walls to bring you a warts-and-all account of the modern royals.

Informed by years of meticulous research, investigative journalist Kitty Kelley profiles the likes of the late Queen, King Charles III, and Princess Diana, and the myriad of scandals involving the House of Windsor.

8. Behind Palace Doors: My Years With The Queen Mother - Colin Burgess and Paul Carter

This witty memoir by Major Colin Burgess, equerry to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, brilliantly captures the life of the Queen Mother, who famously did not give one interview during her long life. Packed with accounts of the lunches held at Clarence House, where courtiers would often fall asleep, this is an affectionate and humorous glance behind palace doors.

9. Our Queen - Robert Hardman

This acclaimed biography of Queen Elizabeth II, dubbed by the Daily Mail as 'the most important royal book for years,’ gives the inside story of the incredible reign of the late Queen.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, pictured in the Illustrated London News, 30 May 1953.

Authored by royal expert Robert Hardman, this book is a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s long life of duty and service.

10. William and Kate’s Britain - Claudia Joseph

Looking forward to the future of royalty, news reporter Claudia Joseph examines the locations frequented by the new Prince and Princess of Wales. Featuring stunning photographs, this book transports you into the world of William and Kate, featuring, for example, St Andrew’s, where they first met, and the different places where the couple grew up.

Armed with these books, you’re sure to gain a fresh understanding of Britain’s most famous family, and to form your own opinion regarding the accuracy of The Crown. Meanwhile, be sure to take a look at the House of Windsor’s family tree, which Findmypast has created here for you to view.

Our newspaper collection also offers a wonderful insight into the lives of the royal family, with stunning photographs and fascinating anecdotes all to be found within our newspapers’ pages. What stories will you be able to uncover?

Image credit:

Carfax2, Wikimedia Commons