Overview

'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 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, A Royal Life is an unprecedented and remarkable insight into Royal history.

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9781529389708

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A pleasure to read... a timely reminder of the need for service -- Jane Ridley * Telegraph *

A pleasure to read... a timely reminder of the need for service -- Jane Ridley * Telegraph * Vickers has chosen an ideal format. With his minimal yet informative editorial interlacing, the voices and reminiscence of family and friends merge seamlessly, giving the impression of gathering round the fire on a winter evening. We realise how fortunate it is for the Queen to have such a reliable, human and sensitive figure to shoulder so many of her responsibilities, and how selflessly indeed he has served his cousin and monarch. -- Nicky Haslam * The Oldie *

Author Information

Hugo Vickers (Author) Hugo Vickers is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and an acknowledged expert on the British Royal Family. He has written biographies of the Queen Mother, Cecil Beaton, Vivien Leigh, Princess Andrew of Greece and the Duchess of Windsor. His book The Kiss won the 1996 Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction. His recent bestsellers have included The Quest For Queen Mary and The Sphinx - the life of Gladys, the Duchess of Marlborough.

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