The Sunday Times bestseller A Radio 4 Book of the Week, June 2021 ‘Highly readable ... deserves to take its place among the first rank of modern royal biographies’ Daily Mail ‘The narrative is as suspenseful as any thriller. Truly, an excellent read’ Lynn Barber, Sunday Times

A brilliantly intimate portrait of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during their courtship and early years of married life together. A celebration of the love story between Britain's longest reigning monarch and her royal consort, perfect for readers of Ingrid Seward, Andrew Morton and Andrew Lownie. 'If I am asked today what I think about family life after 25 years of marriage, I can reply with simplicity and conviction. I am for it.' - The Queen, 20th November 1972 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip enjoyed seventy-three years of happy married life together - the longest marriage of any royal British couple in history. But how did they meet? What did their families think of their burgeoning relationship? What obstacles did the young couple face before and after their marriage? And how did a childhood friendship grow into the love story of the century? In The Queen and Prince Philip royal biographer Helen Cathcart superbly reconstructs the early years of Elizabeth and Philip's relationship, tracing their growing affection from the summer of 1939, when 'Lilibet' was a teenager and Philip a dashing navy cadet, through their wartime courtship and magnificent wedding in 1947 at Westminster Abbey. She skilfully narrates their adjustment to new parenthood in Clarence House and how, shortly afterwards, both their lives changed forever when Elizabeth ascended the throne as Queen in 1952 and Philip became Prince Consort. Set against a revealing background of family and wider social events, this is the first full story of their early years together as husband and wife documented from family letters, royal journals and the personal recollections of those close to the royal couple. The Queen and Prince Philip takes us behind the scenes of one of the most romantic royal love stories of all time. 'Helen Cathcart writes about royalty as if she were one of them' - The Daily Mail 'Compulsive and absorbing' - The Daily Telegraph 'A tireless chronicler of royalty' - The Guardian

"Great fun to read; written with bouncy charm, but shot through with penetrating insights."--Sunday Telegraph

For more than 70 years, the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip was at the centre of the nation's life. Now, in My Husband and I, Ingrid Seward reveals the real story of their loving and enduring relationship. When a young Princess Elizabeth met and fell in love with the dashing Naval Lieutenant Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, it wasn't without its problems. The romance between the sailor prince and the young princess brought a splash of colour to a nation still in the grip of post-war austerity. When they married in Westminster Abbey in November 1947, there were 3000 guests, including six kings and seven queens. Within five years, as Queen Elizabeth II, she would ascend to the throne and later be crowned in front of millions watching through the new medium of television. Throughout her record-breaking reign until Prince Philip's death on 9 April 2021, she relied on the formidable partnership she had made with her consort. Now, acclaimed royal biographer Ingrid Seward sheds new light on their relationship and its impact on their family and on the nation. In My Husband and I, we discover the challenges faced by Prince Philip as he had to learn to play second fiddle to the Queen in all their public engagements, but we also get a revealing insight into how their relationship operated behind closed doors. As the years went by, there were rumours of marital troubles, fierce debates over how to bring up their children, and they had to deal with family traumas - from scandalous divorces to shocking deaths - in the full glare of the public eye. But somehow, their relationship endured and provided a model of constancy to inspire all around them. This book is not only a vivid portrait of a hugely important marriage, it is a celebration of the power of love.

This frank and lively account tells how HRH The Duke of Edinburgh began driving, and details his early, often catastrophic, experiences and his involvement in the organization of the sport of competition driving. He has woven together the story of the origins and development of competition carriage driving, with accounts and results of the events and championships in which he has taken part. In addition he explains how the International Rules came to be written and follows their development over the last thirty years. In the early years he was president of the FEI, the international governing body for show-jumping, dressage, three-day eventing, long-distance riding, vaulting and reining, and therefore found himself on both sides of the fence between competitors and administrators. As a result he was able to identify with the interests of the competitors when changes were proposed to the rules or to the general administrative regulations. He claims that he must be one of the very few competitors in any international sport who has competed in a World Championship in one of the disciplines of which he was the president of the international governing body. maintains that the sport is not particularly dangerous. He emphasizes how much successful competition depends on teamwork, both among the driver and grooms as well as among the horses and ponies, and how much they all come to depend on each other. He makes the point that everything has to come together to achieve success in this demanding and very competitive sport. The events are obviously the point of competition carriage driving, but Prince Philip makes it clear that the social life during these weekend events is also an important aspect of the sport. As so many of the competitors are regular participants, he has described the season as a 'peripatetic weekend party' for like-minded people. His Royal Highness also writes about his horses and ponies, his grooms, friends, fellow competitors and his travels in pursuit of the sport. Many of the competitors' horses and ponies become just as well known as many of the humans and, in fact, everyone comes to know the names of the leaders in the tandem classes very quickly. distinguished by the author's inimitable dry wit and humour. It is a book for every driving enthusiast.

The inside story of The Queen's Marriage from renowned royal author Lady Colin Campbell contains previously undisclosed revelations. In this new book royal historian Lady Colin Campbell covers The Queen's Marriage in intimate detail. Using her connections and impeccable sources she recounts details of the inside story of the monarch's relationship with the Duke of Edinburgh and her close family.

Before the crown there was a love story...

THE BRILLIANTLY FUNNY SEQUEL TO THE QUEEN AND I FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE ADRIAN MOLE SERIES What if being Royal was a crime? The UK has come over all republican. The Royal Family exiled to an Exclusion Zone with the other villains and spongers. And to cap it all, the Queen has threatened to abdicate. Yet Prince Charles is more interested in root vegetables than reigning ... unless his wife Camilla can be Queen in a newly restored monarchy. But when a scoundrel who claims to be the couple's secret love-child offers to take the crown off their hands, the stage is set for a right Royal show down. And the question for Camilla (and rest of the country) will be: Queen of the vegetable patch or Queen of England? _____________ 'Brilliantly satirical' Evening Standard 'One of our finest living comic writers' The Times 'Brilliantly funny' Closer 'Another fantastic read from Townsend' OK!

____________________________________________________________________________________ THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER 'It is a beautifully written book about a unique and extraordinary man who was the longest-serving consort to the longest reigning monarch in British history. I have read many other books about Philip but this is the best.' - DAILY EXPRESS 'Gloriously witty and incisive' - DAILY MAIL 'It's bloody brilliant, totally inspiring ... it's a joy to read a book that comes from a perspective of fondness. There are whole pages I want to read to the kids and stick to the fridge.' - KIRSTIE ALLSOPP, THE TIMES 'As a sparkling celebration of Prince Philip, the book will be hard to beat' - THE TELEGRAPH 'Brandreth explores a temperament on the brink of anger and agitation with immense tact, even affection.' - THE SPECTATOR 'This affectionate biography of Prince Philip is stuffed with entertaining anecdotes ... so readable and refreshing even after the millions of words that have been written about Prince Philip in the past couple of weeks.' - THE TIMES 'Brilliant... there is so much in this book you won't find anywhere else.' - LORRAINE 'A stately, respectful and joyful tribute. It is an extraordinary story, told with unique insight and authority by an author who knew him for more than 40 years.' - EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS 'A warm, affectionate portrait of the much-missed Duke ... a rich source of insights and anecdotes.' - SAGA MAGAZINE ______________________________________________________________________________________ This is the story of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - the longest-serving consort to the longest-reigning sovereign in British history. It is an extraordinary story, told with unique insight and authority by an author who knew the prince for more than forty years. Philip - elusive, complex, controversial, challenging, often humorous, sometimes irascible - is the man Elizabeth II once described as her 'constant strength and guide'. Who was he? What was he really like? What is the truth about those 'gaffes' and the rumours of affairs? This is the final portrait of an unexpected and often much-misunderstood figure. It is also the portrait of a remarkable marriage that endured for more than seventy years. Philip and Elizabeth were both royal by birth, both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria, but, in temperament and upbringing, they were two very different people. The Queen's childhood was loving and secure, the Duke's was turbulent; his grandfather assassinated, his father arrested, his family exiled, his parents separated when he was only ten. Elizabeth and Philip met as cousins in the 1930s. They married in 1947, aged twenty-one and twenty-six. Philip: The Final Portrait tells the story of two contrasting lives, assesses the Duke of Edinburgh's character and achievement, and explores the nature of his relationships with his wife, his children and their families - and with the press and public and those at court who were suspicious of him in the early days. This is a powerful, revealing and, ultimately, moving account of a long life and a remarkable royal partnership.

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl of Strathmore, was born on 4 August, 1900. Few could have imagined the profound effect she would have on Britain and its people. This official biography tells not only her story but, through it, that of the country she loved so devotedly.