Princes at War: The Bitter Battle Inside Britain's Royal Family in the Darkest Days of WWII

by Deborah Cadbury

Overview

In 1936, the British monarchy faced the greatest threats to its survival in the modern era--the crisis of abdication and the menace of Nazism. The fate of the country rested in the hands of George V's sorely unequipped sons:
-a stammering King George VI, terrified that the world might discover he was unfit to rule
-a dull-witted Prince Henry, who wanted only a quiet life in the army
-the too-glamorous Prince George, the Duke of Kent--a reformed hedonist who found new purpose in the RAF and would become the first royal to die in a mysterious plane crash
-the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, deemed a Nazi-sympathizer and traitor to his own country--a man who had given it all up for love

Princes at War is a riveting portrait of these four very different men miscast by fate, one of whom had to save the monarchy at a moment when kings and princes from across Europe were washing up on England's shores as the old order was overturned. Scandal and conspiracy swirled around the palace and its courtiers, among them dangerous cousins from across Europe's royal families, gold-digging American socialite Wallis Simpson, and the King's Lord Steward, upon whose estate Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess parachuted (seemingly by coincidence) as London burned under the Luftwaffe's tireless raids.

Deborah Cadbury draws on new research, personal accounts from the royal archives, and other never-before-revealed sources to create a dazzling sequel to The King's Speech and tell the true and thrilling drama of Great Britain at war and of a staggering transformation for its monarchy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610396349
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	03/08/2016
Edition description:	First Trade Paper Edition
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	951,413
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Deborah Cadbury is the author of eight acclaimed books, including Chocolate Wars; The Dinosaur Hunters; The Lost King of France; Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, for which her accompanying BBC series received a BAFTA nomination; and Princes at War. As a BBC TV producer and executive producer, she has won numerous international awards, including an Emmy. She lives in London.

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae viii

Prologue xi

Part 1 December 1936-September 1939

1 Circumstances Without Parallel 3

2 A Very Full Heart 24

3 Enmity and Fear 50

Part 2 September 1939-August 1940

4 In this Grave Hour 81

5 Into the Unknown 101

6 The Decisive Struggle 119

7 Treachery 138

Part 3 August 1940-December 1942

8 There Will Always Be an England 167

9 Ever Widening Conflict 193

10 It's My Brother 212

Part 4 January 1943-January 1952

11 Tested as Never Before in Our History 239

12 Something More than Courage 256

13 For Valour 277

Epilogue 303

Notes 309

Select Bibliography 336

Acknowledgements 339

Index 342

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/19/2015
Former BBC television producer Cadbury (Chocolate Wars) provides a thrilling account of the fallout after Prince Edward, heir to the throne, abdicated to marry his American lover—as his brother, Prince Albert, became King George VI and attempted to save Europe from Nazi Germany. The outbreak of WWII forced George to set aside qualms with the prickly Winston Churchill and shelter royalty fleeing from invaded countries. Meanwhile, Edward and his wife, now the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, were suspected of collaborating with the enemy, given their former ties to Nazi leadership. Two more brothers also had to find their way in chaotic times: the Duke of Kent, a philandering playboy turned devoted RAF captain, and the Duke of Gloucester, who battled the perception that he had a “lack of spark or intelligence.” Cadbury artfully captures the exhilaration of Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk, where citizen volunteers escalated a massive evacuation of British troops, the devastation of the London blitz, and the suspenseful planning and execution of the Normandy invasion. Her nuanced exploration of the king’s reticent temperament and the psychic toll taken by his many troubles creates a fuller picture of the man, who was destined to lead during a “spectacular downfall” in British power. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"[Deborah's] nuanced exploration of the kings reticent temperament and the psychic toll taken by his many troubles creates a fuller picture of the man, who was destined to lead during a 'spectacular downfall' in British power." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

From the Publisher

02/15/2015
This account begins with the domino-toppling moment in 1936 when Edward VIII abdicated the throne of England in order to marry divorcée Wallis Simpson—an action that left him as the controversial Duke of Windsor, elevated the stammering Prince Albert to take up the reins of kingship as George VI, and forced the stiff Prince Henry and thrill-seeking Prince George into positions of new responsibility. On the heels of this upheaval came increasing aggression from Nazi Germany, leading to the war that would test the mettle and loyalties of all four brothers. As in her previous work The Chocolate Wars, Cadbury proves adept at juggling multiple threads and subjects within the historical narrative. Her one weakness is a clear bias toward George VI and against the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, leading to the latter (deserving or not) frequently being excoriated by the text. VERDICT Bias aside, this is an engaging, well-told history of England and its royals during its most fragile period; conveying wartime tensions, worldwide scandals, and familial devotions and rivalries with equal vividness.—Kathleen McCallister, Tulane Univ., New Orleans

Library Journal

2014-12-27
A spirited historical lesson that traces how the fallout from the abdication crisis of Edward VIII in 1936 ultimately aided England in its finest hour.What if Edward VIII, the pro-German Duke of Windsor, had not abdicated to marry twice-divorced Wallis Simpson and instead compelled his country to accept appeasement with Germany? British author Cadbury (Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers, 2010, etc.) explores the many layers involved in the abdication crisis of 1936, which ceded the British crown to the seemingly least prepared of the four sons of George V, George VI, aka Bertie, who revealed himself in the subsequent crisis of war the most suitable and stalwart of all. Not only was Bertie plagued by the famous stutter, but he always played second fiddle to his older brother—the dazzlingly charming and smart David. Bertie had little confidence in himself, living "with the constant unspoken reproach of failing to live up to people's expectations of royalty." Even Winston Churchill, a great friend of David, wondered if the monarchy shouldn't skip over the other two sons and settle on the youngest, the Duke of Kent (Prince George), who was most like his oldest brother, dashing and capable. Nonetheless, the coming clash with the Nazis would sift the dynastic wheat from the chaff: While David and his new bride wallowed in France, traitorously visited Hitler, curried favor with high-ranking Nazis and seriously entertained fantasies of being replaced on the British throne once the Germans conquered Britain, the other three brothers plunged into the war effort. Wonderfully sympathetic to George VI in his defining moments (while excoriating the Windsors), Cadbury weaves an engaging portrait of a king resigned to his fate yet honorably resolute, gaining the cooperation of his two loyal brothers, Gloucester and Kent, and keeping his wayward brother at arm's length and out of trouble. A lively tale of monarchical machinations, more familiar to American readers since The King's Speech.

Kirkus Reviews