THE ROYALS.

KITTY KELLEY.

To my husband John, who makes dreams come true.

"... Once in a while a family has to surrender itself to an outsider's account. A family can get buried in its own fairy dust, and this leads straight, in my opinion, to the unpacking of lies and fictions from its piddly shared sc.r.a.ps of inbred history...." From From The Stone Diaries The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields "I believe in aristocracy though, if that is the right word and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power based upon rank and influence, but an aristocracy of the sensitive, the considerate and the plucky. Its members are to be found in all nations and cla.s.ses and all through the ages and there is a secret understanding between them when they meet. They represent the true human tradition, the one permanent victory of our queer race over cruelty and chaos." "I believe in aristocracy though, if that is the right word and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power based upon rank and influence, but an aristocracy of the sensitive, the considerate and the plucky. Its members are to be found in all nations and cla.s.ses and all through the ages and there is a secret understanding between them when they meet. They represent the true human tradition, the one permanent victory of our queer race over cruelty and chaos." From a 1941 essay by From a 1941 essay by E. M. Forster

Author's Note

February 13, 1997 If a cat may look on a king, as the English proverb goes, so can a Kitty. The ancient king had been succeeded by a modern queen by the time I started to take my look. So I wrote to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a matter of courtesy and said I was researching a book on the House of Windsor. I respectfully requested an interview, but her press secretary replied that the Queen does not grant interviews.

"Our policy," Charles Anson wrote on Buckingham Palace stationery, "is to try to help bona fide authors writing serious books on the Monarchy and the Royal Family with factual information on matters of public interest. I shall, therefore, be happy to do this for you if you can first give me some indication of the theme of your book and the specific areas in which you would like to put questions to me."

He asked me to submit an outline. "Naturally, I would treat this in complete confidence," he wrote. This puzzled me. Did he mean that he wouldn't show the outline to anyone, including the Queen and the rest of the royal family? Or was he going to keep it from the British press, which had been reporting (incorrectly) that I was writing a biography of the Queen's husband, Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh?

Already the Duke was getting agitated about the prospect of someone writing a book about him that he had not authorized. In 1994, according to British reporters traveling with him, he threatened to sue me. While visiting New York, he was asked about "the book that Kitty Kelley is writing," and he was quoted as saying, "I will protect my good name." His p.r.o.nouncement caused a stir in the British press. "Never before has a member of the royal family personally issued such a blunt warning," wrote Chris Hutchins in Today. Today. "Prince Philip says he is prepared to sue and Buckingham Palace lawyers are already 'on full alert.' " The "Prince Philip says he is prepared to sue and Buckingham Palace lawyers are already 'on full alert.' " The Daily Star Daily Star reported the exchange as "Prince's Threat over Kitty Shocker: I Will Sue If Your Book's Too Saucy." reported the exchange as "Prince's Threat over Kitty Shocker: I Will Sue If Your Book's Too Saucy."

The stories prompted numerous calls to my office in Washington, D.C., from men and women claiming to be the illegitimate offspring of royalty. From Argentina, Australia, England, Wales, and New York, people called to tell me of their royal parentage. They volunteered to send photos of themselves, extracts from family diaries, and letters from distant relatives to substantiate their claim, but none produced a birth certificate. Yet even without authentic doc.u.mentation, they remained convinced that they had been sired outside of marriage by a member of the British royal family.

When I wrote back to the Queen's press secretary, I told him that I wanted to interview as many people as possible who could speak with authority on the House of Windsor. As an American writing for an international audience, I asked the Queen's press secretary to help me develop an accurate record on a subject of intense public interest. Many books have been written about the Windsors, but most contradict one another. Eminent historians differ on basic details. Few agree on anything except how the family spells its name.

Since I was still in the process of acquiring information, I explained that the form of the book was dictated by chronology, from 1917, when the royal family was renamed, to the present day. Instead of an outline, I submitted two pages of questions about marriages, finances, and knighthoods. In response, Mr. Anson sent me a 632-page book ent.i.tled The Royal Encyclopedia. The Royal Encyclopedia.

We exchanged more letters as I traveled back and forth between Washington, D.C., and London to do research. In 1995 I was in England for the commemoration of V-E Day, May 8-the day in 1945 when the Allies announced the surrender of German forces in Europe. Again I contacted the Palace with more questions and renewed my request for interviews. On this visit I spoke with Mr. Anson on the phone.

We discussed the stirring ceremonies that had been staged to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of victory over n.a.z.i Germany. We talked about the moving scene of the previous day, when the ninety-five-year-old Queen Mother stepped onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace to wave to the fifty thousand people a.s.sembled below. Fifty years earlier she had stood in the same place to accept the tribute of a grateful nation. Then, as now, she was flanked by her two daughters. But missing from the historical tableau in 1995 were her husband, King George VI, and his Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, both of whom had stood beside her in 1945. Still, the sight of her on the balcony reminded everyone of Britain's indomitable spirit during the war.

"These sorts of occasions," the Queen's press secretary told me, "are very unifying for the country.... They show that the monarchy is an arrangement that suits the British people...."

After I returned to Washington, D.C., to begin writing the book, Mr. Anson did not answer any more questions. He seemed concerned that I might be misinterpreting his cooperation so I could market my book as an authorized authorized biography. He need not have worried. But he conveyed his anxiety to a reporter from the royal family's favorite newspaper, the biography. He need not have worried. But he conveyed his anxiety to a reporter from the royal family's favorite newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph, which headlined its story "Palace Alarm over U.S. Book on the Queen." which headlined its story "Palace Alarm over U.S. Book on the Queen."

The Palace press secretary was quoted in the story as saying: "Ms. Kelley has not been given any special cooperation, nor will she be. We have answered one or two factual questions put to us, as we do with any author writing on the royal household. This does not denote any special access."

Days later I received my last letter from Charles Anson. "I should emphasise at this point," he wrote, "that if the limited help we have given is misrepresented in any way in future, we will consider taking appropriate action." This, too, was reported in the British press. The Guardian Guardian's story-"Action Stations at the Palace"-ran under a cartoon of two corgis guarding the Buckingham Palace kennels. With bared teeth, one dog growled: "Kitty! Grrrr... Even the name makes me angry."

Despite the well-publicized warning from the Queen's press secretary, I have been able to interview several hundred people over the last four years, many of whom are current or former members of the royal household. Because I never pay for information, I gave no one money, but I did guarantee confidentiality to those who feared retaliation from the Palace. Most members of the royal household sign confidentiality agreements when they are hired, so I knew they took great risks in speaking to me. If identified, those in royal service could lose their jobs; those retired could lose their pensions. Charles Anson had made the point in one of his earlier letters to me: "We take very seriously here any breach of confidentiality or of the undertakings given, for example, by employees of the Royal Household concerning their employment with the Royal Family."

Yet with the unattributed help of many people, including past and present employees, friends, and relatives, I was able to get an inside look at the British royal family and how they live. I started at Kensington Palace, a few miles from Buckingham Palace in the heart of London.

During a time when Princess Margaret was traveling abroad, a member of her staff, whom I already knew, offered me a personal tour of her living quarters. I accepted gratefully because I had never been inside a palace. When I showed up at the front gates, I was surprised to be waved through by cheerful security guards. They did not ask my name or question my purpose, probably because I was greeted by someone familiar to them.

We began with the apartments known as Grace-and-Favor Residences, which are given to select employees by the sovereign. Some of these small apartments looked like monk's cells. They're clean but cramped, with just enough room for the essentials-bed, chair, couch, table. In some, the s.p.a.ce is so limited that the private toilet is across the hall from the bathtub. But, as one appreciative employee pointed out, "They are rent-free."

When we walked into the residence of HRH the Princess Margaret, I gawked in disbelief; because I was standing in the home of the sister of the wealthiest woman in the world, I had probably antic.i.p.ated something grander, more imposing. I half expected diamond-studded walls and floors inlaid with rubies. Instead I saw plastic flowers arranged in vases on the windowsills and in the fireplace an electric heater with a badly frayed cord. A collapsible aluminum tray was stashed behind the door of the drawing room. I was told that it was placed in front of the television set when the Princess dined alone. Two large blackamoor statues guarded the entrance to the vivid blue room, where she displayed her vast collection of loving cups, crystal goblets, and pitchers. Lining the walls were porcelain plates and dishes embellished with great globs of gold. On a mahogany dumbwaiter by her desk, she had placed a collection of tiny porcelain boxes. One, circa 1800, carried an inscription: "May the King Live to Reward the Subject Who Would Die for Him."

My guide showed me through the rooms of the palace and patiently answered my questions about the royal family-the Queen, the Queen Mother, the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, Princes Andrew and Edward, and the Prince and Princess of Wales. When I asked about Sarah Ferguson, d.u.c.h.ess of York, I was told curtly, "She's not not royalty." I gazed at the portraits and photographs, including the framed picture of Princess Margaret and her former husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, at a White House dinner with President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson. The photo, signed by the Johnsons, hangs in the bathroom. royalty." I gazed at the portraits and photographs, including the framed picture of Princess Margaret and her former husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, at a White House dinner with President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson. The photo, signed by the Johnsons, hangs in the bathroom.

The path from Kensington Palace to Buckingham Palace beckoned intriguingly as my research into the House of Windsor led me up and down the cla.s.s system. Downstairs I interviewed footmen. Upstairs I conversed with courtiers. I listened to members of the House of Lords and House of Commons. I interviewed Tory and Labor Members of Parliament about the dominating influence of the monarchy.

At a meeting of women that I attended, actress Glenda Jackson, a Labor MP, said, "My const.i.tuents are angry about where their country is going, but you would never know their concerns from the press coverage, which is obsessed with royalty." The Tory MP Rupert Allason, who writes spy novels under the name of Nigel West, wrote to me about his high regard for the monarchy. "I am rather old fashioned about the Royals. Some of it may be unattractive but it serves the country well and... [it]... is regarded over here as a cherished if anachronistic inst.i.tution."

Jacob, Lord Rothschild was more mischievous. Over dinner at the River Cafe in London, he mentioned he had dined recently at Buckingham Palace. "You are never supposed to say if you dine at the Palace. But what's the fun of knowing the royals," he said with a wink, "if you can't talk about them?"

His wife tried to shush him. She shook her finger at me for taking notes. "You must not write a book," said Lady Rothschild. "We have to protect our royal family from themselves.... We don't need a book by an objective American. You're not supposed to be objective about royalty."

My research also included tea with t.i.tled ladies married to gentlemen with a string of initials after their names. These abbreviations indicate the honors they've received from the Crown. In their country manors, I saw the ermine-edged robes they wore to the coronation and the little gold chairs they sat on during the ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Many had known the Queen since childhood. She attended their weddings and wrote them "Dear Cousin" letters. "In this circle," explained one aristocrat, "everyone is considered a relation." (Even with the help of Debrett's Peerage, Debrett's Peerage, the bible of the n.o.bility, I stumbled on the intricacies of British social precedence. More than once I fumbled a t.i.tle or jumbled initials in addressing a letter, but my gaffes were graciously forgiven. "You're an American, dear," said one Countess. "You cannot be expected to know.") Royalists all, these aristocrats believe firmly in the Crown and maintain that the monarchy will survive as long as the White Cliffs of Dover. I'm grateful to all of them for their time and consideration. the bible of the n.o.bility, I stumbled on the intricacies of British social precedence. More than once I fumbled a t.i.tle or jumbled initials in addressing a letter, but my gaffes were graciously forgiven. "You're an American, dear," said one Countess. "You cannot be expected to know.") Royalists all, these aristocrats believe firmly in the Crown and maintain that the monarchy will survive as long as the White Cliffs of Dover. I'm grateful to all of them for their time and consideration.

Their insights contrasted sharply with those of republicans I interviewed. They believe the days of the monarchy are, or should be, numbered. Escorted by the writer Anthony Holden, I attended a meeting of the Common Sense Club in London, where British writers, editors, and scholars consider proposals for dismantling the monarchy, including a written const.i.tution for the country that would terminate the House of Lords and separate church from state. The Common Sense Club takes its name from the pamphlet Thomas Paine wrote in 1776, urging a declaration of independence. The son of a Quaker corset maker, he was arrested, convicted of treason, and outlawed from England. His revolutionary spirit still inspires Mr. Holden and his republican colleagues, who combine immense charm and wit with their politics. I enjoyed my time with them and appreciate their efforts to educate me.

Marc Pachter, Counselor for Special Projects to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution, has conducted monthly seminars for the Washington Biography Group, which I attend for his wise advice. He believes that biography is a life lived and observed from the outside peering in. He tells us, "Write with your nose pressed to the window." So I have tried.

For expertise on British royalty, I turned to several social historians who lecture at the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution in Washington, D.C. Particularly enchanting were Virginia W. Newmyer; Stanley Weintraub, Evan Pugh Professor of Arts and Humanities, Pennsylvania State University; Edward Keefer, U.S. Department of State; Marlene Eilers; Roland Flamini, formerly diplomatic correspondent, Time Time magazine; Catherine A. Cline, professor of history, Catholic University; David Cannadine, professor of history, Columbia University. magazine; Catherine A. Cline, professor of history, Catholic University; David Cannadine, professor of history, Columbia University.

For answers to my historical queries, I'm indebted to several librarians: Eugene Weber, manager of the Press a.s.sociation of the United Kingdom, and his helpful staff: Adrian McLeay, Richard Peac.o.c.k, and Katarina Sh.e.l.ley; Linda Amster, New York Times; New York Times; Paul Hamburg, Simon Wiesenthal Center; Garner Shaw, the Paul Hamburg, Simon Wiesenthal Center; Garner Shaw, the New York Observer; New York Observer; Gwen Odum, Gwen Odum, Palm Beach Daily News; Palm Beach Daily News; Steve Glatter, Miami-Dade Public Library; Don Osterweil, Steve Glatter, Miami-Dade Public Library; Don Osterweil, Vanity Fair; Vanity Fair; Jeanette Brown, Jeanette Brown, USA Today; USA Today; Merle Thomason, Fairchild publications; Paul Cornish and Janet Bacon, British Information Service; Lisa Brody, American Film Inst.i.tute; Terri Natale, Merle Thomason, Fairchild publications; Paul Cornish and Janet Bacon, British Information Service; Lisa Brody, American Film Inst.i.tute; Terri Natale, New Statesman; New Statesman; Charles Seaton, the Charles Seaton, the Spectator; Spectator; Rodney Smith, New Orleans Public Library; Polly Townsend, Desmond-Fish Library, Garrison, New York; Janet Lorenz, National Film Information Service of the Center for Motion Picture Study, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Margaret O'Sullivan, Rodney Smith, New Orleans Public Library; Polly Townsend, Desmond-Fish Library, Garrison, New York; Janet Lorenz, National Film Information Service of the Center for Motion Picture Study, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Margaret O'Sullivan, Putnam County Putnam County [New York] [New York] News and Recorder; News and Recorder; Patrick Wagner, Smithsonian Residents Program; the reference librarians at the Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax, Virginia, Public Libraries; the Washingtoniana Room of the Martin Luther King Library in Washington, D.C.; the Foundation Center Library in Washington, D.C Patrick Wagner, Smithsonian Residents Program; the reference librarians at the Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax, Virginia, Public Libraries; the Washingtoniana Room of the Martin Luther King Library in Washington, D.C.; the Foundation Center Library in Washington, D.C For doc.u.ments and records on the British royal family, I'm grateful to the British Naval Office; the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, St. Catherine's House, London; and the presidential archivists and researchers at the libraries of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald W. Reagan; the National Archives and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the State of New York Department of Law; the Freedom of Information Act Offices at the Department of State, Department of Justice, including Federal Bureau of Information, Department of Defense, and Central Intelligence Agency. Reaves West did commendable research at the British Library in London. For advice on protocol, I turned to Jean P. Inman, American Emba.s.sy, London, and appreciate the a.s.sistance of the staffs at the British Emba.s.sy in Washington, D.C., and the emba.s.sies of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Canada, and Australia.

Some people provided information for the book; others provided hospitality for the author. Both are greatly appreciated. I extend thanks to the staff of the Athenaeum Hotel, where James A. Brown, Sally Bulloch, Alex Serra, and Donald Birraine made the first of many research trips to London so enjoyable. I'm particularly indebted to them for introducing me to the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, who also was staying at the hotel. The hour I spent with this man was my first and only encounter with n.o.bility.

Writers become unbearable while writing books and so they owe the deepest thanks to those who will put up with them. My list is long of people who saw me through the ordeal. For the last ten years my research a.s.sistant, Melissa Lakey, has brought her bright mind and huge heart to every task she's been given. Professionally and personally, she's a treasure. I also value the family she's extended to me in her mother, Jeannette Smalling, and her brother, Walter Smalling. Her relatives have supported this project with love and patience and I'm indebted to all, especially Ray Rhinehart; Paul, Martha, and Allyson Gibson; Stephen and Margaret Gibson; Roger, Anne, Jeannette, and Rachel Buchholz; Jean, Bill, Mike, Abbey, Doug, Jon, and Gayle Lakey. I'm grateful to Melissa's husband, Bryan, for his patience with her long hours as she labored to deliver this book before the arrival of their first baby, Drew Edward Lakey.

My sisters, Mary Cary Coughlan and Adele O'Toole, provided loving encouragement throughout the writing, as did my dear friend Margaret Engel, director of the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Members of the International Women's Forum were extraordinarily helpful, particularly Sheryl Marshall, Joni Evans, Shirley Nelson, Peggy Czyzak-Dannenbaum, Martha Teichner, Barbara Hosking, Pam Garside, Susan Greenwood, Willie Campbell, Maureen Kindel, Mary Lehman, and Fruzsina Harsanyi. I'm also grateful for the support of I.W.F. friends like Patricia Gurne, Michele Hagans, Sandra Taylor, Mitzi Wertheim, Lilia Ann Abron, Alexandra Armstrong, Esther Smith, Patricia Bailey, and Patricia Goldman.

I appreciate the efforts of Bill Chaput of the Lotos Club in New York City; Rich Salke; Erna Steiner; James Henderson; Fabiola Molina; Germaine Attebery; Susan Nicholas; Silvia Castanos; Joan Worden; Deborah Cohen; Russell Kott; Eunice and Mones Hawley; Susan Mickelwaite; Patti Pancoe; Carolyn Telman; Forrest Mac Cormack; and Samuel Melman of Justine Melman, Inc.; Eliane Laffont, president of Sygma Photo News; and Mr. and Mrs. Louis J. Appell Jr., whose flat in Lenox Gardens became my London home.

For various research projects, I had expert help from Melissa Goldblatt; Aura Lippincott; Helaine R. Staver; Jacqueline Williams; Anne Whiteman, ABC News; Audrey Sands; Ray Boston; Barry Phelps; Sue Harmer; Mary Aylmer; Simon Nathan; Daphne Srinivasan; Lilly Lessing; Roger Law, Spitting Image; Spitting Image; Pamela Warrick, Pamela Warrick, Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles Times; Ellen Warren, Ellen Warren, Chicago Tribune; Chicago Tribune; Wade Nelson; Rachel Grady; Abby Jones Pauley; Emily Greines; Rebecca Salt, Reed Consumer Books, London; Phoebe Bentinck; Edda Tasiemka, the Hans Tasiemka Archives; Ann Geneva, Yale University Press; Ted Richards, Olsson's Books; Tim O'Connor, Palm Beach Polo Club; Frank Tenot, president, Hachette Filipacchi Presse. Wade Nelson; Rachel Grady; Abby Jones Pauley; Emily Greines; Rebecca Salt, Reed Consumer Books, London; Phoebe Bentinck; Edda Tasiemka, the Hans Tasiemka Archives; Ann Geneva, Yale University Press; Ted Richards, Olsson's Books; Tim O'Connor, Palm Beach Polo Club; Frank Tenot, president, Hachette Filipacchi Presse.

For tapes and doc.u.mentaries I received generous a.s.sistance from Howard Rosenberg of CBS News and Richard W. Carlson, president and CEO of Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

For foreign-language translations I relied on the expertise of Vivian Glick, whose linguistic skills encompa.s.s French, German, and Italian. Maria de Martini a.s.sisted with Spanish interviews.

For investment a.n.a.lysis of royal finances, I was guided by Marvin H. McIntyre of Legg Mason Wood Walker in Washington, D.C., and his staff: Colleen Bradley, Kim Dexter, Don Metzger, Bob Parr, Swati Patel, A. J. Fector. I'm also grateful to Arnold H. Koonin of Coopers & Lybrand; and Steve Weisman and Tracy n.o.ble of Weisman, n.o.ble and Moore.

For legal advice I relied on Marc Miller of McLeod, Watkinson and Miller, Washington, D.C.; Robert Wald, Michael Nussbaum, and Benjamin Zelenko of Nussbaum & Wald, Washington, D.C. My favorite lawyer is still my ninety-three-year-old father, William V. Kelley, of Witherspoon, Kelley, Davenport & Toole in Spokane, Washington.

In recent years I've spoken to many people about the House of Windsor. Among those generous with their time, knowledge, and insights were Peter and Pamela Evans; Robert Lacey; Sue Townsend; Michael Cole; Linda White; Steve Aronson; Patricia Bosworth; Peter and Kit Hammond; Barbara and Ken Follett; Mara Berni; Lecia Crystal; Ericka Barty-King; Andrew David Ball and Judith Ball; Nancy, Barbara, and David Morowitz; Bob Glick; Sheila and Dobli Srinivasan; Cissy Finley Grant; Lionel Epstein and Elizabeth Streicker; Lynette and John Pearson; Anthony Holden and Cindy Blake; Rosie Boycott, Esquire; Esquire; Ross Benson, Ross Benson, Daily Express; Daily Express; Peter McKay, Peter McKay, Evening Standard; Evening Standard; Gordon MacKenzie, Gordon MacKenzie, Daily Mail; Daily Mail; Hal Robinson; Michael Bywatter; Peter Kazaris; Roberta Ashley; Richard Cohen; David Patrick Columbia; Fiammetta Rocco, Hal Robinson; Michael Bywatter; Peter Kazaris; Roberta Ashley; Richard Cohen; David Patrick Columbia; Fiammetta Rocco, Independent on Sunday; Independent on Sunday; Sue Crewe; Phyllis Stirman; Eric Weil, Sue Crewe; Phyllis Stirman; Eric Weil, Buenos Aires Herald; Buenos Aires Herald; Ivanna and James Whitaker, Ivanna and James Whitaker, Daily Mirror; Daily Mirror; Barbara Cartland; Tim Heald; Giles Gordon; Christopher Hitchens, Barbara Cartland; Tim Heald; Giles Gordon; Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair; Vanity Fair; Francis Wheen, the Francis Wheen, the Guardian; Guardian; Ian Hislop, editor of Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye; Private Eye; Matthew Evans; Caroline Michel; Larry Adler; Larry and Mary Devlin; Daryll Bonner; Nancy Pollard; Mark Hollingsworth; Norman Douglas Hutchinson; Anthony Summers; Muriel Fox and Shep Aaronson; Ken Burrows and Erica Jong; Bonnie Goldstein, ABC-TV; Jim Grady; Myuki Williams; Jacqui and Jeff Weaver; Maurice Weaver, Matthew Evans; Caroline Michel; Larry Adler; Larry and Mary Devlin; Daryll Bonner; Nancy Pollard; Mark Hollingsworth; Norman Douglas Hutchinson; Anthony Summers; Muriel Fox and Shep Aaronson; Ken Burrows and Erica Jong; Bonnie Goldstein, ABC-TV; Jim Grady; Myuki Williams; Jacqui and Jeff Weaver; Maurice Weaver, Daily Telegraph; Daily Telegraph; Betsy and Ira Silverman; Monica Worth; Christopher Gulkin; William Norwich, Betsy and Ira Silverman; Monica Worth; Christopher Gulkin; William Norwich, New York Observer; New York Observer; Marian Lear Swaybill; Heather Perram; Richard Hough; Franklin Johnson; Fleur Cowles; Dominic Lawson, the Marian Lear Swaybill; Heather Perram; Richard Hough; Franklin Johnson; Fleur Cowles; Dominic Lawson, the Spectator; Spectator; Margaret Gardner; Ken Jennings; Rex Reed; Eunice Roberts; Wendall (Sonny) Rawls; G. H. Hutchinson Smith; Geoffrey Bailey; Geoffrey Harley; Joyce Hopkirk; Emily Malino Scheur; Bevis Hillier; Veronica Forwood; Laura Zelenko; Rory Knight Bruce; Robin Knight Bruce; John Davey Beverton; Noreen Talor; Rosalind Miles; Richard Johnson, the Margaret Gardner; Ken Jennings; Rex Reed; Eunice Roberts; Wendall (Sonny) Rawls; G. H. Hutchinson Smith; Geoffrey Bailey; Geoffrey Harley; Joyce Hopkirk; Emily Malino Scheur; Bevis Hillier; Veronica Forwood; Laura Zelenko; Rory Knight Bruce; Robin Knight Bruce; John Davey Beverton; Noreen Talor; Rosalind Miles; Richard Johnson, the New York Post; New York Post; Richard Turley; Carlos Anessi; Nina Myskow; Grant McCahon; Mary Kyreakowdis; Carinthia West, Richard Turley; Carlos Anessi; Nina Myskow; Grant McCahon; Mary Kyreakowdis; Carinthia West, Marie Claire; Marie Claire; John Teenan; Philip Benjamin; Taki Theodoracopulos; Margaret Holder; Michael Thornton; Lady Colin Campbell; Sylvia Wallace; Jonathan Engel, Reuters; Michael Nagel; Geoffrey Acquilina Ross; Kevin Dowling; Jean Ritchie; Nicholas Haslam; Caroline Kennedy; John Barratt; Stephen Maitin; Lindka Cierach; Una Mary Parker; Jeanette Walls, John Teenan; Philip Benjamin; Taki Theodoracopulos; Margaret Holder; Michael Thornton; Lady Colin Campbell; Sylvia Wallace; Jonathan Engel, Reuters; Michael Nagel; Geoffrey Acquilina Ross; Kevin Dowling; Jean Ritchie; Nicholas Haslam; Caroline Kennedy; John Barratt; Stephen Maitin; Lindka Cierach; Una Mary Parker; Jeanette Walls, Esquire; Esquire; Majorie Wallace; Wendy Leigh; Richard Ingrams; Christopher Silvester; Jack Hedley; Willie Hamilton; Kenneth Jost, Majorie Wallace; Wendy Leigh; Richard Ingrams; Christopher Silvester; Jack Hedley; Willie Hamilton; Kenneth Jost, Congressional Quarterly; Congressional Quarterly; James Bellini; Philip Knightley; Andrew Rosthorn; Paddy Crerand; Desmond Ellott; Gant Gaither; Jody Jacobs; Sharman Douglas; Achtar Hussein; Arlene Dahl; Pamela and Ronald Kessler; John Prince; Fornida and Nang Sang, James Bellini; Philip Knightley; Andrew Rosthorn; Paddy Crerand; Desmond Ellott; Gant Gaither; Jody Jacobs; Sharman Douglas; Achtar Hussein; Arlene Dahl; Pamela and Ronald Kessler; John Prince; Fornida and Nang Sang, People; People; Wanda Baucus; Mark Gisbourne; John Woods; Tony and Audrey Charles; Felicity Green, Wanda Baucus; Mark Gisbourne; John Woods; Tony and Audrey Charles; Felicity Green, Daily Telegraph; Daily Telegraph; Sheila Hailey; Geraldine Sharpe Newton, CNN; Susan Yerkes, Sheila Hailey; Geraldine Sharpe Newton, CNN; Susan Yerkes, San Antonio Express News; San Antonio Express News; Ian Coulter; Angus Coulter; Heather Elliott; Gordon Graham; Marco Pierre White; Victoria Mather; Penelope Mortimer; Desmond Elliott; Ian Gordon; Michael Bloch; Ingrid Seward, Ian Coulter; Angus Coulter; Heather Elliott; Gordon Graham; Marco Pierre White; Victoria Mather; Penelope Mortimer; Desmond Elliott; Ian Gordon; Michael Bloch; Ingrid Seward, Majesty Majesty magazine; Stephen Birmingham; Bob Jerome; Andrew Neil, the magazine; Stephen Birmingham; Bob Jerome; Andrew Neil, the Sunday Times; Sunday Times; Susan Watters, Susan Watters, Women's Wear Daily; Women's Wear Daily; Judy (Demetra) Green; Roberta Klein; Charles Higham; Julie Schoo; Lissa August, Judy (Demetra) Green; Roberta Klein; Charles Higham; Julie Schoo; Lissa August, Time; Time; Connie Bransilver; Lester Hyman; Ann Landers; Lucy Scardino; Kevin McMannus, Connie Bransilver; Lester Hyman; Ann Landers; Lucy Scardino; Kevin McMannus, Town & Country; Town & Country; Warren Rogers; Joe Laitin; Lilla Pennant; Leslie Linder and Norma Quine; Nicholas Monson; Stephen Haseler; Lindsay Mackie; Roy Greenslade; Hugh Bygott-Webb; Magdalene de Blaquier; Nicki McWhirter, Warren Rogers; Joe Laitin; Lilla Pennant; Leslie Linder and Norma Quine; Nicholas Monson; Stephen Haseler; Lindsay Mackie; Roy Greenslade; Hugh Bygott-Webb; Magdalene de Blaquier; Nicki McWhirter, Detroit News; Detroit News; James Reginato, James Reginato, Women's Wear Daily; Women's Wear Daily; Maxine Champion; Leslie and Andrew c.o.c.kburn; Robert Sam Anson; Martin Peretz, the Maxine Champion; Leslie and Andrew c.o.c.kburn; Robert Sam Anson; Martin Peretz, the New Republic; New Republic; David Hume Kennerly; Norman Mailer; Annie Groer, the David Hume Kennerly; Norman Mailer; Annie Groer, the Washington Post; Washington Post; Toni Aluisi; C. Wyatt d.i.c.kerson; Terry Lichstein, ABC-TV; Ed Curran; Barry Everingham; David Kogan, Reuters; Carolyn MacDonald; Gilbert Mathieu; Maxine Mawhinney, GMTV; Joan Worden; William Keating; Barbara Dixon; Susan Tolchin; Marianne Means, Hearst newspapers; Al Eisele, Toni Aluisi; C. Wyatt d.i.c.kerson; Terry Lichstein, ABC-TV; Ed Curran; Barry Everingham; David Kogan, Reuters; Carolyn MacDonald; Gilbert Mathieu; Maxine Mawhinney, GMTV; Joan Worden; William Keating; Barbara Dixon; Susan Tolchin; Marianne Means, Hearst newspapers; Al Eisele, The Hill; The Hill; Evangeline Bruce; Dr. Nelson Lankford, the Virginia Historical Society; Priscilla Baker; Robert M. Eisenger; Gillian Pachter; Ronnie and Arnie Pollard; Ricki Morell; Nancy A. Poland; Penelope Farthing. Evangeline Bruce; Dr. Nelson Lankford, the Virginia Historical Society; Priscilla Baker; Robert M. Eisenger; Gillian Pachter; Ronnie and Arnie Pollard; Ricki Morell; Nancy A. Poland; Penelope Farthing.

I also wish to thank my literary agent, Wayne S. Kabak of William Morris Agency, Inc., who combines brilliance and good humor, even in the midst of crisis. He brings to mind Chaucer's "verray parfit gentil knight." I value his counsel and the friendship extended by his wife, Marsha Berkowitz, and his children, Victoria and Benjamin. His staff makes the writing life less burdensome, especially his extraordinary a.s.sistant, Laura Blaustein. I'm also grateful to the London office of I.C.M. where Duncan Heath and his a.s.sistant, Lucy Morrison, were so helpful.

I salute Warner Books and its dynamic C.E.O., Laurence J. Kirshbaum, Chairman of Time Warner Trade Publishing; Maureen Egen, President and Publisher and C.O.O.; Chris Barba, V.P., Director of Sales and Marketing; Emi Battaglia, V.P., Director of Publicity; Tina Andreadis, a.s.sociate Publicity Manager; Jackie Joiner, a.s.sistant to the President; Harvey-Jane Kowal, V.P., Executive Managing Editor; Diane Luger, Executive Art Director; Martha Otis, V.P., Director of Advertising and Promotion; Karen Torres, Director of Marketing; Nancy Wiese, Subsidiary Rights Director; Tracy Howell, Subsidiary Rights Manager; Sarah Telford, Subsidiary Rights a.s.sistant. My thanks to Sona Vogel for expert copy editing and Vincent Virga for compiling the photographs.

Writing is tough, so writers need mentors. Mine continues to be Mervin Block, who sets the standard of excellence. After twenty years of friendship, I still marvel at his skill and intelligence. Humbling as it was, I'm mighty grateful for the red pen he wielded on my rough drafts and his insistence on making the contents shorter, sharper, stronger.

When the ma.n.u.script was completed, my publisher sent me a treasure in Carolyn Blakemore, an editor who arrived in Washington, D.C., determined to turn hopsack into velvet. She departed with my affection and grat.i.tude.

My deepest appreciation goes to my husband, Jonathan E. Zucker, to whom this book is dedicated. He came into my life five years ago and continues to fill my heart with joy.

February 13, 1997

THE ROYAL HOUSE OF WINDSOR.

ONE.

Princess Margaret strode out of the theater. She had barely managed to sit through the opening scenes of Schindler's List. Schindler's List. She began squirming as soon as she saw the Jewish prayer candles burn down, leaving only wisps of smoke to evoke the ashes that would follow. She crinkled her nose at the sight of the captive Jewish jeweler being tossed a handful of human teeth to mine for fillings. As the nightmare unfolded, she stiffened in her seat. She began squirming as soon as she saw the Jewish prayer candles burn down, leaving only wisps of smoke to evoke the ashes that would follow. She crinkled her nose at the sight of the captive Jewish jeweler being tossed a handful of human teeth to mine for fillings. As the nightmare unfolded, she stiffened in her seat.

On screen, the streets filled with screaming Jewish prisoners, brutal n.a.z.i soldiers, and snarling police dogs quickly emptied, except for the scattered suitcases of those Jews who had just been hauled off to the death camps. At that point the Princess bolted out of her seat.

"I'm leaving," she said. "I refuse to sit here another minute."

Her friends were aghast but immediately deferred to her displeasure. They left their seats and accompanied Her Royal Highness back to her servants in Kensington Palace.

"I don't want to hear another word about Jews or the Holocaust," said the Queen's sister. "Not one more word. I heard enough during the war. I never want to hear about it again. Ever."

Margaret's friends later wondered why, feeling as she did, she had suggested going to the movie in the first place. She had to know that Schindler's List Schindler's List would depict the horrors of genocide. What they didn't understand was that the Princess had read reviews of the movie and been taken with the portrait of the good German, Oskar Schindler, who had come to reap the spoils of war and ended up as a selfless hero who saved countless lives. That was the story she wanted to see enacted on screen. would depict the horrors of genocide. What they didn't understand was that the Princess had read reviews of the movie and been taken with the portrait of the good German, Oskar Schindler, who had come to reap the spoils of war and ended up as a selfless hero who saved countless lives. That was the story she wanted to see enacted on screen.

For more than sixty years Margaret Rose had been a princess of the royal House of Windsor, reared to renounce her German roots, to deny the mix of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha blood that coursed through her veins, to repudiate the lineage of Wurttemburgs mixed with Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburgs that haunted her ancestors.

She was not disturbed by searing childhood memories of Britain during the Blitz. When war broke out in 1939, she was nine years old. At sixty-four the Princess rarely reflected on the shattering bombs, the blackouts, or the deprivation that she felt she and her older sister, the Queen, endured to serve as public examples for others who were suffering much more. She no longer complained as much as she once did about being deprived of a normal childhood.

During those years, her royal image had inspired a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl in Amsterdam who was hiding from the n.a.z.is. To remind herself of a better world, Anne Frank had pasted pictures of Princess Margaret Rose, and her sister, Princess Elizabeth, on the wall of the attic where she hid with her family for two years. But then the family was betrayed to the Gestapo and herded off in windowless boxcars on the train bound for the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Anne died there one month before Europe was liberated. When the Anne Frank House was opened to the public after the war, the pictures of Britain's little Princesses, yellowed with age, still smiled from the wall.

Princess Margaret was proud of her performance during the war and that of her earnest sister and her gallant parents, who had made sure that they presented the world with an image of royalty at its finest.

What Princess Margaret resented about Schindler's List Schindler's List and "those other tiresome movies about the Holocaust" was the lingering stench of Germany that continued to hang over her family. Their secrets of alcoholism, drug addiction, epilepsy, insanity, h.o.m.os.e.xuality, bis.e.xuality, adultery, infidelity, and illegitimacy paled alongside their relationship with the Third Reich. Those secrets, doc.u.mented by captured German war records and family diaries, letters, photographs, and memoranda, lay buried in the locked vaults of the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, safe from the prying eyes of scholars and historians. Few people remembered that Margaret's mother and father had been disinclined to oppose Hitler and preferred Chamberlain over Churchill as Prime Minister. Most people had forgotten that the Princess's favorite uncle had embraced n.a.z.i Germany as Europe's savior and one of her German cousins had run a concentration camp, for which he later stood trial as a war criminal. Margaret Rose remembered but knew that these facts-some secret, some sinister-were best left buried. and "those other tiresome movies about the Holocaust" was the lingering stench of Germany that continued to hang over her family. Their secrets of alcoholism, drug addiction, epilepsy, insanity, h.o.m.os.e.xuality, bis.e.xuality, adultery, infidelity, and illegitimacy paled alongside their relationship with the Third Reich. Those secrets, doc.u.mented by captured German war records and family diaries, letters, photographs, and memoranda, lay buried in the locked vaults of the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, safe from the prying eyes of scholars and historians. Few people remembered that Margaret's mother and father had been disinclined to oppose Hitler and preferred Chamberlain over Churchill as Prime Minister. Most people had forgotten that the Princess's favorite uncle had embraced n.a.z.i Germany as Europe's savior and one of her German cousins had run a concentration camp, for which he later stood trial as a war criminal. Margaret Rose remembered but knew that these facts-some secret, some sinister-were best left buried.

Yet the Princess was not averse to expressing her opinions, which sounded astoundingly ignorant coming from a woman who professed to read as much as she did. Despite her public partic.i.p.ation in the arts and her devotion to ballet and theater, Margaret Rose remained closed-minded to the world beyond her privileged view. She made no apologies for her prejudices. In a discussion of India, she said she hated "those little brown people." Shortly after the IRA a.s.sa.s.sination of her cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten, she denounced the Irish. "They're pigs-all pigs," she told the Irish American mayor of Chicago while visiting the city. When the Princess was introduced to the respected columnist Ann Landers, Margaret looked at her closely. "Are you a Jew?" she asked. "Are you a Jew?" The columnist said she was, and the Princess, no longer interested, moved on. She dismissed Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the President of Guyana, as loathsome. "He's everything I despise," she said. "He's black; he's married to a Jew; and furthermore, she's American."

After walking out of Schindler's List, Schindler's List, which she described as "a tedious film about Jews," she advised her butler not to waste his money on the Academy Award winning film. which she described as "a tedious film about Jews," she advised her butler not to waste his money on the Academy Award winning film.

"A movie like Schindler's List Schindler's List just incites morbid curiosity," the Princess said when her butler served her breakfast the next morning. "I couldn't stand it. It was so thoroughly unpleasant and disgusting that I had to get up and leave." just incites morbid curiosity," the Princess said when her butler served her breakfast the next morning. "I couldn't stand it. It was so thoroughly unpleasant and disgusting that I had to get up and leave."

The butler listened patiently, as always. Then he bowed his head and returned to the pantry. Later he repeated the conversation to an American, who asked if he were not offended by Princess Margaret's remarks. He seemed puzzled by the American's question.

"Oh my, no. You don't understand. The Princess is royalty. Royalty," Royalty," he said, p.r.o.nouncing the word with reverence. "The Princess belongs to the House of Windsor-the most important royal house in the world. She's the daughter of a king and the sister of a queen. That's as exalted as you can possibly be on this earth." he said, p.r.o.nouncing the word with reverence. "The Princess belongs to the House of Windsor-the most important royal house in the world. She's the daughter of a king and the sister of a queen. That's as exalted as you can possibly be on this earth."

"Do you mean to suggest that royalty, especially British royalty, can do no wrong? That just because she's a princess, she's immune to criticism?"

"She is royalty," repeated the butler.

"And therefore above reproach?"

"Royalty is royalty," he said. "Never to be questioned."

TWO.

Once upon a time... the House of Windsor was a fantasy. The figment of a courtier's imagination. The dynasty was created in 1917 to conceal the German roots of the King and Queen, and the deception enabled the monarchy to be perceived as British by subjects who despised Germany.

Until then, many English kings never spoke the King's English. They spoke only German because for almost two hundred years, from 1714 until this century, a long line of Germans ruled the British empire. By 1915 England finally had a king, George V*, who could speak English without a German accent. Although he was a German from the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha line that had ruled England for eighty years, he considered himself to be indisputably British. His subjects, who hated Germany, Germans, and all things Germanic, were not convinced.

For years, especially in the early 1900s, the English had become increasingly afraid of Prussian militarism. They felt threatened by the Kaiser's oppression. And they were "sore-headed and fed up," as George Bernard Shaw wrote, with Germany's rattling sabers. They viewed World War I as a war against Germany.

Newspapers carried eyewitness accounts of revolting cruelty by the Germans, who bombed undefended towns and killed civilians. Those actions shocked the world in 1915. In England, editorials denounced "The March of the Hun" and "Treason to Civilization" as German U-boats sank British ships. The mounting death tolls on French battlefields caused hardships in England, which exacerbated Britain's hatred of foreigners.

King George V was disturbed as he watched his subjects stone butchers with German names and burn the homes of people who owned dachshunds. Pretzels were banned and symphony conductors shunned Mozart and Beethoven.

This antipathy was not unique to Great Britain. Blood hatred of everything German had infected all of Europe and spread to America, where Hollywood produced a string of hate films such as To h.e.l.l with the Kaiser, Wolves of Kultur, To h.e.l.l with the Kaiser, Wolves of Kultur, and and The Kaiser: The Beast of Berlin. The Kaiser: The Beast of Berlin.

The King of England deplored the "hysterical clamor," calling it "petty and undignified," but few listened. The image of the hideous Hun as a fiendish torturer who raped, pillaged, and murdered innocents had gripped the public imagination.

The King became so concerned about the reaction of his volatile subjects that he was afraid to protect his relatives of German descent. Instead he stood by silently as his beloved cousin Prince Louis of Battenberg was vilified simply because of his German name. When war had threatened, Battenberg as the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy mobilized the Admiralty with speed and efficiency, so that when war broke out, England was ready. But Battenberg, a naturalized British subject, became a target for abuse: his name was German, he was born in Germany, he spoke with a German accent, he employed German servants, and he owned property in Germany.

Despite his total loyalty to the Crown, he was forced to resign his naval position and relinquish his princely t.i.tle. The final humiliation occurred when the King told him to change his name. Shattered, Prince Louis dutifully anglicized Battenberg (berg is "mountain" in German) to Mountbatten to make it acceptable to the English. is "mountain" in German) to Mountbatten to make it acceptable to the English.

The King tried to mollify his cousin by making him a British n.o.ble. Louis accepted the t.i.tle of Marquess of Milford Haven because he wanted his children to be n.o.blemen, but he never recovered from the shame of renouncing his ancestry. Somehow, though, he kept his sense of humor. He wrote in his son's guest book: "June 9th arrived Prince Hyde; June 19th departed Lord Jekyll."

His younger son and namesake, Louis, was shocked by the news of his father's resignation. "It was all so stupid," he recalled years later. "My father had been in the Royal Navy for forty-six years. He was completely identified with England, and we always regarded ourselves as an English family. Of course, we were well aware of our German connections; how could we not be? It certainly never occurred to any of us to be ashamed of them-rather the contrary. We are a very old family, and proud of it.... My father had worked his way to the top of the Royal Navy by sheer ability and industry. And now his career was finished-all because of the ridiculous suspicion that he might be in secret sympathy with the very people he had come to England to avoid!"

Next, the King moved to cleanse the rest of his German family. Like the monarchs of mythology who bring magic clouds with them wherever they go, King George V waved his royal wand. Overnight, one brother-in-law-the Duke of Teck-became the Marquess of Cambridge, and the other-Prince Alexander of Teck-became the Earl of Athlone. One stroke of the royal quill eradicated all traces of Mecklenberg-Strelitz, Hesse, and Wettins from the King's lineage: the ugly German ducklings were transformed into beautiful British swans. The royal family's Teutonic dukes, archdukes, and princelings instantly became English marquises.

But the King felt he still needed to make the monarchy appear less imperial to survive. He decreed that members of the royal family could marry into the n.o.bility. This paved the way for his second son, Albert, known to the family as "Bertie," to propose to a sweet-faced Scottish girl, reared as an Earl's daughter, although her mother has been rumored to have been one of the Earl's Welsh servant girls (these rumors, never officially acknowledged, have yet to be borne out by any evidence). Ironically, Bertie's marriage in 1923 to the commoner, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, brought stability to the British throne and propped up the dynasty for several generations.

During the First World War, concern was voiced over the b.l.o.o.d.y role of the King's German cousin Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, who was in charge of British prisoners of war in a camp outside Berlin.

"He's not really fighting on the side of the Germans," said the King defensively. "He was only put in charge of a camp of English prisoners."

"A nice distinction," Prime Minister Asquith later observed to a friend. His successor, Lloyd George, was even more blunt. When he received a royal summons to the Palace, he turned to his secretary and said: "I wonder what my little German friend has got to say to me." The Prime Minister's antipathy spread to his staff, who kept the King's private secretary, Lord Stamfordham, waiting on a wooden chair in the hall and refused to rise when he entered their office. The private secretary ignored the discourtesy. "We are all servants," he told shocked courtiers, "although some are more important than others."