Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family
by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand
When news of the budding romance between a beloved English prince and an American actress broke, it captured the world’s attention and sparked an international media frenzy. But while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have continued to make headlines – from their engagement, wedding, and birth of their son Archie to their unprecedented decision to step back from their royal lives – few know the true story of Harry and Meghan.
For the very first time, FINDING FREEDOM goes beyond the headlines to reveal unknown details of Harry and Meghan’s life together, dispelling the many rumours and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the pond. As members of the select group of reporters that cover the British Royal Family and their engagements, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand have witnessed the young couple’s lives as few outsiders can.
Andrew Morton
When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were set up by a mutual friend on a blind date in June 2016, little could they know that just sixteen months later the resulting whirlwind romance would lead to their engagement in November 2017 and marriage in May 2018.
Since then, our fascination with the woman who has smashed the royal mould has rocketed. So different to those coy brides of recent history, Meghan is confident, charismatic and poised, her warm and affectionate engagement interview a stark contrast to the stilted and cold exchange between Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.
In this first-ever biography of the duchess-to-be, acclaimed royal biographer Andrew Morton goes back to Meghan's roots, interviewing those closest to her to uncover the story of her childhood: growing up in The Valley in LA, studying at an all-girls Catholic school and her breakout into acting. We also delve into her previous marriage and divorce in 2013, her struggles in Hollywood, as her mixed heritage was time and again used against her, and her work as a humanitarian ambassador - so redolent of Princess Diana's passions. Finishing with an account of her romance with Prince Harry, Morton reflects on the impact that Meghan has already made on the rigid traditions of the House of Windsor - not even Kate Middleton was invited to Christmas with the Queen before she had married her prince - and what the future might hold.
Robert Lacey
The world has watched Prince William and Prince Harry since they were born. Raised by Princess Diana to be the closest of brothers, how have the boy princes grown into very different, now distanced men?
From royal expert and bestselling author Robert Lacey, this book is an unparalleled insider account of tumult and secrecy revealing the untold details of William and Harry’s early closeness then estrangement. It asks what happens when two sons are raised for vastly different futures – one burdened with the responsibility of one day becoming king, the other with the knowledge that he will always remain spare.
How have William and Harry each formed their idea of a modern royal’s duty and how they should behave? Were the seeds of damage sowed as Prince Charles and Diana’s marriage painfully unraveled for all the world to see? In the previous generation, how have Prince Charles and Prince Andrew’s lives unfolded in the shadow of the Crown? What choices has Queen Elizabeth II made in marshalling her feuding heirs? What parts have Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle played in helping their husbands to choose their differing paths? And what is the real, unvarnished story behind Harry and Meghan’s dramatic departure?
In the most intimate vision yet of life behind closed doors, with the family’s highs, lows and hardest decisions all laid out, this is a journey into royal life as never offered before.
Harry: Conversations with the Prince
Angela Levin
Harry: Conversations with the Prince is a three-dimensional look at what Harry is really like, both on and off royal duty. It is written by distinguished journalist and author Angela Levin, who accompanied Prince Harry on many of his engagements and had exclusive access to him at Kensington Palace.
The book unwraps the real man behind the camera, and his own perceptive insights. It delves into his troubled childhood and the lasting effect of losing his adored mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, so young. It explores his rebellious teenage years and the key defining moments that have enabled him to face his demons and use this experience to help others who struggle with mental, emotional and physical pain. Angela Levin found a complex man who has inherited his late mother's extraordinary charisma and is determined to 'make a difference.'
After finding the love of his life in Meghan Markle, and in anticipation of their marriage this year, this is a celebration of the real Prince Harry.
by Andrew Morton
A reissue of this classic title, updated with never-before-published material from the original taped interviews and with a new introduction by Andrew Morton that reflects on the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the original publication of Diana: Her True Story.
This edition reflects on the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the original publication, and on the long-term legacy of Diana, the woman who helped reinvigorate the royal family, giving it a more emotional, human face, and thus helping it move forward into the 21st century.
by Ingrid Seward
Born into the Greek and Danish royal families in 1921, a descendant of Queen Victoria, Prince Philip's aristocratic credentials were second to none. But, only 18 months after his birth, the family had to be rescued by a British warship from the island of Corfu after his father was exiled. His nomadic childhood was spent in Germany, Paris and eventually England where he was sent to boarding school. At the age of 18, while studying at Dartmouth Naval College, he was asked to look after the King’s two daughters, 13-year-old Elizabeth and her sister Margaret, during a royal visit. It was their first proper meeting and, only eight years later, their marriage in 1947 brought new light to the country after the perils of the war. But, within a few years, their lives were transformed when in 1952 she became Queen Elizabeth II, and he had to give up his naval career and learn a new role as consort, deferring in public to the monarch and even having to give up his surname.
In Ingrid Seward's brilliant new biography, we see how such a man of action coped with having to spend the next seventy years of his life walking two steps behind his wife. His reaction was to create a role for himself, modernising the monarchy, campaigning to protect the environment, supporting the sciences and engineering, and inspiring the young through the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. But, above all, he proved himself to be the Queen's most valuable and loyal companion throughout her long reign. The TV series The Crown has helped bring Prince Philip to the centre of attention, but this superb biography not only examines the major influences on his life but is packed with revealing behind-the-scenes details and great insight. This first major biography of Prince Philip for almost 30 years shines new light on his complex character and extraordinary career.
by Robert Lacey
Netflix's original series The Crown painted a unique and intimate portrait of Britain's longest-reigning monarch. This official companion to th
e show is an in-depth exploration of the early years of Elizabeth II's time as Queen (1947 - 1955), complete with extensive research.
Princess Elizabeth never expected her father to die so suddenly, so young, leaving her not only a throne to fill, but a global institution to govern. Crowned at 25, already a wife and mother, follow the journey of a woman learning to become a queen.
As the country lifted itself out of the shadow of war, the new Queen faced her own challenges. She had a mother and uncle to prove wrong, a relationship to save and a marriage that threatened her role as head of the Church. This is the story of how Elizabeth II drew on every ounce of strength and British reserve to deal with crises not only on the continent, but at home as well.
Written by expert historical biographer Robert Lacey, The Crown provides an indepth exploration from behind the palace gates. Relive the majesty of the first series of the hit show.
- John Fowles dreams of seducing her. Andy Warhol photographs her. Lucian Freud dances with her. Jack Nicholson puts his arm around her. Gore Vidal adores her. John Lennon blushes before her. Marlon Brando clams up in her company. Picasso plots to marry her.
She is Princess Margaret. The one with the puffy face and the wraparound shades; the sad Royal, her life spent in decline; the most glamorous woman on earth; the unfailing presence in the index of every memoir, diary or letters collection from the 50s, 60s and 70s.
99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret, by turns comic and tragic, is about fame and art, snobbery and deference, fact and fiction