The Queen Mother

The Untold Story of Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, Who Became Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

By: Lady Colin Campbell

Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon

Length: 25 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Packed with stunning revelations, this is the inside story of The Queen Mother from The New York Times best-selling author who first revealed the truth about Princess Diana.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother has been called the "most successful queen since Cleopatra." Her personality was so captivating that even her arch - enemy Wallis Simpson wrote about "her legendary charm." Portrayed as a selfless partner to the King in the Oscar-winning movie The King's Speech, The Queen Mother is most often remembered from her later years as the smiling granny with the pastel hats. When she died in 2002, just short of her 102nd birthday, she was praised for a long life well lived.

But there was another side to her story. For the first time, Lady Colin Campbell tells us that the untold life of The Queen Mother is far more fascinating and moving than the official version that has been peddled ever since she became royal in 1923. With unparalleled sources - including members of the Royal Family, aristocrats, and friends and relatives of Elizabeth herself - this mesmerizing account takes us inside the real and sometimes astonishing world of the royal family.

©2012 Lady Colin Campbell (P)2018 Tantor

perfectly enjoyable

I have listed twice!
Amazing content ! The author pulls no punches. Well read. I guess I like this one because the author paints the Queen without admiration.

An intriguing and interesting biography...

I have just finished listening to this audiobook and must admit because of the mixed reviews I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but I am so pleased I did. Yes it was hard to listen to sometimes because I always had the impression that the Queen Mum was a dear sweet old lady and that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were a pair of greedy, lazy and feckless characters but this biography blows that general idea we Brits have right out of the water. I started to wonder about our dear old sweet Queen Mum when I read a quote she supposedly said to someone "I'm not as nice as people think I am", then another remark by Princess Diana too that was something along those lines and I wanted to know more about what was behind that sweet, smiling facade of the Queens kind mum that I had grown up with.

Some of the writing is a little bit flowery and the some of the names of the upper aristocracy went right over my head but I am interested in the Royal Family and their history and hearing all the links they had with other members of the Royal Families in Europe just made me want to learn more about them. I know in the other reviews I have read for this book there has been some criticism of the name dropping of different members of this huge family but I didn't find that irritating, it actually made me want to do more research to learn more about them.

Lady Colin Campbell has the unique position of moving in the upper class circles and lets be honest, that's where most of the juicy gossip is! I don't want to read another watered down, sugary sweet, official biography of a member of the royal family like Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, after all she was not just royal but a human being and she was flawed and complicated as all human beings are. This book had some real eye openers but ones that as shocking as they are, also make so much more sense now. Some of the things I learned from reading this book were actually how alike the Queen Mum and Princess Diana were, although before reading this I never would have thought that! They were very alike in a lot of ways, Lady Colin Campbell explains why and it's so obvious, how did I not see that before! There is one huge difference though, the Queen mum would smile sweetly through it all but the Princess of Wales could not, that's not to say one was right and the other wrong, just to say that as alike as they were, in so many ways, Diana did not have the ruthlessness that the Queen Mum had, she could not be a silent assassin when she had been crossed, Diana could not hold her anger in and the Queen mum did, with a sweet smile on her face.

This book also changed my perspective of Edward VIII, the King who never was, his wasted life was sad and I did not know how loved he was by the British people before he was made to abdicate by the British government and surprisingly by the Duchess of York (as Elizabeth was then known) who did not want a twice married divorcee on the throne of England. Elizabeth played that game very well, it was intriguing to hear what was going on behind the scenes of that political crisis and what part she had played in it. It softened my view of him and the other person I felt sorry for after reading this was Princess Margaret. I had always thought of her as spoiled, selfish and just a b*tch basically (excuse my french!) and had felt a bit sorry for the Queen mum having her as a daughter but that changed after reading this. They had a complicated relationship that was never helped by Elizabeth's jealousy of her daughters younger stunning beauty and I must admit I had always found it odd that Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret's ex husband still had good relations with his mother in law after he had treated her daughter so badly over the years. This book explains those relationships very well too.

So before waffling on anymore I just want to say how much I enjoyed this book and the other surprising thing I learnt from this biography was the name that the Queen mum gave herself after her husband the King died and when she was no longer the number one lady in the land. Usually dowdager Queens disappear quietly into the background but not this one. After you read this book you will see her whole character good and bad and the name she gave herself, the name of, 'Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother', and that's two Queens in her title, well nobody but her could have got away with that!

The narrator was so nice too, I actually didn't even notice her voice after I started listening to it which is a good sign because it was not irritating or dull or any of the off putting voices I have sometimes heard in other books. I hope if you purchase this that you enjoy it as much I did.

Good, but so prejudiced

I’m a huge Brit Royalty student. This author came across as critical, jealous and gossipy. Very pro Edward VIII as if the man had no power over the abdication. I did like how the author elaborated on all of the extensive royal familial relationships.

Wow - what a B****h!

She wasn't ROYAL, in the legal sense, but only marriage and an abdication placed her there.
But that 'Sweet, Granny-style' smile had all of us outsiders fooled. This is a wonderful telling of a life poorly lived. As they say, 'Karma's a B***h'. One wonders about those who don't expect to have to pay-their-debts in the next lifetime......

life

I found the book interesting but harsh in personal comments about queen mother .but the book was good little dry in the middle l have re-read so not that bad

FANTastic writer ..wonderful book

Lady C is an engaging writer... her inside view you is something we don't get anywhere else. I enjoyed every minute of this audiobook. The performance was great too.

Eh...

I enjoyed all the "dirt" the author dishes but not sure it all can be backed up by facts.

very enlightening

Explains why none of the royal family came to the defense of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. the Queen Mother Queen Elizabeth taught her children well.

Excellent biography

Learned so much about Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, and have a much greater understanding about the duke of Windsor.

The narration is quite good. Recommend.

A fine history

Well written and much enjoyed. A true valuable batch of information and details of a very long life.