I've developed a bit of an interest in Queen Elizabeth II in recent years due to the different films and tv shows revolving around her and the royal family. I was excited to read this book because it focuses on her life before she became queen whereas most of my limited knowledge about her is stuff that has taken place after her coronation. The book also provides some background info about other members of the royal family, including her husband Philip, her uncle who famously abdicated his title, and her mother whose true parentage remains under scrutiny.

While I did enjoy reading about Queen Elizabeth's family, I much preferred when the attention was on her. Regardless of your feelings on whether the monarchy should still exist in today's times, you have to admit that being a princess and later queen isn't all sunshine and rainbows. I can't imagine having to live your life under a microscope which she has had to do since birth. It was fascinating to learn some of the little things you take for granted that she is/was unable to do because of her title. I do love though that her parents did try their best to make sure they spent quality time together as a family when they could. Overall, a really interesting look at the Queen's childhood and early years of her marriage before her father died.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Princess is a good summary of Elizabeth II early life. It has interesting information about other people around her and thankfully, it does not focus on royal family’s scandals, it gives interesting synopsis of the queen to be life from birth till her coronation. The only thing that really irked me was the ending of the book. It just ended with the fact that there was the coronation. No summary that this was how her reign started, and how she will become one of the longest reigning monarch.

The study was good and it offered interesting new information, but the summary was missing, and it left the story incomplete.

I have read many books on The Windsors and Queen Elizabeth, so the challenge was to find something fresh and new in a well-trodden subject. Coming to this book presented by a small British publishing house, I wondered how this would measure up against other bestsellers on the topic. To my pleasant surprise, this was a worthwhile read; well-researched and sprinkled with new information.

The book begins with the death of Princess Elizabeth's father, King George VI, triggering Elizabeth's ascension to the British throne. It then backtracks in time to the marriage of her parents, the birth of Princess Elizabeth and later, her younger sister Princess Margaret. There is much depth to the telling of this history such as deeply fleshing out the family background of Elizabeth's mother, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The book covers the princesses' upbringing such as schooling, friends, activities and social interaction, lodgings, etc. It is always very interesting reading about the challenges faced during the war such as air raids, rationing of food, clothing and utilities. The abdication by Elizabeth's Uncle David (King Edward VIII) of course thrust Elizabeth's father into the role of Monarch, where he braved the uncertain times of war and set a good example for his nation. Naturally, the book also covers Philip Mountbatten who married Princess Elizabeth and became Prince Consort.

Immediately following each chapter are reference notes to expand on various information in that chapter. The book comes full circle when it ends as it began...with Queen Elizabeth's assumption to the British throne following her father's death.

This was a quality book about the early years of the former Princess Elizabeth, jam-packed with detail for both British royalty novices and passionate royalists. In closing I'll leave you with a lovely line from the end of the book where a close family member commented on Elizabeth and Philip's marriage:

"Philip's been wonderful and he's mellowed tremendously in old age. They're delicious together."

This is my first time reading a biography of a living monarch which came about because the cover captured my attention. This book has accomplished what it set out to do: to document the early life of Queen Elizabeth II up to her marriage.

Given the large ensemble of people mentioned throughout, I wished the author would address them using their courtesy titles since there were, for example: cousin Margaret and Princess Margaret. But she probably wanted to keep the tone of the book somewhat informal.

Thankfully that makes it rather readable. It also follows the time period chronologically so that’s a big plus for me. I’d say that all that research and writing pulled off well, seeing how the text ‘flowed’ on the page.

On the other hand I would not advise anyone to spend the whole Sunday afternoon just to finish this book. There is just lots of details and information to chew over. Overall it sort of hampered my excitement of reading it. I was reading chapter after chapter to sustain my waning interest. I am also dismayed by the fact that there weren’t any photographs in the book.

To sum it up, the book is quite informative with exciting bits peppered here and there but as I reached the end of it I found it quite bland. It would have been nice if some of the chapters were shorter than it was.

Well documented book about the current Queen Elizabeth. Really enjoyable reading about her life and how her uncle abdication completely changed her life. Quick read but lots of details about the royal life.

An excellent and well-written biography of Elizabeth II before she became Queen. While the outline of her life is known, most biographies don't spend much time on this period, which is a shame. Here Dismore did extensive research, including many in-person interviews to give us a wonderfull portrait.

A wonderful biography of Queen Elizabeth II, perfect for Royal Family addicts and lovers of Netflix’s The Crown!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#Princess #NetGalley

Meticulously and thoroughly researched, this book starts before Elizabeth II was born and traces her childhood, her love affair with Prince Phillip, and her ascension to the throne after her father's death. It is very much a family story, showing the royals as mothers, fathers, sisters, daughters, brothers. This makes the story engaging and intimate. Some of the ancillary characters got confusing—too many names to keep straight—and the storytelling lagged and got a bit repetitious at times, but Dinsmore's research is impeccable.

I thank NetGalley for a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest assessment.

On February 6, 1952, at age 25, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II. At the time, she was married to Philip and the mother of 2 children. Her father, George VI, died when he was thought to be recovering from lung surgery. As Elizabeth and Philip were on tour at the time of the King’s death, many plans were set in place for her return to England and her succession to the Crown.

This book is broken up into spans of years. It delves into some early history of the Royal Family which I found fascinating. We learn about each of the family members and some history about each of them. The book also goes into how World War II affected the people of England and how strong even the royals had to be. There are snippets about the nannies of Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret and the differences in the girls’ personalities.

I have read numerous biographies of Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Royal Family and I was delighted to learn many new facts. I was also impressed with how well the author wrote the story in that she did not show any bias when writing about the family members. That has always been a pet peeve of mine when reading other biographies. Too many authors let their bias shine through loud and clear. So, I congratulate Jane Dismore on her fair account. I highly recommend this book and I know readers will love it. If you are a Royalist like me, this will be a book you won’t want to put down.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Jane Dismore's Princess provides the foundation for that period of Queen Elizabeth's life with which we are least familiar, her childhood. It is interesting and yet unsurprising to read of her early years and realize that she was born - and reared - to be Queen. The qualities that the Queen exhibits in her daily life were present from her birth. All the things we know of her - duty, common sense, discernment, dependability, patience - were true of her from the beginning.
The author has, specifically through the words of those who knew the Princess and her family, revealed a genuinely good, happy person to us. It pleases us to watch Elizabeth's protective care of her sister, her dutiful yet loving and adoring attention to her parents and grandmother, and her willingness to work and to serve others, even as a child. That the Princesses were musical and loved to dance and that their father participated in their entertainments adds to the picture of them as a normal family. Though normal was certainly not their circumstance, apparently all efforts were made to see that the girls were grounded in appreciation and respect for others.
The reader should be prepared for lengthy passages containing much detail about lineage and locations, sometimes seemingly irrelevant to the focus of the book.
The biography is an in-depth look at the early years of a remarkable woman and her remarkable life.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for an ARC of this book. I was excited to see a book available about the royal family. I devour most anything about the royals and this was no exception, and this biography included information I hadn’t read about. I think that’s what makes this biography stand out. I hadn’t read that much detail about Queen Elizabeth’s childhood and early years. I found the book the be well written and it kept my interest. I would recommend this book to anyone interested or wanting to know more about the Queen or the royal family.

Thank you NetGally.com and Jane Dismore for the opportunity to read this fabulous story of the Queen. I have read numerous books on the Royal Family and this is by far a favorite. I love the very detailed moments and the intimate portrait of the young princess. Five Stars!

This book offered a rare glimpse of Queen Elizabeth's life from birth to right after her marriage to Prince Philip. I am a huge fan of the show The Crown and love that this book offered a lot more information on Elizabeth's life before she became Queen. The author did a great job covering this period of her life and of describing the various events and people that influenced Elizabeth. Anyone that enjoys reading about the Royal Family will love this book!

Princess by Jane Dismore is an excellent Biography of Queen Elizabeth II. The minute historical details woven into Elizabeth‘s story of her early life. The influences of the Royal Family, friends, World War II, England and her faith. The reader has the feeling of being there and watching it all happen. I thank the author, publisher and netgalley for allowing me privilege to read and enjoy this book,

Interesting insight into the life of Queen Elizabeth II. I haven't read much about het history before, so it was new information for me. Very interesting.

Thank you to Net Galley and Thistle Publishing for an advance read of Princess, in exchange for my honest review. I have read many books on the royal family. I wasn't sure if this one would be too dry to keep my interest, which can sometimes happen. I'm happy to say that it was not. The only caveat I'll give is that this book has a lot of pre-story to Elizabeth, as it covers her entire life, pre-birth and just after her marriage to Prince Phillip. If you're looking for insight into her childhood, I'd highly recommend this book. I kept going back and looking at pictures throughout her life, just to match the "girl" with the information in the book. I loved it, and if you love books on the royal family, you'll enjoy this a great deal. #Princess #NetGalley

This was a wonderful and informative book on the beautiful Queen Elizabeth II. After reading several books about her and the royal family in general, this did contain some information that I didn’t know, which was very nice. Thank you for the advanced copy!

Dinsmoore, Jane. Princess: The Early Life of Queen Elizabeth II. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2018.

The only thing we commoners like better than a royal wedding is a royal scandal. The magazines and newspapers who ooh-ed and aah-ed over the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle saw no irony in publishing snarky articles about supposed rows with her new family members a week later. The British royal family lives in a gilded cage, and for all the riches, pomp, and splendor, we would do well to remember they are also people. In Princess: The Early Life of Queen Elizabeth II, author Jane Dinsmoore allows us to see the world’s longest-reigning monarch as just that: a regular person born into unbelievable and sometimes overwhelming responsibility.

Born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor to the Duke and Duchess of York in 1926, Princess Elizabeth was known as Lillibet by close family members. She was third in line for the throne, but this could all change if her uncle David finally married and produced an heir. She loved horses, participating in Girl Guards activities (the British version of America’s Girl Scouts), and putting up with the theatrics of her little sister, Margaret. She lived a charmed life as the apple of her parent’s eye, and if she begrudged sharing them with their royal duties, she said little. Ten years later, everything changed. With King Edward VIII’s abdication of the throne, Lillibet’s father became king and she became the heir presumptive. The princess began learning statecraft at one of the most difficult points of British history: the abdication threatened the monarchy as an institution while the coming war with Germany would test the monarchy’s place in governing the country.

Pulling from interviews, memoirs, and other writings, Dinsmoore’s writing sometimes resembles a day planner more than a narrative, but her attention to detail is phenomenal. Elizabeth II’s childhood and adulthood could be seen as a type of school for scandal, perhaps preparing her for the issues that would crop up with her children’s and grandchildren’s marriages. George VI’s handling of the continued machinations of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson (made Duke and Duchess of Windsor after his abdication) and discovery of Mountbatten designs on the monarchy (introduced with Elizabeth’s relationship with Prince Phillip of Greece) no doubt impacted how Queen Elizabeth would deal with her children’s affairs, failed marriages, divorces, and remarriages.

“When I was a little boy I read about a fairy princess, and there she is,” wrote American President Harry Truman, but there is so much more to Elizabeth Windsor’s story. The Queen Elizabeth seen during the Trooping of the Colour, royal weddings, celebrations, and memorial ceremonies is also the woman who battled insecurity and loved fiercely. She was once a young girl, a young wife, a young mother. The beautiful grounds of Buckingham Palace and Balmoral Castle were once torn apart by Luftwaffe airstrikes, their lights dimmed and dining tables bare as the royal family stayed true to the austerity measures they asked of their people. When we go looking for fairy stories, we will find them. The truth is harder to locate and often harder to take. Dinsmoore’s Princess Elizabeth is a girl hoping to meet the expectations of her family and nation while also wanting to make her own mark on it all. Perhaps she was not that different from any young woman on the cusp of taking the world by storm.

Kate Murphy Schaefer, June 2018

Five Star Review. I love Biographies and Auto Biographies and any reading involving the royal family. Thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.

I am by no means a royalist but I appreciate that they do make money as well as spend it! The number of tourists coming to the UK to visit Buckingham palace and other Royal residences has grown exponentially in the past few years and is set to grow even more with the addition of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.

I must admit I did watch the Royal wedding and was surprised to see a number of black performers including the cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the Kingdom Choir led by Karen Gibson, and that unforgettable sermon from Bishop Michael Curry. All of these performances were electrifying and beautiful, in my opinion. It it is long overdue that someone like Markle has finally made their way inside the historically white modern British monarchy.

Very few people actually realise that this is not the first time a person of different ethnic origins has married into the British Royal Family, that distinction actually goes way back to the 18th century to Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Victoria's grandmother. Charlotte was the wife of King George III, who was Queen from 1761 until her death in 1818, and was of mixed race. Apparently she was "directly descended from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a black branch of the Portuguese Royal House."

I picked this up mainly because I love history and being British, I feel I should know more about my country. It comes across as well-researched and was an easy and enjoyable canter through Queen Elizabeth II journey including meeting and falling in love with Prince Phillip of Greece as well as other important happenings from the early part of her life.

All in all, this is a thorough and detailed account of Queen Elizabeth's formative years and what set her on the road to becoming Queen. Interesting and packed with meticulous research, you could do worse than investing some time reading this. Dismore has done an exquisite job!

Many thanks to Thistle Publishing for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.