This is a fascinating read. It was written well and was also informative
Perfects for fans of historical fiction or the royal family

Loved this book. Lots of interesting information to digest. This is a great read for anyone who loves to read about history. Very well written

Reading this book was a little like opening a window into a long ago world. Alathea Howard was living on the Windsor estate during WW2, and became a friend and companion of the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. I had expected a bit more about the actual war, but Alathea appears to have chiefly been concerned with dresses, parties and the royal family. Unfortunately she comes across as a fearful snob in many of her comments, believing that mixing with evacuees is below the princesses, commenting disparagingly about the princesses clothes and how they look in general, whilst also being obsessed with being invited to the palace. She writes very little about wartime England other than complaining about her work as a VAD, this in spite of being in the midst of the Blitz. I'm sure she was a woman of her time but this does not translate well in today's world and she comes across as snobbish and a social climber. However, for those interested in the lives of the young princesses there are some lovely details about their lives and activities during this period, and also the introduction of the young and dashing Philip of Greece.

Readers hungry for real-life perspectives on the Royal family will absolutely love this. The author was a peripheral part of the royal circle, an admiring acquaintance of the two young princesses, and shares her everyday experiences of dancing lessons, meetings in the park, parties, and teenage confidences. She's thrilled to be privy to Lilibet's admission that she has a boy she likes - Prince Philip! Her own sadly fractured family and neglectful mother form a sharp contrast to the closeness and caring she perceives in the King and Queen, whom she adores, toward their daughters.

Personally, I was not so interested in the minutiae of aristocratic life, finding the obession with things like clothes boring, and found the snobbery off-putting. For example, Alathea calls her governess an idiot for expecting her to know how many pints are in a quart; she pities the boarders at her school for having to tidy their own rooms and make their own beds and declares "I'm just not made to take care of myself." If you feel the same way, or at least want to slip into the way the upper crust lives for a while, this will be your passport.

These book is based on the diaries of Alathea Howard between 1940 to 1945.
Alathea was living with her grandfather in Windsor and got to become friendly with the Royal Family.
She wasn't close to her parents and found in the royal family the emblem of the perfect, warm, loving family.
Nice, interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the diaries about the Queen when she was young and all the quirky things she use to get up to. Definitely worth reading

I was really looking forward to reading this book - a bit of an insiders story about the wartime life at Windsor castle by someone who was a contemporary/playmate of Princesses Elizabeth & Margaret ... unfortunately I was very disappointed. I am sure Alethea was a lovely young lady but her diaries just highlight the fact that she was very spoilt. “I hate even putting my fingers into dirty water” (Washington up), “I should hate to tidy my room and make my bed etc I’m not mad either to look after myself”. She seemed obsessed by clothes and it feels like every other sentence was about what she/the princesses were wearing “I changed into my pale green and white frock”, “The princesses had the same awful blue and pink shantung dresses on”,
Alethea had a very old-fashioned attitude and seems fixated on what is appropriate for a princess, constantly says thing like “it’s not very becoming” or “I think the Queen is wrong to allow it” or “I really cannot understand them allowing her to do it” - yet her obsession with the royal family had her running at every call and desperately hanging on to everything they were doing. As time moved on she became desperate to be appointed Lady-in-Waiting but this did not happen.

Overall, I was very disappointed but some people may enjoy this.

Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.

A beautiful diary read, I really felt part of what was going on.
Alathea's life as a teenager growing up during WW2 is fascinating, the way her friendships evolved during wartime, how her life changed and her difficult relationship with her mother (who is critical and undermining) alongside her younger sister and importantly the King, Queen and young princesses is absorbing and interesting.
Alathea's affection for Elizabeth and Margaret, and their parents is warm and genuine, and her heartfelt pain over her dream of becoming a lady in waiting is heartwrenching, as is her unrequited love for Hugh.
I really enjoyed this book, and learned a lot about how it felt to live during that time, even though she lived in privilege, the only small issue I had with ecopy was having to lose my place whilst searching the appendix at the end for Information on names, initials etc, but this would not be any issue for a paper copy.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the advance copy, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A captivating look at the war years in England through the diaries of Alathea Fitzalan Howard and her relationship with the future monarch and her sister Margaret.
The author started keeping a personal diary at 16 when she was sent to live with her grandfather at Windsor at the beginning of the conflict in late 1939.
A companion to the princesses between 1940 and 1945, her personal narrative is an incredible treasure trove of anecdotes and vignettes about the royals during the War and an opportunity to get a more intimate glimpse at Elizabeth's life during WWII. A delightful look at wartime England and its monarchy that should definitely be enjoyed by many royal buffs.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to read this wonderful book

These diaries give a fascinating insight into the lives of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret during the war years. I enjoyed the references to the clothes that Alathea wore at that time.