Author: Flora Harding
Started: Mar. 13, 2022
Finished: Mar. 19, 2022
Thanks to Flora Harding, One More Chapter, and Netgalley for the chance to review this advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In the months before Lady Diana Spencer marries Prince Charles, she is given an apartment of her own to keep her from the constant onslaught of the media. While Diana had the thought that this would bring her and Charles closer, she finds that is not the case when his constant engagements keep him very busy. As a future Princess, Diana was required to learn about those royals who came before her, and she becomes interested in the list of Princess Charlotte of Wales…another Princess most beloved by her subjects.
Princess Charlotte was an only child of the Prince Regent and the wife he loathes. Moreover, neither parent truly cares for Charlotte and she is given her own household at a young age with her own staff who she loves like family. As Charlotte becomes of age, her father begins to push her towards a marriage of alliance as opposed to the love match she would have preferred. When she turns down her first arrangement, she is kept away from the public as punishment. At some point, she understands that the man she loves is unwilling to marry her and she must move forward. She finds someone willing to marry her and ends up having a short but wonderful life with him.
I have always been fascinated by Princess Diana and what her life as a Princess was like. In reading this dual timeline, I saw many similarities between Diana and Charlotte and the way the media and other family members treated them and saw them as nothing more than frivolous women. Knowing how important fashion was to Diana, it was fun to be able to google the specific event mentioned and have a complete understanding of what she was wearing. There are also various pictures of Charlotte online, specifically an artists' rendition of her wedding dress which was opulent by standards of the day. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading Harding's backlist.