Book Review of
In Royal Service To the Queen
In Loyal Service to the Queen by Tessa Arlen was published in 2021.
Marion Crawford was governess to the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. She was included in their lives. She was needed, trusted, and loved.
Things became complicated, though, as the young royals became adults. Princess Elizabeth, the heiress to the British throne, fell in love, and the only member of her family who is happy for her is her governess. No one but Marion thinks that Prince Philip of Greece would be a good husband for the future Queen of England.
Marion is now caught between loyalty to Princess Elizabeth, alienating her royal employer, Queen Elizabeth, and losing the man she loves.
Lynn's Review
In Royal Service to the Queen by Tessa Arlen is a historical fiction book about the royal family. It is a book about Marion Crawford, Queen Elizabeth’s governess.
Can you imagine being the governess to Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret?
When Marion Crawford started working for the royal family, Elizabeth was not on the path to becoming Queen, but that changed when her uncle Prince Edward abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson.
When Elizabeth’s life changed, so did her governess’s life. Instead of teaching and training a princess, Marion was now in charge of instructing a future Queen of England.
Marion left behind her mom and the life she knew to work for the royal family.
Marion, also known as Crawfie, builds a strong bond with Elizabeth. She stands behind Elizabeth when she is determined to marry Prince Phillip. She waits on her own marriage until Princess Elizabeth marries Prince Phillip.
But the royal family did not always treat Marion well, and in the end, a betrayal changed Marion’s life and relationship with the royal family.
I have read a few books about the royal family, but I knew nothing about Queen Elizabeth’s governess until reading In Royal Service to the Queen by Tessa Arlen. I enjoyed this book as a lighter historical fiction read.
About Tessa Arlen
Tessa Arlen is the best selling author of historical fiction books. She lives in the Southwest and loves history and writing.