I alway found the Windsors to be interesting. This book was detailed and I enjoyed reading all the history. Truly a great read for anyone interested in the royals, past or present.

I find this time in British history to be fascinating. How the Monarchy handled so many scandals in such a short period of time, while preparing to enter the war, is impressive. A must-add addition to your history/WWII TBR.

Before picking up The Windsors at War, I was familiar with the abdication crisis and the former King’s affection for Hitler and Nazi Germany. Reading this book gave me a much deeper understanding. Larman provides exhaustive historical detail on the couple’s movements after abdication and during the war. They are isolated from the new royals and court, and Edward and George are estranged due to the abdication. Before the war, personal and cultural relations between Great Britain and Germany were quite friendly, with the aristocracies of both countries sharing a common culture as well as family members. As the new king, Bertie was unflinching in his devotion to winning the war while Edward in his isolation seemed to revert to his worst selfish self, preoccupied with securing an HRH title for his wife Wallis and attending the fanciest parties he could get them invited to. Don’t skip the footnotes. It’s there I learned that the full diaries of Alan Lascelles, Private Secretary to George VI (as well as George V, Edward VII and Elizabeth II) are embargoed until five years after the death of the Queen, so in 2027 we may learn even more about the Windsors at War. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of the book.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is so disturbing, and just plan disgusting. How anyone would have pictures of themselves meeting Hitler and as a well known former king to boot.

This book was the well researched and compelling narrative of the royal family during WWII that I was looking for to fill out my bookshelf. Easily stands next to the works of Churchill.

I’m a fan of the show The Crown & British history in general & really enjoyed this! This period of British history is so interesting & the author does a fantastic job with the subject.

Excellent. Combines 2 subjects I've always found fascinating topics of fiction - The Windsors / Royal Family and World War II, but this time as a non-fiction sort of tell-all. I was familiar with the rumors about Prince Edward's connections to Hitler, but this very well-researched book lays it all out on the table. Not just Prince Edward, but the rest of the Royal Family and their handling of war. I learned quite a bit and am always happy when non-fiction reads like fiction!

I know more about the current Windsors, but I didn't know a lot about Queen Elizabeth's dad and her uncle besides the bare minimum. It was fun and interesting to see how they made it through the war and how they were able to hold the country together. While also dealing with the big messy family issue of her uncle abdicating the throne and dealing with Wallis and the other issues that came with them. It was a little precarious at times, but it helped me understand a little bit more about how the British Monarchy works currently and how they got to this point.

I’m a big fan of the Netflix show The Crown and its storylines. One was about the role Prince Edward and his American wife Wallis Simpson played in WWII. The Windsors at War is a detailed, well-researched account of the couple from the time they left England after the abdication until the end of the war. It’s fascinating in its details and certainly kills the fairy tale of a romantic king giving it all up for love.

I’ve read several books about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, and the uproar brought on by his abdication in order to marry the woman he loved. So I was wondering if Alexander Larman’s book could tell me anything I hadn’t read before. And I’m happy to say that it could. The idea of telling the story as, basically, the story of a dysfunctional family during a time of crisis, was a new and welcome perspective. The book is wonderfully informative and readable, with lots of interesting details about the Royal Family and Britain during the war years. Definitely a book I’ll be recommending. Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the chance to discover a new favorite author.

Learned a lot about history I had not heard of before. Surprising me and got me interested in The Crown so I watched the series on Netflix

THE WINDSORS AT WAR
By Alexander Larman

Alexander Larman writes an outstanding biography of the British Monarchy in this installment covering the time of the Second World War - at war with Germany and also within the family and its vast turmoil.

The writing was fascinating with incredible detail about the family during this tumultuous time. I’m a huge fan. One of the best biographies of the Royal Family

thank you St Martins press and netgalley for an alc and arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an in-depth look at Britain's Royal Family in the middle of WW2. The stories were very intriguing, the deceit and dysfunction. As well as being connected to Germany during that time as Nazi sympathies.

The subject matter in this book is so intriguing to me. Unfortunately, it was a bit more difficult to read than I had hoped. I started reading it at the beginning of 2023 and still haven't finished, now in July. I think this is more of a book that you come back to every once in a while rather than read in one fell swoop of consecutive reading. I'll continue to read through it because it is so well researched and I'm still interested in the subject matter.

The Duke of Windsor’s connections with the Nazis are no longer danced around but point blank discussed by pretty much everyone everywhere. However, few authors are quite as thorough as Larman. He examines the Windsors’ movements and actions beginning with the abdication and ending with the decade following the war. I very much appreciated that while David and Wallis are in focus, he also trains his lens on other key players, like The King, The Queen, and Churchill.

Prior to reading this, I would say that I had a fairly in depth knowledge of David and Wallis’ wartime escapades. However, what I did not know is the extent to which their aristocratic friends both strongly agreed and disagreed with them. There were several jaw-dropping moments while reading this book, and that is something that I did not expect.

Larman’s previous book, The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication, is also a must-read if you have not already.

Larman is a journalist and not an historian, which does make for a different type of book. It also differs from the number of glowing royal biographies that have been released in the last year to mark the Platinum Jubilee and then the late Queen’s passing. All in all, a well-written, fascinating book.

I think that it is incredibly notable that in the weeks prior to the sovereign’s coronation, we have a book publishing on a former sovereign’s Nazi ties- the monarchy no longer holds the same position that it did in the 1950s during the last coronation. Obviously, King Edward VIII abdicated, but it still seems unthinkable that someone would have even conceived of a book like this in 1953.

My actual rating for myself reading this is 3 stars - BUT I'm giving it 4 stars because the book itself was very interesting, but the style was just a little too boring for my taste. And because of that I found it so dry and relatively difficult to get through.

I've enjoyed both of these books; both present a lot of very interesting material, some of it quite new to me, and they are written in a clear style that makes for easy reading. The British government and royalty from the early Prince o' Wales bistro world to George & Winston's WWII bravery, are well written and and informative; both are well worth reading IMO.

4 stars

I don't read a lot of non-fiction though if I do it typically has something to do with a royal family or WWII well this has both.

This book talks about the relationship between King George VI and his brother Edward who used to be the king. This book picks up with Edward and Wallis getting married and living in exile. No one will have anything to do with them so they chose to gravitate towards Hitler who figures he can use them to his advantage.

Edward didn't think he did anything wrong and thought he deserved better. This was written very much like Erik Larson's style of books. The flow of the book was great I enjoyed reading it and will probably read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and St, Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

My thanks to Net Galley for a copy of this book.
“The Windsors at War” , byAlexander Lackman is a very readable and informative presentation of the strains the abdication of Edward as King put on the Royal Family in Great Britain and on the nation. When Edward’s younger brother “ Bertie” acceded to the throne , it was quite an undertaking to a man unprepared to lead his nation , especially as War loomed. He had little self-confidence which was reflected in the feelings of many Royal retainers who wondered at Henry V I capabilities. As most people know thanks to the film “ The King’s Speech”, he struggled mightily to master his stutter, shyness and feelings of inferiority, and succeeded. Having to deal with Edward , Duke of Windsor, was an irritant that continued through the War. All this is thoroughly covered.
As the book demonstrated, Windsor was self-centered, haughty, careless of his choice of friends and waspish when thwarted in his calls for a better allowance. Furthermore, evidence is presented that he was more than a bit sympathetic to Hitler, speaking of his wishes for England and Germany as natural allies against communism. He had friends who literally conspired with the Reich . The Duke did make himself useful when shuffled off to the Bahamas as governor, but was ever the playboy dilettante , destaining the press coverage he attracted while moving in cafe society.

“ The War of the Windsors” is a worthwhile book. The author is no fan of Edward, but does make an effort to keep an even hand , not always succeeding, though. It is not a long, deep history of Britain during the war years, but it does illustrate how the Duke of Windsor was an irritant, a thorne in the Royal family’s side. It is noted, re the current business with Harry and Megan, that once in the Family, always a member, a burden or a blessing carried forever.
A pleasure to read, and recommended.

I could not finish enough of this book to be able to leave a comprehensive review, but I hope it finds its audience and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.