I found The Windsors at War: The King, His Brother, and a Family Divided to be a fascinating read and found some new information I had never heard of before. I am giving it five stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It offers a lot of information about Edward VIII and his abdication, his relationship with his brother and family members and also the impact of WWII on Britain. There are a lot of names and direct quotes that get a bit tedious at times but overall the narrative flows nicely. It isn’t a dry history lesson; it is a story with historical background. I couldn’t help but feel there were a few similarities between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and the current Duke and Duchess of Sussex - and their proclaimed desire to be left alone while still craving the ever present publicity and perks of being royal. I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley, however, this did not influence my opinion. I appreciate the opportunity to reading this enlightening book.

Disclaimer: I have a bookish podcast and got an advanced reader copy of this book. I"m not the history reader, My husband is. My normal genres are fiction with occasional side trips to fantasy. Non-fiction history is not my forte, but it is my husband's. When this book showed up in a package from St. Martin’s Press one day, my husband's ears pricked up. I wasn’t as interested. He was and this is his review:

Alexander Larman’s clearly written and well researched account covers a subject during the Second World War that normally gets just a few footnotes. I didn’t know much on the subject, just the rumors surrounding the Duke and Duchess. So, I was intrigued by the subject mater. The book is a sequel to his history of the abdication crisis of 1936 which he covers in his previous book The Crown in Crisis (St. Martin’s Press 2021). In this book he deals with the former Edward VIII as Duke of Windsor immediately after the abdication to right up to the end of the European War in 1945. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes intrigue and not a few skullduggery on part of the Germans and the Brits.

The book filled in a very grey area in the history and I highly recommend the book for all history buffs or even those who obsess (pro or con) over the British Royal family. My only complaint about it is the subject himself, Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor former King of the United Kingdom as it turns out is a very uninteresting self-centered entitled bigoted little man who spends most of his time complaining to his relatives and obsessing over his wife’s lack of title. The Brits dodged a bullet with him abdicating and the horrors of the War upon them and he deserves being just a footnote in larger events.

This book deserves more than a footnote despite the subject. Well worth the read.

Sometimes history books can be a little dry; it happens. This one, however, I found to be as engaging as easy-to-read fiction and it fully kept my interest.

Mr. Larman offers in this title the results of his meticulous research and the result is a comprehensive look at at the not-too distant past and it dove far deeper than anything I've previously learned about this period of the Windsor family.

Recommended.

I enjoyed the book very much. The book gives a rich story of the time period and covers the Windsor family quite fairly. I enjoy reading about both subjects. Read the book, you will enjoy it. I read an electronic version courtesy of Net Galley.

I enjoyed learning more about the Windsor family during WWII and how the Queen consort helped not only hold her husband the King up the country as well.

The Windsors at War by Alexander Larman was very interesting.
This book, so well researched and written, did not disappoint!
An interesting story of World War Two in Britain and America with a fresh focus on the royal family.
This provides a vivid picture of the life, politics, crisis and the monarchy during WWII,
History has always been a favorite of mine. And this was a fascinating read.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

St. Martin's Press,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

This is a fascinating look at the behaviour of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor during WWII.
Spoiled, entitled and ignorant are the nicest things I can say.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

An enthralling look at the Windsor family during World War 2. The author conveys the complex relationships, the lackluster economy, and the endurance of a family that is not always united. Interesting, wonderfully descriptive and intriguing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The book is a fascinating and well-researched insight into the dysfunctional royal family and world politics during World War II.

I’ll admit my motivation for reading this was Wallis Simpson. When I was much younger and learned that a king abdicated his throne for her, I thought how romantic! Turns out, it was perhaps a less than happily-ever-after ending. Wallis felt contempt for Edward who was never able to convince the royal family to accept her, much less provide her with the title of Her Royal Highness. They began their life together as pariahs in the royal family as well as much of society. While Edward still loved her deeply and remained loyal to her, she held him in disdain. Perhaps it was a match made in heaven as the two certainly deserved each other. They were totally obsessed with only themselves and had no compassion for what England was going through during World War II. Edward constantly squabbled with his brother, the king, over money and royal titles while London and Buckingham Palace were under siege and being bombed.

The book moves into Edward and Wallis’ Nazi sympathies, touches on the Marburg File and describes Hitler’s plots to perhaps reinstate Edward on the throne. The book conveys multiple facets of the story as it details conversations and correspondence between the royals, their staff, friends and politicians, giving more than one side of the story.

In the end, Edward was a despicable man driven by his loss of power and greediness, who most likely betrayed his country. Wallis’ illusions of grandeur were the flames that ignited Edward.

As a complete side note, Edward was fond of gifting Wallis with exquisite one-of-a-kind jewelry. Take a look at her collection:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX4InFsjWoU

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

Absolutely absorbing and hard to put down nonfiction look at the Duke and Duchess of Windsor during WWII. While Charles III may have feet of clay, this book shows a man and woman completely absorbed with themselves, their lifestyle, and rank during one of the most terrible conflicts of the 20th century.

I found this book to contain a lot of information I had read about before, but it also contained a lot of new--to me--information as well. It was rather depressing to read this book, about a man who had had the world as his oyster, but didn't have the internal fortitude and resolution to do the job he had been groomed for, for decades! He was so wishy-washy, wanting the acclaim of being the Prince of Wales, and then King/Emperor, but frittered away his time and money on selfish whims, and later on, being enamored of various married women, one of whom eventually became his wife, after he had abdicated his throne to be with her. They were a rather sad pair of immature socialites, and drifted aimlessly most of their lives together. Windsor didn't want the work of being King, but he did like the adulation afforded his rank, and missed that forever. All in all, he did the British empire a huge favor by abdicating in favor of his younger brother, who, despite NOT being trained for the job, learned as he went on, and made a great King for his country and empire. That didn't sit well with the former king either!

My thanks to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this ebook for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

What a super read. Well researched and written. It brought the personalities of all of the Windsors, good and bad, into a believable story. We all have heard about Edward and Wallaces relationship and how he abdicated. But what we don't know is their involvement with Facism and Hitler. A really great book.
This copy was provided by NetGalley the opinion expressed here is solely my own,

I have not read the first volume of Larman's work but I was excited to have the opportunity to read this volume. Thank you to St. Martin's Press. As someone who is pretty interested in the Royal Family, I appreciated Larman's addition to the narrative. I felt that this was helpful in clarifying some of the interpersonal relationships without it overpowering the actual facts or job of the royals.

I didn't feel as though King George VI got as much attention as Edward VIII did, or even as much as Churchill, but overall I enjoyed this work.

The Windsors at War: The King, His Brother, and a Family Divided by Alexander Larman is a great nonfiction and historical account of the complicated and fascinating look into the royal family and their differed beliefs during WWII.

I really enjoyed Mr. Larman’s previous book, The Crown in Crisis, so of course I wanted to delve further. I love anything involving the current English Monarchy, but also anything from the past lineages as well, so this was a great combination.

I already knew quite a bit about the personal beliefs and actions between the two brothers and their respective camps, but this definitely delves even deeper. Drawing on historical documents, interviews, journals, and additional archives and research, we can really get a more-rounded look at Edward VIII ( Duke of Windsor) and King George VI, their own beliefs, and how their families and individual relationship faired in respect to these controversial subjects.

Fascinating.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and St Martin’s Press for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 4/18/23.

I absolutely loved this book. I've read about the Windsors extensively, and the there were things revealed I never read about. I always knew there was extreme tension between King George and the Duke of Windsor, however I didn't realize the Germans were hoping to use Edward to overthrow the King. It also gave a look into the relationship and sympathy Edward had with Germany and Adolf Hitler. If you are interested about WWII, this is a great read.

The Windsors at War by Alexander Larman is a meticulously researched book drawing on letters, government papers, diaries, memoirs, and news reports. George VI and his Queen had to deal with a government that at first determined appeasement of Hitler’s European expansion would satisfy him, while also still dealing with the ongoing machinations of George’s brother, formerly Edward VII, now Duke of Windsor. Was the Duke a true Nazi believer or simply a pawn? The general outline of how the war years played out is mostly common knowledge. This volume goes deeply into how the things that occurred were processed and dealt with. The back and forth communication between the brothers is fascinating as are the quoted comments from other government sources. In other words, readers often are aware of the what, the when and the where. They now get to delve deeply into the why that was concealed from the general public for years. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.