Karen Harper's historical novel, The Queen's Secret, begins with Elizabeth the Queen Mother about to attend one of the many celebrations for her one-hundredth birthday, but it focuses on the World War II years when she and her husband King George VI were the public faces of Great Britain. Their home was bombed; they, too, were trying to keep their children safe; they lived with the same rationing as their people; and as they visited devastated areas of London and spoke to the residents, they epitomized "Keep Calm and Carry On." They boosted their people's spirits and helped them endure untold grief and hardship.

I had to read this novel because of my English husband's fondness for "the Queen Mum." (He'd also had the opportunity to meet her more than once.) In reading The Queen's Secret, I wasn't the slightest bit surprised by the information Harper shared about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. Great Britain was fortunate to dodge the lethal bullet that would have been their reign. What surprised me was the number of secrets that Elizabeth had to keep, and almost all of them were substantiated when I did a little research.

The story unfolds steadily and really gives readers an insider's feel for life in the royal household during World War II. Each character has his or her own distinct personality, but-- as it should be-- Elizabeth the Queen Mother shines the brightest, this plump, rather dowdy-looking woman whom Hitler called the most dangerous woman in Europe. She had a backbone of steel, a loving heart, and a sharp mind. King George VI and Winston Churchill appreciated this woman's gifts, and now I understand why she was so beloved. What a woman!

This book was a riveting tale about the behind the scenes life of the Queen Mother Elizabeth and her husband King George VI, their children and World War II.

Mostly this is a look as to how England fought and the difficulty they had in persuading America to join in. As far as I was concerned, the whole issue of the Queen's secret -while vital, took a back seat to the lead up of the War and how the country and the Royalty reacted to the devastation. The author spent so much time hinting around at the 'really big' secret that when finally revealed, it was just meh! I'm not up on the history of the Royals, and I don't know what the ramifications would have been if the secret of Elizabeth's birth had gotten out.

This book is a work of historical fiction, so I'm not sure if all I read was true, and I don't feel compelled to look up the facts. I did love this book, and it did an excellent job of keeping me turning the pages. So much so that I am now looking for similar books.

I would highly recommend this book to those who love reading about WWII and what may be some interesting behind the scenes look at the Royals and what they went through.

*ARC supplied to me by the publisher.

This is the story of "The Queen Mother" , wife of King George VI & the mother to the future Queen Elizabeth. She was considered by Hitler to be “Most Dangerous Woman in Europe.” She worked tirelessly towards the war effort, was a loving and involved wife and mother, and she made it her life's mission to make sure David and Wallis never came back to try to reclaim the throne. All the while there were secrets she held tight to her chest....secrets that could potentially destroy everything she loved and worked for if they were revealed.
This book was very interesting. I wasn't as familiar with The Queen Mother's story so this was all unchartered territory for me, so to speak. The author did an excellent job making the characters feel real and the story come alive. If you are a fan of historical fiction, y0u won't want to miss this one.

If you, like me, know only a little about Queen Elizabeth = the Queen Mother- then this might be an interesting read for you. It's obviously fiction and some of the conversations and suggestions are up for grabs in terms of reality. However, it's also a good look at how the Royal Family lived and coped during WWII. I found it interesting, well written, and eye opening. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For fans of WWII fiction.

When David abdicated the English throne to be with "that woman" Wallis Simpson, his stammering brother George VI ("Bertie") was thrust onto the royal stage. Bertie rose to the occasion, partnering with Winston Churchill to help win the war against the Germans. But what some might not know is that behind the king of England was a determined and dedicated spouse, a queen who would protect her people and her family at all costs, a matriarch whom Hitler called, "the most dangerous woman in Europe. 

Mother to the current Queen Elizabeth II, the Elizabeth of this story married into the royal family when there was yet no thought of Bertie ascending to the throne. As the title indicates, Elizabeth had secrets in her life, secrets that she has never dared to share with her own husband, secrets that drive a wedge between a perfect intimacy in their affectionate marriage. The story is told inside Elizabeth's head, and at first, her constant obsession with a past event, began to annoy me as a reader. As the book developed, however, I realized that this obsession was an integral part of her character and important to understanding what made her "tick." I desperately wanted her to be able to reveal the stories of her past so that she could have closure. In the end, I think the author made an interesting choice about what revelations take place.

Karen Harper has woven a well-researched tale that fills in the cracks of what might have happened in the private lives of the royal family. The character she creates for Elizabeth is both indomitable and human, ready to risk everything for England and her family, but still tender to all the slings and arrows that come her way.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Since the original release of The Crown, I’ve been glad to see more recent Royal historical fiction, with The Queen’s Secret being one of the most anticipated, as the Queen Mother was always one of the modern royals that intrigued me.

However, I found myself a bit confused by the titular “secret,” and even more so once I got into the book, was perplexed at the implausibility of it due to the public lives these people led, and the backlash the source Harper lifted it from got on its release. While I acknowledge her concern of bias in an official biography, with her only comment on it being that the author “did move in the same social circles as the royals.” (P.S. section in the back of the book, 5) Given the more recent gossip surrounding the current royals and the difficulty in figuring out who to believe on that front outside of official sources, I would have hoped she would acknowledge bias and unreliability of this source as well.

However, just taking it as fiction, it’s pretty good, although, given what we know about what happens, these revelations don’t feel that earth shattering with lasting implications, even though there is a moment when she reveals her secret to her husband. I was actually more interested in the aspects that felt reminiscent of the historical record, but more fleshed out to explore her thoughts and emotions. Being aware of how domineering of a father George V was to his children, it was interesting to have an idea of Elizabeth’s insights into how it impacted each of his sons, contrasting that with Queen Mary’s indulgence of the wayward, philandering Prince George and later the selfish Duke of Windsor.

I did like this, but I am questioning the point of some of the choices made. I understand the point of poetic license, but when that’s not even the most impactful part of the book, then I feel like it’s not entirely necessary. It is very readable and engaging, and does for the most part capture the Queen well, so I think if you like Royal historical fiction and don’t mind a bit of inaccuracy for the sake of plot, then you should pick this up.

When I saw a book about a background character from the Royal Family in the middle of WWII I was thrilled. Much of the content is related to the King, or Queen Elizabeth's life. Elizabeth has always fascinated me. The problem was the writing pandered to those that had read or watched The Kings Speech. Or those that wanted to hear reference to Dianna and Charles love life. Mentions of those times felt out of sync with the book.

The book didn't flow like a story. It felt seemed like a chronological time table of her life, with short bibs of dialog. I wanted a story, wrapped up with a scandalous secret as the title promised. The secret seemed like something that came from a tabloid.

The historical fiction genre is riddled with this stuff, and I can overlook it. Most peoples lives aren't that scandalous, and its impossible to recreate someones live that holds a readers interest. This didn't have enough to hold together a good story.

I love reading stories about the British Royal Family. This story which is and interesting mix of fact, fiction and rumors, did not disappoint. Experiencing the Blitz through the eyes of the Queen Mother, then Queen Elizabeth, offered an unique perspective. Many of her secrets are revealed throughout the book, it was very interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Karen Harper for an advance copy of The Queen's Secret for a fair and honest review.
This book is full of interesting and little-known tidbits about what was going on in the early days of WWII – from Elizabeth’s hatred of Wallis Simpson to the moving of precious works of art out of the castle. If you love novels whose authors obviously spend time doing their research, you’ll like this one.

2.5 stars

Unfortunately, this book just did not do it for me. I found it very stilted, dull and repetitive. The Queen came across as very self absorbed. I appreciate the amount of research that must have went into this story, however, the way the research was introduced to the reader was through the dialogue... which felt very awkward, as it didn’t seem like the characters would really speak in such a manner.

As for the secrets that were a large part of the story... one of them was a pretty serious one, but ultimately nothing came of it, and the others were very small and seemed like something that would not be a big deal. I think much more drama could have been added to this story if these secrets were played with more.

I did like the family moments between the Queen, King and their two daughters. I think people who are very interested in the royal family and enjoy historical fictions will probably enjoy this one. That is, as long as they are okay with a heavy dose of fiction in their historical fictions, as the “secrets” in this story seem to be pretty far fetched. But I am not a follower of the royal family, so I cannot say for certain.

The Queens turning one hundred years old. you are always queen. She adores her grandson charles. I love the royalty and how they interact but could not get invested in this

** spoiler alert ** Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for an ARC of this book. Release date - May 19, 2020

Oh boy, where do I start with this truly terrible book? Honestly if I had not been given this book as an ARC for review, I probably would have stopped within the first few chapters, it infuriated me that much. But it was not that long and I think it deserves negative feedback so I pushed through.

If you are expecting shocking twists and big reveals you will be disappointed. The "big secret" of the title is revealed in chapter ONE. A few more mediocre "secrets" that are incredibly anticlimactic and honestly not a big deal at all are peppered throughout. And then every other page we are reminded of these "secrets" so much so that instead of surprising they are just tedious. Paragraph after paragraph of oh I hope no one finds out this thing or that.

Not only is this book poorly written, it basically amounts to slander of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. It is an incredibly unflattering portrayal of her. It is literally a fictionalized version of The Queen Mother: The Untold Story of Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, Who Became Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother by "Lady" Colin Campbell, a trashy gossip book that honestly should have been fiction from the beginning. But worse than being based on trashy gossip, it's like Karen Harper read that book, thought wow this would make quite novel, and then did ABSOLUTELY NO FURTHER RESEARCH. Every insane and ridiculous theory comes directly from that book as far as I can tell, and some facts are completely inaccurate.

From here on will be pretty spoiler-y, so proceed with caution.

So the "big secret" revealed in chapter 1 is that Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was the offspring of her father and the family's French cook. Here are the real life facts presented as proof this ridiculous theory: 1) Her middle name is Marguerite, the name of the supposed cook. (I mean is it possible they just liked this name?) 2) The family referred to her and her younger brother as "the Benjamins." According to the story (and I discovered that this came directly from the ridiculous The Queen Mother book, solidifying my belief that Karen Harper did absolutely no research) biblical Benjamin was the son of Israel and his wife Rachel's handmaid. Ha, so there's the alleged proof that Elizabeth and David were the product of a similar union. But a very very simple glimpse inside the Bible would show that Benjamin was actually the son of Israel and Rachel. His wife. I don't know the real reason they were called "the Benjamins" but I'd practically guarantee they were called "the Benjamins" because they were a good bit younger than the rest of their siblings, because that's the actual truth of Benjamin in the Bible. A smidge of Biblical knowledge blows the whole theory out the water.

Another stupid secret is that Elizabeth and Bertie were celibate and conceived their children through artificial insemination. The reason presented for this is of course vaguely danced around and dragged out forever before it's revealed that Elizabeth was allegedly assaulted when she was 18 by David, Prince of Wales, something she never tells her husband about. Sorry, I don't buy that they'd be celibate for 20+ years without him EVER ASKING WHY and just going along with it? I also realize that assault can be extremely traumatic, definitely not downplaying that in any way. But I also have a hard time believing that a near rape would affect her THIS much and for that long. Add to the fact that apparently he had PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE? In 1918?! I find that really hard to believe. It's not like he could have snapped a picture of the item of clothing she left behind with his smartphone.

Also the concluding message of the story with this secret and others is...keep secrets from your husband. So that was disappointing on top of a million disappointments.

On top of all of these stupid secrets the fact that there were 5 million references to her weight, she's not slim, I look every kilo in this, I just love my sweets, the portrait didn't show my roundness..... Like I said earlier it made for an incredibly unflattering portrayal of the Queen Mother.

AND besides all of these ridiculously stupid plot points, NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS. It's the most boring WW2 book I've read since All the Light We Cannot See. The writing was the equivalent of speaking in a monotone, there was no emotion. I ended up skimming lots of it because it just did not hold my interest.

This is a truly awful book and I can not recommend it to anyone. It should never have been written and I hope it gets all the negative reviews.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins.

This book is about Queen Elizabeth, wife to King George VI, mother to Queen Elizabeth II, during the years of WWII. During the war years, she was a support to the king, a vital part of keeping the British peoples spirits up, a hostess to Americans critically needed as allies, and she harbored a secret that could bring her world crashing down around her ears.

I was SO excited to be chosen to review this book. The Queen Mother was a fascinating woman during a time of world crisis, and I felt sure a book about her would be riveting. This was not that book. I finished it, but it was a chore to do so. I found this book to be nothing but gossip, repeated over and over...and over. I periodically stopped to look items up and found that all of them were unsubstantiated rumors.

The whole theme of the book...the queen’s secret...is clearly spelled out early on in the book. (It initially appears that there are multiple secrets, but towards the end one emerges as the front runner.) The bulk of the book is the Queen wringing her hands and wrestling with whether or not to tell her husband about it. Enough already. The reader is also bludgeoned with the fact that Queen Elizabeth detested the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

I have no quarrel with mentioning the gossip of the times as an interest point during the course of the novel, but I would’ve thought there were enough interesting FACTS about this remarkable woman to tell an interesting story about her without relying so heavily on them. I’m sorry to say I was sorely disappointed.

Thanks to HarperCollins/William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

I was SO excited when i received the email that I was approved for an advanced copy of The Queen's Secret. I love the Royal Family and enjoyed Karen Harper's American Duchess last year but the former historian in me struggled with this book.

I know it is fiction but I would have LOVED an authors note on what she was using as her inspiration to write this as it seems like she just used the controversial 2012 book on the Queen Mother that was based on rumors and went with it.

I enjoyed the aspects of the Royal family during the war but I just couldn't get past the quite blurred line in this historical fiction.

Received this book, "The Queen's Secret" by " Karen Harper" who I have enjoyed many of her books! This story starting back to the present time is about the Queen Elizabeth 's life way back even,how she ascended to the throne,who will be next in line. Poor Charles,he is like in his 70' and still waiting to become King,looks like the Queen may out live her own son and then it goes to her grandson! Wonderfully written you can tell a lot of research went into this story! A lot of secrets,a lot of embarrassing moments in their lives,divorces,births deaths,just like a regular family,only it really isnt! If you see interested in the royal family and their comings and goings in this world,what is expected of them,secrets like any other family and dont know much about the family,this book is for you!! After this read,read more from this author,you won't be disappointed!

An interesting historical fiction book told from the perspective of King George Vi’s wife Queen Elizabeth, as she raises the future Queen Elizabeth II during World War II., during changing times when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and herself become influencers, and not simply spouses of those in power.

I really liked this memoir / biography of Queen Elizabeth. It talks about her relationship with Bertie (her husband the King), his brother David and Ms. Wallis (the woman who led him to abdicate the throne). It also spoke a lot about Churchill and the war. Great storytelling and I learned a lot about that Queen that I did not know.

I was looking forward to reading this and was thrilled when I got approved for it because I never get Harper Collins books. Unfortunately, this book was nothing but a gossip book and portrayed the Queen Mother as a spurned woman who plotted out revenge in a spectacular fashion. I was constantly looking up things on google because they just seemed far fetched. The dialogue was on repeat poor Bertie, harlot woman, and mean David. It got so old and very petty. Oh and the I don’t have sex topic just topped it off.

I thought the story would be positive and more suspenseful with spying or something interesting. It was just secrets that were revealed at the beginning and agonized on throughout the story. They really didn’t seem like that big of a deal. It only proved that the rich and famous can get away with anything as long as they can pay people off. Granted the royal family stood steadfast and were role models for the country, but I am sure there are many books out there that portray the era better.

Received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review.

Delving into historical fiction is always an interesting journey. Karen Harper paints a fascinating picture of the royal family, and especially Queen Elizabeth, during a time of great fear and strife in England. Elizabeth's courage is both empowering and encouraging as she became the leader that even Hitler feared.
Underneath all of this, we learn also of some not-so-pleasant things that went on the royal family, painting a somewhat harsh picture of reality. Being a more conservative reader (and person in general), some of these details left me uncomfortable, but I won't go into the details, as I know there are plenty of readers out there who are less conservative than I.
Harper's writing style was very engaging and I found myself drawn into the story as it unfolded. But despite this, and for reasons I can't really explain, I can't say that I enjoyed it. It won't go on my list of favorite books.
Not every book is the right fit for a reader, and this one just didn't sit right with me. So, others may enjoy it more than I did, but I don't regret the opprotunity to read The Queen's Secret.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for a review.

I don't know what exactly compelled me to request this book as I'm usually not really a fan of WWII fiction. However, I did request this book and actually really enjoyed it. The middle part did drag a little and felt a bit repetetive, so that's mainly why I docked a star. For this rest I think this gives a nice and different perspective on the war. I really liked the writing of this book as well as the characterisations. I don't really know much about these people so I can't comment on the historical accuracies but just a characters of a book I can say they were pretty well done. The secrets were a bit anti-climactic as well. I expected them to be a big deal but they weren't really. Either way this book mainly focusses on the war, not the queen's secrets so it wasn't too bothersome to me. I was also surprised that this book covered the entire war. I wasn't expecting that. I don't know why really, it makes sense to cover the entire war. In conclusion, I was very pleasently surprised by this book. I might even pick up more WWII fiction after this.