I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

It was interesting to read Alathea Fitzalan Howard's The Windsor Diaries: A Childhood with the Princesses. I am giving it four stars.

As someone who loves all things Royal, I was looking forward to reading this book, Unfortunately, I should have realized that reading the diary of a young teen is not very interesting, even when it involves the future Queen. This book was not for me, but glad I have it a chance.

Even though I really enjoy books about the British royal family, this was about as ho-hum as it can get. The book is based on the diaries of the author, Alathea Fitzalan Howard, who lived at Windsor with the young princesses for a time. I feel like the British royal family is something that people either love to read about or hate. This book is mediocre enough to probably draw in parties from both sides.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this book. It’s just not for me. I am fascinated by The Royal Family — and have only grown more intrigued by them and their histories over the past year or so. I was looking forward to reading this book. The book is perfectly fine for any reader. It just never really sucked me in like I was hoping for. The book is entirely diary entries — So, it’s written in that form which is a nice format. It makes sense for the author of the diary to use nicknames as she is writing — After all, it’s her diary and it’s truly intended for her to understand. But, as an outsider and someone who doesn’t know an immense history of The Royal’s, it was hard to follow at times. Again, that’s no fault of the author by any means though because it’s her diary and it’s how she chose to dialogue. The plethora of footnotes were meaningful and explained a lot. Growing up as the author did and her association with The Royal Family was definitely a mind blowing childhood and adolescence. Her experiences are conveyed well. I’ll pick this one up again once I get caught up on The Crown (I have only seen Seasons 1-3 so far) and have more background about The Royal’s.

An intimate look at the life of the English princesses during WW II by their friend and neighbor, Alathea Fitzalan Herbert. Taken from her diaries, the book is compelling and much more interesting than most published diaries. Extensive endnotes decode many of the people and places unfamiliar to modern readers.

The Windsor Diaries: My Childhood with the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret is the never before published diaries of Alathea Fitzalan Howard who kept a diary her whole life and during WWII she was close friends with Princess Elizabeth & Margaret.

This was an interesting read, though because of the diary format it was funny to read the inconsequental thoughts of a teenage girl. I do with the footnotes would have been on the same page to make it easier to read and understand them as you were reading the diary.

The Windsor Diaries contains diary entries from Alathea Howard's childhood. Her diaries speak frequently of the King, Queen, Princess Elizabeth, and Princess Margaret.
Unfortunately, I found many of the entries rather boring and found that the book struggled to keep my interest.

I thought it was fitting to read the Windsor Diaries as Prince Philip was laid to rest this weekend. Howard, the diarist kept a diary for much of her life, only stopping a few months before her death in 2001. Only 4 years are represented here, 1941-1945, the time she spent the most with the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. WWII raged and readers get an inside look at the lives of the royal family, in brief snippets. Howard is quite blunt in some of her passages about Elizabeth, but the praise is ever abundant. I’ve been a reader and studier of the royal family for decades. Queen Elizabeth is now the last of that generation, making the glimpses of her from the diaries even more precious.

The Windsor Diaries gives a great look at life in England during the years of WWII. It tells the story of Althea who relocated to her grandfather's estate in the country due to the bombing occuring in London. There a couple of things that make this diary unique. The first thing is that Althea's grandfather's place was close to the castle that Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret stayed in for much of the war. Althea was close in age to Princess Elizabeth and so developed a friendship with her. Glimpse of which can be seen in the diary. The second thing that makes this unique is that Althea is Catholic in time and place where being Catholic is a very unpopular thing to be. I would use it in my classroom as a supplemental material to give students a first hand account of a life during this time frame from someone who is not much older than themselves.

Thank you to Atria Books and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoy reading books about the Royals-I find their lives and history very interesting. This is the diary of Alathea Fitzalan Howard, who grew up and remained friends with Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. This diary contains a lot of details and gives the reader a different view of the Princesses. I liked it, but sometimes I had a hard time following what was going on. I guess that is because it was a diary, and maybe that was just me. I would have liked to see the footnotes (with the explanations of people and places) placed throughout the chapters instead of at the end of the chapter. This book was very well done if you like story written in diary form.

Everything about this diary makes me so happy and sad at the same time. I felt like I was right there with the princesses and the war time feeling. Alathea Fitzalan Howard really painted an intimate portrait and I greatly appreciated it. Glad that we are getting a kindle edition.

Every once in a while, a book about royalty comes along that offers us genuine insight into the people behind the institution. Altathea Fitzalan Howard spent her childhood in the circle that included Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and her precocious diary offers us a glimpse of the world in which the Queen grew up. Skip the biographies; go straight to the source, and enjoy Fitzalan Howard's description of life in Windsor during the war.

I received an advance reading copy of this book directly from the publisher as well as NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. As a teenager, Alathea Fitzalan kept a detailed diary. She was sent to live with her grandfather, Lord Fitzalan, and aunt at Cumberland Lodge located in Windsor Park during World War II. Alathea's father visited on weekends and her mother was more absent than present. When she did make an appearance, it was usually to criticize her sensitive daughter. This left a lonely teenager craving affection. She found that love and sense of belonging in a most unusual place--Windsor Castle, which was just a bike ride away. Alathea befriended the two young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret. She adored the Queen who was always kind to her and who became a mother figure to her. She detailed the lives of the three girls who were teenagers isolated by war. Alathea writes about bombing raids and hiding in the basement. She also writes about shortages and worries that life will never get back to normal. She even noted the untimely death of her favorite actor, Leslie Howard, but she also talks about her friendship with Elizabeth and Margaret. For most of us, it's hard to imagine the Queen as a youngster, but the giggles and secrets the girls shared are refreshing. I especially liked the story where the three of them walked to a bridge and leaned over the side to see if they could spit on some leaves that were floating below. Elizabeth even confided that she had a crush on a certain handsome prince from Greece. While some of Alathea's observations are childish, we have to remember that she was a child living in extraordinary circumstances. This is a great book for anyone interested in the Royal Family or a fan of The Crown. Alathea's diary entries are filled with interesting anecdotes and fascinating people who crossed her path. It's a great glimpse into history from the viewpoint of a young woman who wanted nothing more than to be a part of a family--royal or otherwise. Nicely done.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Windsor Diaries was exactly what I was expecting, and it was fascinating. Alathea Fitzalan Howard was a good friend of the princesses during the war years, but didn't spend all of her time with them- I feel like I learned a quite a bit about both the royals' lives during the war, but also life in general. I was also a little shocked (but shouldn't have been) at how many people who would go on to play crucial roles in the government or society were casually mentioned. The Windsor Diaries is a good reminder of just how connected the aristocracy and upper classes were (and still are) in Britain.

Because it is a transcribed diary, it can be choppy reading but I had expected that. It may not be the smoothest reading experience, but it does give you a much better idea of how Alathea was feeling when writing. She was rather blunt when writing, which can be a bit funny- if she didn't like what the princesses were wearing, she did not hide it in her diary haha. I found it touching just how important the princesses and their life events were to her. Even if there was nothing else in the diary entry, she noted their birthday. It was heartbreaking to see how badly she wanted to be a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth, and although her diary entries are brief, it was still difficult to read.

All in all, fascinating and a perfect read for royal history buffs!

Memoirs of Alathea, a young woman who lived in Windsor during the war years, and was friends with (then) Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. I am interested in the royal family, so I requested an advance copy as I thought it would be a good read. Unfortunately I found the book to be a bit disappointing and boring. I don't know why I was expecting more drama or excitement from diary entries, but most of the entries that were in this book were not all that interesting (I went to tea, went to drawing, went to work, etc.), except when there was a big party that she attended. Overall it was a decent read, but I didn't learn anything new or interesting about Queen Elizabeth, which was a bit of a letdown.

I received an ARC of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent inside look into having a friendship with the royal family during the war. The normal troubles of a teenager/young woman mixed with the society of the monarchy during trying times. It is easy to forget that Queen Elizabeth was once also a little girl and this book helps to bring back that reality. It wasn’t the most exciting of reads but it is a diary and that is expected.

This book was an interesting view of the royal family as seen from a young girl on the outside, but pressed right up against the widow of their lives, so to speak. I’ve read many accounts of the royal family and their history over the years, so some of this information was known, but there was some new information, or things seen from a different perspective, to learn. Overall, it was entertaining if you’re a fan of this genre.

While this book was enjoyable as a day to day account of llife during WWII for a young woman in close contact with the royal family, I truly wonder at some of the writing. I know it was a different time, but would a 16 year old girl really be saying things like, "I knew I was standing on the threshold of history"? It is an interesting account of a young woman who lived at Windsor Park and was in close contact with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret during the war, taking dancing and drawing lessons with them, going to tea and watching movies. Worth a read if you're interested in the royal family, but I still question some of the writing!

This book covers a few years during WWII. It was an interesting read, but was dry at times. It was a glimpse into the author’s life and her relationship with the Princesses during the war years.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.