This was a fantastic historical fiction. It paints an interesting look at what life for Princess Margaret was like and the struggles and joys of being a woman in this time period.

Not my usual genre to read, but when I was offered the book to review, I decided to take a chance. It was an interesting look at the life of Princess Margaret through the eyes of a fictional character, Vera. I liked Vera and thought Margaret was a pistol. 3 1/4 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.

While this isn’t my normal genre, I actually did enjoy the read. For some reason it was hard to get into but once I finally developed a relationship with Vera I found myself invested in her character. I was so happy to see her find her way. The princess was super annoying but I know that was the point of the story. I did some research on Princess Margaret while reading this and found it very on point for her character.

I won this book on a Facebook group as a free read book. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for making it available for me. The views and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. I love learning about the royals and imaging what it’s like for them. Having this glimpse into their life has been fun and I recommend reading.

The Other Windsor Girl is historical fiction based on real events in Princess Margaret’s life from 1949 until the beginning of her courtship and engagement to Antony Armstrong-James in 1957-58. The story is told through the eyes of her friend and eventual second lady in waiting, Vera Strathmore, a fictional character created by the author.

Vera’s fiancé died in WWII so as the novel begins she is grieving as well as feeling trapped in her hum drum life as the daughter of a somewhat impoverished nobleman and an unpleasant critical mother. She is initially embraced by Margaret and her “set” after they read her rather racy book published under a nom de plume, Mrs Lavish. She becomes enthralled with all things royal and is thrilled by her new social circumstances. Through her loyalty and discretion to Margaret she is elevated to a lady in waiting. She fulfills this job for almost 10 years, giving up her secret side career as a writer and her dreams of moving to New York along with any possibility of a long term romantic relationship.

All the while Margaret leads a self centered, rebellious, scandalous life with many suitors and much drama. This period of time is covered well in the TV series The Crown so her doomed relationship with her true love, Captain Townsend and her eventual affair and marriage to photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones were known to me.

Vera was not much better than a lowly servant to Margaret, always on call, but she was fiercely loyal as she didn’t want to go back to being a “nobody” if she pursued her own interests and was no longer in the royal orbit. I felt Vera had a lot going for her and couldn’t really relate to why she didn't voluntarily leave her position after a few years. Eventually she is unceremoniously ousted for voicing her disagreement with Margaret’s insistence on marrying Tony and does move on with her life. All’s well that ends well, at least for Vera.

I thought the framing of Margaret’s story through her eyes was successful and I enjoyed the book,although I didn’t really learn anything new about Margaret. Would give it 3.5 stars.

fictional character about Princess Margaret. I confess that I read this novel after watching all the seasons of The Crown so I could imagine Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret while reading. Coming back to this story Vera is a member of the ton but a baron's daughter and is a writer in disguise. Through this connection she meets Princess Margaret who includes her in her Set and eventually becomes her second lady in waiting. Through her eyes we see the escapades, relationships and the personality of the Princess.
The author has really done an excellent job of portraying the larger than life of the Princess in this novel. But I would have liked to peek into the sensitivity of the Princess which we get once in a while in the novel. I would have loved to read about the loneliness and the real person she was behind the veneer. I know this is a fiction novel and not a biography but I wish the author could have used the real bits and fictionalized it to show the real person underneath all the royal façade. The parallels that the author has portrayed of Vera and the Princess is excellent. Can't reveal too much about Vera without spoilers so skipping that part.

The Other Windsor Girl by Georgie Blalock. A story of Princess Margaret through the eyes of Vera Strathmore her lady in waiting. Vera is a fictional character but gives a perspective on Princess Margaret and how the life of a princess is very demanding. I liked Vera and glad she had a happy ending to her story. This would be a good beach read. I would recommend to friends. Thanks for letting me review

The honorable Vera Strathmore meets Princess Margaret and they become good friends to the point of Vera being offered the position as the Princess's 2nd Lady-in-waiting. Vera sees this as an opportunity to make contacts towards fulfilling her dream of moving to NYC and becoming a successful writer which is something she'd never be able to achieve in her current status. She and Princess Margaret become the best of friends and she is able to live a lavish lifestyle in this position. The Princess is a rebel and is caught between what is expected of her as royalty and what she truly desires. Both women must make the choice of having the luxury and burden of what they have or giving it up for love. This is a novel of fiction though the reality of living either of their lives is eye opening.

I enjoyed reading this story about the younger princess and her rise to fame, her nightlife, and her struggle to discover love.
I really liked learning about some of the struggles she went though in order to gain approval from others. I thought the author did a great job capturing all the emotions in this.

Reading this book will either give you an insight into Princess Margaret’s life as a young woman or will confirm everything you’ve ever known or suspected of her. It confirmed most of what I remember reading about her and, yes, a few things I surmised based on mostly the way she looked in pictures and film of the Royal Family.

She was a rebel within her family but she was ever mindful of who she was and what power she could wield over other people’s lives. Now, she was nowhere as powerful as her Father or Mother or her sister who was heir to the throne and perhaps this is why she did so many of the things that scandalized not only her family but the British public as well. At times her subjects and the newspapers loved her and at other times they vilified her. At times she could do no wrong and other times she could do nothing right. Sadly, she was expected to act like a princess at all times and not bring disgrace to the Monarchy and this was her undoing.

This was a well written and obviously well researched book that I really enjoyed reading. I highly recommend it because although it’s fiction there is so much fact that you will forget you are reading a novel.

Thank you to The Book Club Girls, NetGalley, William Morrow, HarperCollins Publishers and the author Georgie Blalock.

Thank you to William Morrow and Custom House, William Morrow Paperbacks, and Netgalley for access to a digital copy of The Other Windsor Girl by Georgie Blalock in exchange for an honest review.

Princess Margaret lived in the shadow of her sister Elizabeth, yet was continually subjected to the scrutiny of the public in the highly visible life of a high level royal. Vera, her fictional lady in waiting, offers gllimpses of her struggle with this dichotomy as played out in her youthful transgressions (sometimes hidden, sometimes brilliantly shining on the front page).

The book in many ways is less about Princess Margaret and more about Vera, and her attempt to make a life after the loss of her fiance in WWII and limited hereditary funds to support evenher parents aristocratic lifestyles. I found Vera to be interesting in herself, and felt that the novel would have been stronger without the attempt to make Margaret the central charachter.

I was also disappointed that almost the entire focus on the Princess was about her scandalous activities. While she definitely had a life of tumult, her charachter as written in this novel is one dimensional with only minor nods to her interactions with the general public and barely a hint toward any positive attributes.

I enjoyed the writing style, and was able to stay engaged with the book overall, but I would not recommend this to someone who is thinking they'd learn a lot about Princess Margaret.

Princess Margaret has been fascinating to me because she was a princess, but had little chance of obtaining the throne so she just enjoyed life. She put her nose up to some of the traditional customs of the Royal family, especially on the subject of love. This book does a wonderful job of making me feel like I was a fly on the wall watching the events of Margaret's first love unfold. What was fun about this is that we saw it all from Vera's eyes. Vera is a novelist whose talent has caught the eye of Margaret and that is how we get glimpses into the royal life.

While not all the details are historically accurate, the book is very enjoyable.

A retelling of Princess Margaret’s story from her ill fated love affair with Group Captain Peter Townsend to her desire to be married at all costs and luckily Tony Armstrong Jones comes along at just the right time.

As the troubled spoilt younger sister of Queen Elizabeth life was never going to be easy for Margaret and Georgie Blalock doesn’t hold back in telling a semi fictional story of what life might have been like for the Princess and those that served her and partied with her. The story is told through the eyes of her lady in waiting Vera Strathmore who becomes her friend and confidante.
It is an easy light read and if you like the Crown you will like this story.

This is a fascinating peak into the behind the scene lives of the royal family. Blalok presents the story told from the pint of view of one of Margaret’s ladies in waiting, From the blues clubs to the palace the reader sees the life that forms Margaret’s personality. Jumping from a minor role in the royal family she becomes a royal princess second only to Elizabeth when Edward abdicates the throne. Her lack of control of her own destiny leads to tragedy in her love life. A throughly enjoyable read.

I enjoyed the storylines and character development. I was impressed by many of the historical refeneces. It was an easy read.

When people think of the Royal Family, they think of Queen Elizabeth-crowned the Queen at a young age. But what a refreshing read to learn about her sister Princess Margaret.

This story was about the younger princess (the spare) and her rise to fame, her party life, and her struggle to find true love.

We are taken in this journey through her lady in waiting-we see how the princess craves approval and attention, and eventually-how the love of her life is sent away from her because of the way marriages and divorces are perceived in the Kingdom.

Princess Margaret lives a life that people can only dream of-but is it really all it’s cracked up to be? As friend after friend gets married, the Princess is alone.

The author was really able to get the reader to feel emotions for the spoiled Princess-and mostly empathy, (and a relief that none of us have to live that life!)

I really enjoyed this book. I am a huge fan of The Crown and now being all caught up on The Crown I was searching to learn more. This is a great insightful book into Princess Margaret and the challenges she has faced throughout her life.

I’m a British Royal junkie, and after watching The Crown, I became especially interested in Princess Margaret. Georgie Blalock’s marvelous THE OTHER WINDSOR GIRL, told me all I wanted to know and more. This is an engrossing tale as told by Margaret’s fictitious lady in waiting. Seems Queen Elizabeth’s sister was a rebel from the first, and really wanted to be queen while Elizabeth never did. Unlucky in love, too fond of alcohol and the limelight, Margaret never found lasting happiness. An engrossing, heartbreaking tale that proves that having it all may not be enough. Out now.

5 of 5 Stars
#TheOtherWindsorGirl #NetGalley

Thanks to the author, William Morrow and Custom House, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

I was very disappointed in the book. There was a basic story but nothing of interest. Most of the book focused on women's drinking, smoking and parties. A lot of time was spent on socialization rules but not enough of a story line to hold my attention or interest.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the opportunity to read and review The Other Windsor Girl. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Princess Margaret (sorry, I haven't watched The Crown... so she was entirely new to me!) through the eyes of a fictional friend/lady in waiting. I found myself Googling various members/spouses of the royal family I knew nothing about and learning a lot more about post-WWII British history than I ever would have thought. The fashion, cultural changes, landscape, and food all played supporting characters in this clever retelling of modern history. Having been to London and many of the places described provided a mental backdrop that was particularly enjoyable.