26 Books Like Kings, Queens & Courtiers

The wittiest of royal biographers, James Pope-Hennessy listed the three consuming passions of Queen Mary (1867-1953) as the British Monarchy, Windsor Castle, and collecting dolls’ house furniture. She was also dedicated to the coaching of her granddaughter Elizabeth as a future Queen. The old Queen’s excursions with the "Little Princesses," Elizabeth and Margaret, to London’s art galleries and museums, were the closest the two girls came to serious education. So read this book if you want to understand Elizabeth II as a child. It remains possible to detect Queen Mary’s reserve and occasional severity in the dutiful style of her eldest granddaughter to this day.  

"I really don’t know what we’re going to do with Margaret, Crawfie!" declared Lilibet anxiously to the original nanny diarist. "Poor Lil," responded Margaret, when rumours of her sister’s romance with Philip hit the papers. "Nothing of your own. Not even your love affair!" In the US, this first inside account of life with the modern royals boosted the circulation of the Ladies’ Home Journal magazine by half a million. But in Britain, Buckingham Palace complained that the letters quoted from the princesses breached royal copyright and insisted they be removed. Lilibet never forgave Crawfie for the betrayal embodied in this sickly, but oh-so-revealing tome.  

Here is the finest and fiercest-ever fusillade of anti-royal protest – complete with weeping Queen on the cover. Just as Elizabeth II was settling to celebrate her first 25 years on the throne, the impertinent Scottish Member of Parliament for Fife, Willie Hamilton (1917-2000), rattled out this broadside of hard-hitting complaint against royal conceit and idleness. Hamilton combined compelling statistics on palace extravagance with his own radical sense of right and wrong. He grudgingly admired Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, as "a remarkable old lady." But he dismissed Princess Margaret as "a floozy" – and Prince Charles as "a twerp." The MP claimed that his busy postbag from the British public ran 7-3 daily against the Crown.   

From the Windsors’ Nazi leanings in the 1930s to the perceived chilliness of the royal family following the death of Diana in 1997, Clive Irving chronicles every detail in this analysis of the modern monarchy – while never losing respect for its most adroit exponent, Queen Elizabeth II. As founder of the renowned Insight team of the London Sunday Times that exposed Profumo and Philby, Irving directs his sharpest focus on the Crown’s relations with the tabloid media. But his book went to publication prior to the horse-loving Queen’s humorous reaction to Harry and Meghan’s notorious 2021 encounter with Oprah Winfrey – Her Majesty named her fastest new racing foal “Interview”. 

This is a charming book, filled with amusing and touching anecdotes by Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Marie Louise, whose lovely character shines through every page.  The simple style and lack of chronological order create the impression that the reader is sitting with the author as she simply recounts her remarkable memories of the people and places of another era. Just beautiful! 

Based on the notes of Queen Victoria’s doctor, Sir James Reid, this book, written by his daughter, gives a wonderful insight into the relationships within the extended Royal Family as well as the numerous ailments with which they were afflicted. There are many amusing episodes, including the Queen’s indignation on hearing that doctors intended to remove her son-in-law’s eye, following a shooting accident; and her refusal to alter her diet to cure her frequent indigestion. Of all the books about Queen Victoria, none gives a more comprehensive account of her final hours, death, and the preparations for her funeral. 

I loved the pacing of the book. It kept me turning pages. I wanted to know more about Lillian Ross. For a debut book, I was impressed with the characterization of Lillian. I wanted to know what made her tick.

The entire book was a study of the mind, why it does what it does, how it sometimes continues to make the same mistakes, and how untreated trauma keeps cycling over and over. 

What could be more quintessentially British than Her Majesty, the Queen, solving murders at her different castles? Her Majesty The Queen Investigates is a charming series based on meticulous research. It offers fascinating insights into the large organization surrounding the palace and a convincing portrait of the Queen herself.

With just the right amount of corgis and murders, Her Majesty the Queen Investigates is a cozy murder series to delight all anglophiles. Fans of The Crown will be especially pleased—the fourth book in the series, A Death in Diamonds, is the start of a historical trilogy.

Although I had not read anything written by Susan Hunter, I’m glad I bought this one. I liked this story based on the mindset the author gave Leah Nash. I sensed Leah’s hesitancy in the beginning (a well-thought-out reason), but her determination to help a friend get answers in an old death case drove her onward and led her to places of best-kept secrets.

The case resonated with me because, like Leah, once I sense the truth within reach and find it, I hold on and never let go. The evidence shouted at me (my background helped me see it). I became concerned Leah might not ever see it until she did.

The first book in an ever-growing world, The Queen’s Executioner introduces us to Daphne Holdfast. 

An immensely talented vision mage, Daphne is able to use her powers to speak to others, to manipulate others, and is unmatched when in combat. And she’s about to find out that her government and religion have been lying to her and the occupants of the Star Continent. Now, she’ll do whatever she can to save the people she loves. 

I fell in love with Daphne from the first introduction of her, and the Star Continent completely and utterly captivated me – from the tip of Kell to the deserts of the Holdings. Both beautiful and deadly in equal parts, depending on who you happened to bump into while roaming the lands.