Coming soon: The Coburg Conspiracy: Victoria and Albert – Royal Plots and Manoeuvres

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, the Duchy of Coburg, ruled by the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield (later Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) family, was a small, impoverished German fiefdom with no political influence, and little prospect of improving its lot. Less than fifty years later, the family had transformed its position. Just how did they achieve this astonishing turnaround?

With Queen Victoria’s marriage to the Duchy’s Prince Albert, the formerly insignificant dukedom became intrinsically linked with the most powerful empire on earth. Victoria and Albert’s children were matched by Queen and Prince to the most eligible and politically viable royals throughout Europe. But who orchestrated Victoria and Albert’s marriage? Did those responsible realize what a royal powerhouse their matchingmaking would create?

Author Richard Sotnick was inspired to discover just that after a 1975 meeting with Lord Mountbatten. Sotnick studied German at the Goethe Institute and with a personal tutor so that he could understand crucial documents for his research for ‘The Coburg Conspiracy’. He will see the culmination of his work published May 20th.

Majesty Magazine says: ‘A fascinating, riveting tale based on ground-breaking research’.

Sarah Bradford, noted biographer of Queen Elizabeth II, writes: ‘Richard Sotnick’s book is an important addition to Victorian studies: illuminating the darker side of Prince Albert’s impoverished and ambitious family which Queen Victoria regarded as her own with the tragic tale of his rejected mother and the sexual intrigues of the Coburg court. Deploying new material from the Coburg archives, Sotnick convincingly explores the evidence for and against Albert’s illegitimacy. A fascinating book.’

Join me here for my review in May or early June.

“The Coburg Conspiracy” will also be reviewed by… http://ow.ly/1wJ8R

It has been reported that Paul Burrell is about to speak out on the Queen Mother’s relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales.

Burrell, the Princess’ former butler, was said to have been disappointed that Diana was barely mentioned in William Shawcross’ official biography ‘Queen Elizabeth: The Queen Mother’.

A so-called ‘insider’ said: “To be fair, if anyone knows what really went on between Diana and the Queen Mother, it’s Paul. The Shawcross book may just force him finally to tell it how it was, as he can’t stand the idea of Diana being ignored in such a way.”

Steve Dennis, however, says otherwise.

Dennis, the ghost writer for Paul Burrell’s books “Remembering Diana” and “A Royal Duty”, has set the record straight.

“FYI, Paul Burrell’s not spilling the beans at all. Don’t so readily trust everything you read,” Dennis told me via Twitter. “I’m his media advisor. Trust me, these articles are inventions.”

So will Burrell be coming out with another yarn to earn a buck, or is he staying silent like Steve Dennis claims? I guess time will tell…

Steve Dennis is also the author of the book Britney: Inside the Dream and has been an on-air contributor on the Fox News Channel.

An Uncommon Woman – The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm

You will feel great sympathy towards Vicky, the Empress Frederick, who was an unfortunate hostage to the intrigues of the German court. Sympathy will soon give way to awe at her courage and determination to do her best while having to perform the impossible: being all things to all people…

Read more…

Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria

Once there was Vicky, Alice, Helena, Louise, and Beatrice…

Now with Marie, Maud, Ena, Alix, and Sophie, we see the face of Europe change once more. Julia Gelardi’s book is a fascinating study of the lives of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters. It gets slightly difficult to read at times, because each woman’s life is chronicled along side the other. Winding is a good word for the style, but nevertheless, this book is a captivating look at another quintuple of royal kin. The first set was, of course, Queen Victoria’s own daughters, some of whom were the mothers of these powerful women…

Read more…