The Queen and I

The Queen and I #1

by Sue Townsend

Townsend, author of the phenomenally successful Adrian Mole books, here brings off an audacious notion with considerable elan. She imagines a Britain where an unforgiving, newly elected Republican Party decides that the entire Royal Family must learn to live like other Britons, or in their case, like desperately poor lower-class Britons on a hideous housing estate in a provincial city.

A notable farceur, Townsend has terrific fun imagining how they would cope: the Queen buckles down sturdily, mindful of stiff-upper-lip duty; Prince Philip goes to pieces and takes to his bed; Margaret remains a royal pain, perpetually and irritably in search of a cigarette; Diana haunts thrift shops for designer castoffs and snares a flashy West Indian boyfriend; Charles, infatuated with a zaftig neighbor, gets involved in a brawl and is jailed, while his organic garden goes to pieces; Anne copes stolidly, much helped by the gift of a horse and the Queen Mum, never quite aware of what is happening, dies peacefully in her little bungalow, and has a splendid horse-drawn funeral in a home-made coffin. Meanwhile Harris, the Queen's corgi, runs wild with a pack of mongrels.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Comedy, British Literature, Contemporary, Satire, Novels

267 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Susan Lillian "Sue" Townsend was a British novelist, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole series of books. Her writing tended to combine comedy with social commentary, though she has written purely dramatic works as well. She suffered from diabetes for many years, as a result of which she was registered blind in 2001, and had woven this theme into her work.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid four-star comic book of that particular kind of dry British humour but more bouncy, because Sue Townsend of the The Adrian Mole Diaries series fame is bouncy. She has also been a noted and outspoken socialist (for Americans: this is a perfectly acceptable and mainstream thing to be in the UK, Europe in general, unlike in the US) and here she carries all that to the extreme.

Essentially the book is about what would happen if a Marxist government took over and tossed the Queen and her fam out of Buckingham Palace and sent her to a sink estate to live on benefits. It's quite cleverly worked out and all the royal family stay in the characters we "know" them to be from the media.

Then she effing ruins it with an ending so crap that even Jodi Picoult, mistress of the cop-out ending, would be all agasp at such a cheap shot.

If you aren't going to read the book, then this is the ending, it's all a dream.

Four stars demoted to three stars for that!

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever cared to take time to read British royal family gossip - and I think that it didn't matter you liked it or not, you still did, because it was everywhere - this book will be absolutely relevant to you. Plus fun. I'm a sucker for royal gossip and all my life, since I was teen, I've been checking magazines for some British "dirt". I know more about Windsors than about some of my actual neighbours. So it's pretty weird that I've read this book just now.

The premise is surreal and you can say author took a small revenge on royal family, especially on some if its members (nobody ever likes Philip, eh? you can definitely notice Townsend's likes/dislikes here), but at the same time queen Elizabeth gets some love and respect, which is cute. And I think she deserves that.



Cute, fun and light read, with quite unexpected ending.

[Eddie Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pleasant story with some funny lines.

However, "The Prince and the Pauper" theme really needs both sides of the story to be complete.

In this story, the royal family are forced to live on a council estate and of course hilarious hi-jinks then ensue.

We really needed to see a family from the council estate taking on their royal lifestyles for comparison purposes.

Sue Townsend obviously knows what an estate is like, but falls into the trap of making poor people "the salt of the earth", all ready to help the royals and each other. People are only on benefits because of the recession, and the system is against them etc. Even the deadbeats and criminals on the estate aren't really bad people, in this story.

Having grown up on council estates, I think that some poor people are lazy, incompetent, spiteful and unhelpful, just like better off people. That being said, poor people can be just as noble, self-sacrificing and friendly as anyone with more money.

There is no plot other than the displacement of the royals and this joke quickly wears a bit thin.

All things considered, this should really have been a short story, because it didn't have the legs to be a novel.

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07qsljj

Moving Day: 1992: Evicted by a new government, can the Royal family cope with life outside their palaces? Sue Townsend's novel is read in eight parts by Miriam Margolyes - a performance which won her the award for Best Radio Actress of 1992.

Hell Close: Now just Mrs Windsor, can the former monarch navigate a world with social workers and rowdy neighbours?

Affray: Now plain Mrs Windsor, can the former Queen deal with a council estate crisis? And money is short.

It was just a dream...

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very short read...only 95 pages. For myself that was a good thing because I found it a bit on the ridiculous side. I truly believe that the current Queen of England would be extremely capable of coping with whatever situation she found herself in. After all, this remarkable woman repaired trucks during the war so I believe she could handle a housing development and nosey neighbors. Perhaps the author meant to leave the reader thinking of the possibilities and that the world would be a better place if we treated each other with more respect and understanding. I never got into the story and perhaps that was because I wasn't prepared to "suspend my disbelief" this much, and I really don't believe the situation could actually ever happen. Some of the dialog between characters is written quite childishly and it's just not that funny! Perhaps the author may have had second thoughts and a fear of going too far in upsetting the majority.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a zany novel that is very much British humour--it also helps to remember that it's set in 1992, so if you are younger be sure to refresh yourself a bit.

This novel was rather bizarre for me, so unlike the most popular review in the list the ending made it better for me.

This novel starts on April 9, 1992 (and the book was first published in 1992) with the election. Voila, the anti-monarchist Republican party wins and the royal family is given a very short time to relocate to two bedroom semis (aka semi-detached, aka duplex, welfare housing, and to live on a pension along with paupers and it's illegal to call them by royal titles or treat them any differently than anyone else this is completely unbelievable since not only did the then-Princess Diana have her own wealth, but the British royal family all have private holdings, but of course the humour is set up on the myth that they own nothing of their own.) where we see who rises up to the occasion, who doesn't and how various people react. I disagree that the late Queen would have laughed at this (so it claims on the book).

I did laugh a couple of times, but for the most part the humour wasn't my cup of tea.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those books that I swore I'd read but hadn't. I think it was so well publicised when it was published that I'd conned myself into thinking I'd read it.

Anyway, The Queen and I is set sometime in the 1980s. A general election puts anti-Royalist, Jack Barker, in charge and the day after the election the Queen wakes up to find she and her whole family are to be turfed out of their palaces to live on Hellebore (Hell) Close where they will all have to manage on state benefits.

The response to the move affects all the royal family in different ways but it's the reactions of the neighbours which are funniest as the realise that the royals are just people.

Frankly I dispute that Queenie would be anything but resilient but I do like Charles and Anne's reactions to their new circumstances.

There's a lovely twist at the end too, which I really didn't see coming.

I'd definitely recommend this fun book but you might want to check on the status of the royals at the time the book was written ie Charles and Diana still a couple, Prince Philip and the Queen Mother alive etc. It'll make more sense if you were born long after the events.

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd always intended to read more of Sue Townsend's works that weren't Adrian Mole (ah, Adrian) and I'm saddened that it was her death that reminded me of this and prompted me to pick this one up.

This is a great satire; bonkers in places and it's best to just go with the flow (the way in which the republican government is elected, fr'instance, is daft) because it is very very funny. I loved that it was Prince Phillip who just refused to get out of bed while all the others made a go of it, I loved the accents ("could I possibly borrow an axe?" "An ix?" "Yes, an axe." "What's an ix?") and I loved the Queen Mums gambling. Parts of it were very sweet as well, there's a real sense of the community there.

The ending is a bit mad, mind, but I'm not sure where else she could have gone with it!

I'd love to see a modern day version with grown up Wills and Harry, and Kate. But who will write it now? Oh Sue, we miss you already!

[BrokenTune · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure where to start with this one. The blurb on the back-cover looked quite an interesting premise: A socialist government wins the election and the Royal family are evicted to council housing, and told to get on without any staff or commodities.

Apart from Harris, the corgie, all the family members are portrayed the same way as you would expect in the papers or a pretty lame impressions show, which makes the plot quite tepid and disappointing when comparing it to other caricatures such as Gin O'Clock.

And, oh yes, the ending - just a tad predictable...

[Elina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα πανέξυπνο, αστείο και απολαυστικό μυθιστόρημα, που εξιστορεί την κατάργηση της βασιλείας στην Αγγλία μετά την ανάδειξη λαϊκού κόμματος στην εξουσία στις εκλογές. Την επόμενη μέρα ο νεο εκλεγής πρωθυπουργός, ανακοινώνει στην Βασίλισσα Ελισάβετ ότι δυστυχώς θα πρέπει να μαζέψουν κάποια πράγματά τους και να πάνε να ζήσουν σε μια περιοχή με εργατικές κατοικίες σε μια φτωχογειτονιά του Λονδίνου. Εννοείται ότι μαζί μετακομίζουν ο Κάρολος με την Νταϊάνα και τα παιδιά τους άλλα και όλοι οι λοιποί διαμένοντες στο Μπάκινγχαμ. Σπιρτόζικο κι αστείο δεν μπορούσα να το αφήσω απ' τα χέρια μου! Φυσικά προτείνεται!!!

[Abril Camino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta novela parte de una premisa original: en Reino Unido gana las elecciones un partido republicano y la familia real es depuesta y tiene que aprender a vivir como la gente "normal". Es una comedia y una sátira muy interesante y bien escrita, aunque es cierto que tiene treinta años y en algunos sentidos ha envejecido regular. Pero me lo he pasado pipa leyéndolo. Una de esas joyitas que se encuentran en librerías de segunda mano.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine if the UK became a Republic and the Royal Family were sent to live on a housing estate and told to live like ordinary Britons. How would they cope? How would they adapt? This very scenario is explored in this rather funny little story by Sue Townsend. This was the first book that I have read by this author and it came highly recommended by a friend. On the whole I found it a really enjoyable read.

This was a very quick and easy book to read. The story unfolds at a good pace and the humor, which is undeniably British, really kept me wanting to turn the pages in order to see what would happen next and to which unsuspecting member of the Royal Family. The depictions of each member of the Royal Family stay very true to how they are often portrayed in the press and on tv comedy shows and the results are pretty amusing. My two personal favourites were Prince Phillip and Prince Charles (who owing to the year that the book was written is still married to Princess Diana). I can't say that I found this book laugh-out-loud funny all the way through because I didn't but I certainly had a big grin on my face whilst reading it and it did make me chuckle to myself on occasions.

The reason why this lost a star from me is because I found the ending to be somewhat weak and disappointing. I had suspected that it may turn out that way but I was really hoping that it wouldn't. The ending took some of the shine off what had been a really enjoyable read up to that point. If it had ended differently, I may well have given it a 5 star rating.

To sum up, this was a really enjoyable book that kept me amused and held my interest throughout. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a quick, easy read that doesn't take itself too seriously. The humor has a distinct British feel to it but don't let that put you off reading it. I think this is a book that anyone can enjoy, British or not.

[Redfox5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may just be the best book I've read all year! I couldn't put it down. This was the first time I've read one of Townsend's book, that wasn't part of the Adrian Mole series. I think I preferred this.

A Republican party wins the election and the Royal family are evicted to a council estate to live on benefits. The Queen gets on as best as she can and Philip just refuses to get dressed or eat. Charles seems to be enjoying himself though.

This is really funny and I'm pretty sure I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. And although would be horrified if the monarchy was disbanded, it was fun to imagine what it would be like for them. Also loved the way that all the working class neighbours rallied round them.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best audio experiences ever. Read by Barbara Rosenblatt, who managed to nail the various voices, I remember reading while walking and bursting into laughter. A visit by the Queen to NHS had me doubled over. Sadly, since it was written before the divorce and death of Diana, and she is present and gently included in the satire, but if you can get an audible copy, do so.

[Elys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is not aimed at children, I used extracts from it (with adult language edited out!) for Year 5/6 Literacy lessons during ‘Jubilee Week’. It’s a very entertaining fantasy about a republican government taking office and ordering the Queen to abdicate. The Royal Family are then ‘relocated’ to Hellebore Close (but the missing letters from the street sign leave “Hell Close”), a council estate somewhere up the M1. Elizabeth gets a social worker, Phillip gets clinical depression, Charles grows a ponytail and goes to prison, and Anne starts dating a carpet fitter called Spiggy.

I wanted to use this book, partly as an antidote to all the ardently royalist activities that were organised for the week, and also to encourage critical thinking amongst the children about the concept of monarchy and social fairness. We had some very interesting discussions about societal hierarchies as a result of reading this text!

In terms of activities, the children diary entries as the Queen, and wrote a continuation of one of the extracts. Many of their efforts were really wonderfully written, and very funny. It was a very successful series of lessons, and good for the children (many of them self-declared republicans) to see an alternative and light-hearted view of monarchy being promoted in school.

[Orbi Alter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Velika sam obozavateljica genijalne Sue, u Adriana sam beznadezno zaljubljena pa si gustam kopati po njenim draguljima. Ova knjiga ima sve! Na momente sam se bas odvalila glasno smijati, a to moze samo ona i Pratchettic. Znaci, republikanci dolaze na vlast, kraljevska obitelj mora abdicirati i smjestiti se u opcinske stanove s minimalnom kvadraturom i pokvarenim sustavom grijanja, a i socijalna sluzba im je stalno za vratom. I ne snalaze se niti s peglom, niti s otvaranjem konzervi, neki cak padaju u depre i zele umrijeti, neki odlaze u zatvor i sl. Susjedstvo Kukuriku dolca je, kao i kraljevska obitelj iskarikirano na entu, ali pokazuju nevjerojatnu srcanost u tom cudnom suzivotu. Obozavam njezinu britkost, genijalnost, satiru i taj britanski humor. Obozavam. Preporuka svima koji gustaju u tom tipu humora. Bas je pametan odmor za dusu! I totalno mozes zamislit sve te face :))))

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eine grandiose Ausgangssituation: Die Republikaner haben die Wahlen gewonnen, die königliche Familie wird von einem auf den anderen Tag abgesetzt, ihrer Titel und Ämter beraubt, deren Vermögen verstaatlicht, und muss nun in vom Staat zur Verfügung gestellten Sozialwohnungen hausen. Dabei werden sie in das übelste Viertel von London - namens Hellbore (from hell and boring) verfrachtet, wo sie in die indigene Sozialschmarotzerbevölkerung integriert werden sollten - so ala Familie Flodder trifft Windsor.

Was durch die Konstruktion der Story wie eine aufgelegte Steilvorlage für Situationskomik, Wortwitz, absurde Integrationsgeschichtln, und britische Ironie zu sein scheint, ist leider nur mäßig witzig. Mir ist schleierhaft, wie man solche Vorteile nicht besser nutzen konnte. Auch wird die königliche Familie einfach viel zu wenig durch den Kakao gezogen, fast schon nett, viel zu schmeichelhaft und integrationswillig werden sie beschrieben. Eigentlich würden sie ja mit ihrem gruseligen Weltbild und ihrem Snobismus viel mehr auf Konfrontationskurs mit einer "normalen" Umgebung abonniert sein und gleichzeitig mit Ihrem grausigen Humor und ihrer Obszönität perfekt in das Floddersche Universum der Sozialhilfeempfänger passen. Soviel habe ich von Heathcote Williams in seinem Buch The Royal Babylon gelernt, der bei weitem nicht so devot mit Königs umgegangen ist und dadurch ein weitaus witzigeres Buch geschrieben hat.

Nichtsdestotrotz sind einige Ideen sehr nett und haben mir leichte, seichte und somit angenehme Unterhaltung beschert, vor allem die politischen Implikationen am Ende des Buches mit dem Ausland sind eine gute Idee.

Fazit: Mittelmäßig, ein leicht und schnell zu lesendes Buch für zwischendurch.

[Ella Belakovska · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had wanted to read this for years ever since I first heard about it. By the time I got around to it, half the characters in this book have long since departed, and the relationships depicted are clearly based on what (we thought) we knew back then.

I am sure that, at the time of its release, The Queen and I was seen as an edgy, irreverent exploration of a Republican Britain, but I really don't think it has aged well, even outwith the misrepresentations of Charles and Diana's marriage etc. Some of the exchanges between characters are written quite childishly and... well, it's just not that funny! Sue Townsend built her reputation on providing sharp, witty commentary through her Adrian Mole diaries, but her observational humour is lacking here. In its place are poor caricatures in a ludicrous situation that has just crossed the boundaries of satire. Interestingly, Townsend's depiction of the Queen herself is actually quite sympathetic and I am not sure if this is indicative of an underlying respect for the monarch or if this was borne of a fear of going too far in upsetting the establishment.

Personally, I don't think she went far enough and perhaps if had been written even a few years later, when the wheels were falling off the Royal Family, we might have had a more daring and anarchic novel. I agree with other reviewers that the ending was a cop out but it was flagged up in the opening chapter! I don't know why so many people missed it, there really wasn't any attempt to disguise it. I will refrain from saying what it is though, just in case I get accused of revealing spoilers!

A disappointing read, I am afraid.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous fun! This book posits that the Queen's nightmare comes true - a Republican party swoops to power in Britain, on the back of subliminal TV messages which incite the nation to do away with the monarchy. While the Royal family are not harmed, they are confined to a rundown housing estate with ordinary out of work neighbours and given a barely adequate dole.

The Queen is our central character and she is called the Queen all through, though her family are swiftly just Margaret, Anne, Charles etc. and Princess Diana features too. Harry and William are, like a corgi, swiftly off behaving like young hooligans with the other hooligans. Anne befriends someone who asks to keep his horse in her garden, while Charles is delighted to do some gardening. Poor Philip becomes extremely depressed and the QM drifts off to a past world of memories. Our heroine the Queen has to learn how to open cans, feed her family and fit into a tiny council house, but we see her persevere and adapt, taking in her stride the full spread of life from births to death.

I had previously read Queen Camilla - the later follow-up - and now I'll have to go and read it again. While the books are obvious spoofs, the fun comes from the culture contrast and we get to know and like the new neighbours as much as we already think we know the Royals. The story is splendid with a kind heart and a wry smile.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know this book was published years ago, but somehow I just never got around to reading it until now.

It is 1992, a Republican Government has got into power in Britain and The Queen and her family are ordered out of Buckingham Palace and forced to move onto one of the worst council estates in the Midlands.

This is such a funny read and although dated, it is still pretty relevant today - and shows the holes in our society. There is no major plot line and to be honest not a lot does happen in the book, but the observations of the Royals, the council estate dwellers and how they live together is fabulous. There are some really moving parts, some very funny parts and in places, it really makes you consider our society.

Prince Charles is on the run, wearing a shell suit and sporting a pony tail. Princess Anne is riding up and down the council estate on a gypsy horse that she keeps in a bright pink stable, Prince Phillip is totally crackers and William and Harry are fully-fledged hoodies.

A really witty, clever and poignant read - ideal for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

[Madame Histoire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very fond of the British royal family & enjoy non-fiction as well as parody of their history & life. This book thus looked promising. I got attracted to it by its pretty cover. The storyline is that the Queen & her family are dismissed and must learn to live as a family living from benefits. Putting aside the fact that this could never ever happen this way IRL, even if the monarchy were to fall someday, I begun to read, expecting "laughing-out-loud funny" as the Sunday Telegraph promised. Unfortunately, the cliches about the family and their posh incapacity to do anything else than begin served are pushed too far and rather an comical, it's this whole book that is a joke & a waste of time.
I only smiled once when some man tells to the Queen in the bus : "aw c'mon lassie, let yourself go. You've got a face on you like a wet Sunday in Aberdeen." And this is still not laughing-out-loud funny!
The awful ending was the final blow. One star!

[Shu cortesi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever i want a laugh, i pick up this trusty book. For me the best of Sue Townsend.

[Vichta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autorka najwyraźniej nie przepada za brytyjską rodziną królewską i dała temu wyraz w tej humorystycznej powieści. Postaci, które znane są z głównych mediów na całym świecie odmalowane zostały naprawdę karykaturalnie.

Historia alternatywna. W roku 1992, w Zjednoczonym Królestwie, wybory wygrywa niedawno utworzona partia republikańska. Jednym z pierwszych posunięć nowego rządu jest... likwidacja monarchii. Royal family zostaje pozbawiona całego majątku. Wszyscy muszą opuścić zajmowane dotychczas pałace i przeprowadzić się do domków socjalnych na podrzędnym osiedlu. Mogą zabrać ze sobą tylko to, co zmieści się w nowych lokalach. Nie, panie Windsor, nie może pan zabrać konia.

Początki są koszmarne. Gdzie będzie mieszkać służba? Oh! nie będzie żadnej? Jak otworzyć puszkę, nie obcinając sobie przy okazji ręki? Skąd wziąć 50-pensówkę, żeby doładować gaz? I jak zdobywa się papier toaletowy? Królowa osobiście musi stać w kolejce po zasiłek. Karol dowiaduje się, że może zoperować sobie uszy, ale... w ramach państwowej służby zdrowia. Jednak wszyscy są zgodni, że lepsze to, niż stanąć pod ścianą i dostać kulkę w łeb.

Sąsiedzi zostali zobowiązani, żeby traktować royalsów tak samo, jak każdego innego obywatela. Ale jak się zwracać do kogoś, czyją głowę, po polizaniu, nalepia się na kopertę?

Zakończenie zaskakujące, choć znane mi z innej powieści.

Audiobook w wykonaniu Włodzimierza Pressa, to kilka godzin naprawdę świetnej zabawy.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to give it merely 2 stars, but then it mentioned "Three Men In A Boat", "The House at Pooh Corner" and "The Wind in the Willows" on just one page. I mean come on. Easy extra star for awesome intertextuality. :)

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. 4.5 stars.

[Arne Patat · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first it is weird, then it gets wacky, and at the end it becomes a full-blown fever-dream.
Also funny to read this at the time of the UK elections.

[Giggle Snort · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEWED BY JOJO WRITES

The Queen and I

By: Sue Townsend

Where do I begin with this one? Delightfully funny and light, this is definitely one to read on cold, winter nights with a glass of wine or hot chocolate or on a hot beach with a cocktail. Basically, location doesn’t matter as everything dissolves into the background once the first chapter is completed.

When it was originally published in 1992 I borrowed a copy from my Mother and devoured it cover to cover. I was only 10 or 11 years old at time, but having read it in subsequent years it has only gotten funnier.

The Queen and her brood are evicted and have to live amongst the great un-washed on a council estate in housing that falls far below par. As they come to terms with their situation, the Royals meet fantastic characters and deal with the predicament in their own ways (not necessarily how you’d first expect). With The Queen in a pensioners bungalow and the Queen Mother having ‘meals on wheels’, it’s a book that keeps you laughing, crying and reeling in despair from beginning to end.

“Mr Barker, there is no mention of dogs here,” said the Queen.

“One per family,” said Jack.

“Horses?” asked Charles.

“Would you keep a horse in a council house garden?”

“No. Quite. One wasn’t thinking.”

“Clothes aren’t on the list,” said Diana, shyly.

“You won’t be needing much. Just the bare essentials. You won’t be making personal appearances, will you?”

Princess Anne rose and stood next to her father. “Thank God for that! At least something good has come out of this bloody shambles. Are you all right, Pa?”

If you enjoyed Sue’s other offerings such as ‘Adrian Mole’, this certainly won’t disappoint. Her easy and engaging style of writing really puts you in the story to empathise with and laugh at the characters.

- JoJo Writes
Giggle/Snort Files

The Queen and I

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming what-if, fish-out-of-water story. Anti-monarchists win the election and their first action is to transfer the royal family into low-income housing in a rough neighborhood. The author does a good job of applying characteristics of the real-life individuals to their corresponding characters, so it's entertaining to see how each copes with the drastic change in circumstances. At turns bittersweet and amusing, it's a thought-provoking and insightful yarn. Some have complained about the ending, but I think it works. (And for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how else Ms. Townsend could have ended it, since the conclusion is entirely congruent with other aspects of the story.)

[Tamera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago. It amused me greatly. It's pretty dated at this point, however. It takes place before Diana and Charles divorce and the boys are slightly older than toddlers.

The premise alone is an absurd hoot: a new prime minister had dissolved the monarchy and put the royal family on the dole. They are forced to move into government housing. As the various family members try to cope with this extreme change in status, the individual quirks and eccentricities move to the forefront.

If you've read any of Sue Townsend's "Adrian Mole" novels, you already appreciate her farcical sense of humor. With this novel it really shines.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if the Royal Family was kicked out of Buckingham Palace, forced to live as "commoners", and go on the dole? That is the question Sue Townsend answers in this laugh-out-loud novel. Uprooted from their lives, it is interesting to see who adapts to the change and who struggles. Plus it was fun to go back in time to when Charles and Diana were married and William and Harry just young boys.

If you have any interest in England's class system or the royal family and you want a good laugh, definitely give this one a go. It's a winner!