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The Royal Marriages
Royal insider and author of the New York Times bestseller Diana in Private, Lady Colin Campbell takes readers behind the palace walls of silence to reveal the secret agendas that have made all the storybook marriages crumble. 8 pages of color photos. Martin's.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Lady Colin Campbell
15 books152 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Lady Colin Campbell, (née Georgia Arianna Ziadie, known as Georgie), is a British writer, biographer, autobiographer, novelist, and television and radio personality, known for her biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, The Real Diana, as well as for other books on the Royal Family and wealthy people.
Campbell was born in Jamaica, the child of Michael and Gloria Ziadie. The Ziadie family is prominent in Jamaica, the descendants of six Maronite Catholic brothers who emigrated from Lebanon in the early 20th century; she says they have gone from being "revered to reviled to treasured as exotica." Her father was of royal Russian bloodline. His family were Greek Orthodox Catholic who had settled in Lebanon. Her mother came from English, Irish, Portuguese and Spanish ancestry. Her maternal great-grandmother, family name De Pass, was Sephardic Jew.
In 1974, she married Lord Colin Ivar Campbell, the son of Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll; she divorced him in 1975.
She is the mother of two adopted Russian-born sons, Dima and Misha. She lives in Kennington, UK.
Lady Colin Campbell, (née Georgia Arianna Ziadie, known as Georgie), is a British writer, biographer, autobiographer, novelist, and television and radio personality, known for her biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, The Real Diana, as well as for other books on the Royal Family and wealthy people.
Campbell was born in Jamaica, the child of Michael and Gloria Ziadie. The Ziadie family is prominent in Jamaica, the descendants of six Maronite Catholic brothers who emigrated from Lebanon in the early 20th century; she says they have gone from being "revered to reviled to treasured as exotica." Her father was of royal Russian bloodline. His family were Greek Orthodox Catholic who had settled in Lebanon. Her mother came from English, Irish, Portuguese and Spanish ancestry. Her maternal great-grandmother, family name De Pass, was Sephardic Jew.
In 1974, she married Lord Colin Ivar Campbell, the son of Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll; she divorced him in 1975.
She is the mother of two adopted Russian-born sons, Dima and Misha. She lives in Kennington, UK.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 13, 2021
(1993) WOW! Lady Colin Campbell has been called nasty and bitter, having only been married for 10 months to a peer of the realm, but this book is amazing! She seems to have great insight and a wealth of information about the Royals' personal lives. Unflattering comments about Diana were a shock to this reader, as well as many positive comments about Fergie. It appears to be brutally honest and well written. Hmmm, who are her sources?
August 15, 2019
If you are interested in the secrets of what went on in various royal marriages then you may well enjoy this book by a royal insider with access to friends of the Royals themselves, along with the gossip that flew and whether or not there was truth to each rumour. This book mainly looks at the marriages of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and King George VI, Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Charles and Diana and Andrew and Sarah. There is also information about Anne and Mark/Tim. I base my review purely on entertainment provided by the book and not on factual accuracy, as I'm taking the word of the author that the details provided are true.
The book looks at Elizabeth's preferences to marry David, Prince of Wales (King Edward ) or a servant of Bertie's rather than the man himself, her hatred for Wallis Simpson and the abdication, her reputation as a vain social climber, her frequent bouts of illness when she wanted to avoid something and her fierce loyalty to Bertie when they did eventually marry, changing him from stuttering shy brother to a King to be proud of, and Bertie's alleged affairs. Their daughter Elizabeth fought to marry Phillip from a family of deposed Greek royalty against the wishes of her family, her government and many in the country. It looks at the rumours of his infidelity, his family ties, courtiers trying to stop him attending events by her side to humiliate him, allegations of Elizabeth having an affair that led to the birth of Andrew.
Moving on the book looks at the marriage of Charles and Diana. It covers Diana's desire to marry Andrew until Charles became available, pretending to love the country pursuits that he did when she didn't have anything in common with him, her bulimia and mental health issues, his difficulty dealing with her health issues and jealousy over him spending time with their children, her affairs and Charles finally going back to his true love Camilla. For Sarah and Andrew it was his failure to defend her when everything she did or said or wore was picked out that made her seek attention from other men and finally ruined their marriage. It also looks at both marriages of Anne which I find particularly interesting as we don't see much about that in the newspapers.
I liked that the author looked at the worst rumours and squashed a few of them flat so the book wasn't just about mud slinging for the sake of it. It was interesting to read a bit more about the real personalities of the Royals and exploring why some of the marriages lasted while others crumbled. It was interesting to note that it was the issues with bulimia that fueled Diana's jealousy and paranoia and that Charles was gradually worn down by dealing with it all-meaning that they were both victims in the end. It was a bit sad to see how Sarah and Andrew could have worked things out if they had just talked to each other!
I do enjoy some royal gossip to entertain! The book is certainly full of that and I liked that it covered several of the different marriages and not just Charles and Diana. The one thing that lost me was the detail about the complicated Greek family tree which had long info dumps about countless princes and princesses marrying other princes and princesses. I was totally lost as to who was who and for me, it wasn't necessary to know anything more than Phillip's parents and Lord Mountbatten as they were relevant to the story. The various marriages of his sibling and their various relations were not required for the book. The fact that there were so many people mentioned meant that a printed family tree graphic was needed to keep things clear! This section can be easily skipped if required.
If you are interested in the gossip behind the royal headlines, you might enjoy this one.
The book looks at Elizabeth's preferences to marry David, Prince of Wales (King Edward ) or a servant of Bertie's rather than the man himself, her hatred for Wallis Simpson and the abdication, her reputation as a vain social climber, her frequent bouts of illness when she wanted to avoid something and her fierce loyalty to Bertie when they did eventually marry, changing him from stuttering shy brother to a King to be proud of, and Bertie's alleged affairs. Their daughter Elizabeth fought to marry Phillip from a family of deposed Greek royalty against the wishes of her family, her government and many in the country. It looks at the rumours of his infidelity, his family ties, courtiers trying to stop him attending events by her side to humiliate him, allegations of Elizabeth having an affair that led to the birth of Andrew.
Moving on the book looks at the marriage of Charles and Diana. It covers Diana's desire to marry Andrew until Charles became available, pretending to love the country pursuits that he did when she didn't have anything in common with him, her bulimia and mental health issues, his difficulty dealing with her health issues and jealousy over him spending time with their children, her affairs and Charles finally going back to his true love Camilla. For Sarah and Andrew it was his failure to defend her when everything she did or said or wore was picked out that made her seek attention from other men and finally ruined their marriage. It also looks at both marriages of Anne which I find particularly interesting as we don't see much about that in the newspapers.
I liked that the author looked at the worst rumours and squashed a few of them flat so the book wasn't just about mud slinging for the sake of it. It was interesting to read a bit more about the real personalities of the Royals and exploring why some of the marriages lasted while others crumbled. It was interesting to note that it was the issues with bulimia that fueled Diana's jealousy and paranoia and that Charles was gradually worn down by dealing with it all-meaning that they were both victims in the end. It was a bit sad to see how Sarah and Andrew could have worked things out if they had just talked to each other!
I do enjoy some royal gossip to entertain! The book is certainly full of that and I liked that it covered several of the different marriages and not just Charles and Diana. The one thing that lost me was the detail about the complicated Greek family tree which had long info dumps about countless princes and princesses marrying other princes and princesses. I was totally lost as to who was who and for me, it wasn't necessary to know anything more than Phillip's parents and Lord Mountbatten as they were relevant to the story. The various marriages of his sibling and their various relations were not required for the book. The fact that there were so many people mentioned meant that a printed family tree graphic was needed to keep things clear! This section can be easily skipped if required.
If you are interested in the gossip behind the royal headlines, you might enjoy this one.
June 19, 2020
Quite a revealing, detailed yet concise account of the private lives of the current queen and her children (Charles, Anne, Andrew but not Edward because he did not marry until 1999, after this book was written).
Not just a rehash of the tabloid stories that anyone could look up.... Offers the stories behind the story. I won't offer any spoilers here. Well, just one: the courtiers slanted stories about Princess Fergie; apparently they wanted rid of her tho lord knows why.
Lady Colin Campbell exhibits her multiple talents here. Not only can she write, she offers the reader her insights into the behavior and psychology of the various players in the royal family and Palace.
Not just a rehash of the tabloid stories that anyone could look up.... Offers the stories behind the story. I won't offer any spoilers here. Well, just one: the courtiers slanted stories about Princess Fergie; apparently they wanted rid of her tho lord knows why.
Lady Colin Campbell exhibits her multiple talents here. Not only can she write, she offers the reader her insights into the behavior and psychology of the various players in the royal family and Palace.
November 1, 2010
So this is what happens when I go browsing in the library....this book is entertaining enough, but the author is clearly completely swayed by her personal relationships with certain people in the book.
April 20, 2023
I'm sure the gossip in this book is maybe 50/50 made up, but it's hot goss! - hot enough to get me back into my reading streak I suppose. I haven't read her book about Harry and Meghan (I prefer to read Harry's takes, since he was actually *personally* there to witness what he writes about). Word to the wise: never shop with a seller who uses OSM shipping partner on Amazon. They lose every other package they pick up. It's so frustrating. They lost this one and I had to reorder from another seller. Sticking with eBay for used books from now on.
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March 29, 2021Personal notes : one of the books I gave away in 2021 declutter
November 9, 2022
Interesting look at the royals.
October 15, 2011
This book was a gossip column as far as Prince Charles and Princess were concerned. Many allusions were made as to paternity of many of the royals, affairs, misconduct, etc. I think it is unfair to suggest such intimate matters. Unfair or not, I kept reading the book. I liked the pictures.
July 26, 2016
Exposé-style book that is an interesting glimpse into the Windsor family.
February 6, 2015
Well written and seemingly well-researched account of the royal marriages. An excellent "beach" or "plane" read!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews