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The Queen's Houses
Both a sumptuous visual guide and an affectionate look at the personal family stories behind the formal grandeur of the royal residencies The Queen’s life is dedicated to her public—every move is scrutinized, every word noted. But her homes are havens where peace can be found, away from watchful eyes; sanctuaries of private calm in a whirlwind life of public duty. Here Alan Titchmarsh takes readers on a tour of the royal residences, examining the personal family stories behind these magnificent buildings. Through personal reflections, interviews with royal staff, and meticulous historical research, Alan looks beyond the formal grandeur of Buckingham Palace, the imposing structure of Windsor Castle, and the private escape offered by Balmoral and others. Illustrated with intimate family photographs and evocative memorabilia, The Queen’s Houses offers a glimpse of life behind the state banquets and sovereign duties—a respectful study of the royal family at home.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 9, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 26, 2020
Over two hundred pages of gossipy drivel. Not very deep nor entertaining. The section on the cairns around Balmoral is interesting, and something new to me. Otherwise, meh.
July 8, 2022
This book is an overview of the history of each of the official royal residences: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham, and Holyroodhouse. It details how each property came into royal possession, the additions and renovations from each monarch, any major events that occurred on the property, and how each one fits into the culture of The Firm. It also covers royal servants, state banquets, childhood at the properties, and the Royal Mews. While this book is scant on interior images (this is not a coffee table picture book) and more detailed architectural notes, it does a great job at an introduction to each residence and was a fun and interesting royalist read. Most interesting were the effects the World Wars had on the properties, especially the WWII "Dig for Victory" campaign on Sandringham, plus all of the vast engineering Prince Albert did to the royal real estate portfolio. The sections on Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were always fascinating because of what a prolific journal writer she was, which allows a real insight to her thoughts and feelings about her family and their lives within the residences.
April 13, 2023
An illustrated guide to royal palaces, written in the last decade of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The photographs are lovely but are primarily focused on palace exteriors and gardens rather than interior decoration. The historical material in each chapter has been presented in more detail in subsequent books, especially a recent illustrated history of Windsor Castle. There are some typos and spelling inconsistencies in the text. Only the Sandringham chapter discusses the smaller residences on palace grounds.
September 17, 2017
The Queen's Houses
Very interesting book on the history of the houses lived in by the royal family in England and Scotland. If you like architecture and history you will enjoy this book.
Very interesting book on the history of the houses lived in by the royal family in England and Scotland. If you like architecture and history you will enjoy this book.
July 15, 2015
As someone fascinated with how past and present royalty live, I found the information in this book a juicy addition to my library. While learning about the royals' lifestyle always satisfies the desire for voyeurism, more interesting is the unimaginable logistics that go into running each of the households and how they came to be organized that way. The perfect presentation and the ceremonies timed to the minute do not happen by magic--the management of the staff and the members that make up its number are responsible for the flawlessness associated with the wealth and luxury of the royal family.
While the origins of each of The Queen's houses is good background, perhaps most exciting is how the present-day Queen receives guests and how she and her family use each of the houses. To that end, probably the best chapter of the book deals with the formal dinners held in St George's Hall, with place settings requiring 15 minutes each to arrange, hundreds of candles to light, and glasses for various beverages to polish to a high sheen.
Also interesting is the information about former staff positions that have since been done away with, such as the Furner of the Pastries, as well as the duties of those holding centuries-old positions and how those duties have changed, such as the Master of the Horse.
The drawbacks of this book include name dropping without a family tree or chronology to refer to--all those Edwards and Henrys start to blend together after awhile. Furthermore, it is unclear why any book continues to include the portraits of historical figures, which are often so stylized they don't represent a realistic depiction of the monarch in question. It takes a great leap of the imagination to picture a real person behind the medieval portraits, and for the purposes of this book, it could be argued that their inclusion is superfluous. Otherwise, the images of the interiors and exteriors of the houses were revealing visuals.
This is a book for a particular type of reader: one who loves details, history, and provenance. One who doesn't mind lots of descriptions about architecture and learning about the fantastic excess of the British royal institution. One who appreciates the continuity found between past and present in the phenomenon that is royalty. For that type of reader, this book is an engaging read--and it is probably for whom the book is intended.
While the origins of each of The Queen's houses is good background, perhaps most exciting is how the present-day Queen receives guests and how she and her family use each of the houses. To that end, probably the best chapter of the book deals with the formal dinners held in St George's Hall, with place settings requiring 15 minutes each to arrange, hundreds of candles to light, and glasses for various beverages to polish to a high sheen.
Also interesting is the information about former staff positions that have since been done away with, such as the Furner of the Pastries, as well as the duties of those holding centuries-old positions and how those duties have changed, such as the Master of the Horse.
The drawbacks of this book include name dropping without a family tree or chronology to refer to--all those Edwards and Henrys start to blend together after awhile. Furthermore, it is unclear why any book continues to include the portraits of historical figures, which are often so stylized they don't represent a realistic depiction of the monarch in question. It takes a great leap of the imagination to picture a real person behind the medieval portraits, and for the purposes of this book, it could be argued that their inclusion is superfluous. Otherwise, the images of the interiors and exteriors of the houses were revealing visuals.
This is a book for a particular type of reader: one who loves details, history, and provenance. One who doesn't mind lots of descriptions about architecture and learning about the fantastic excess of the British royal institution. One who appreciates the continuity found between past and present in the phenomenon that is royalty. For that type of reader, this book is an engaging read--and it is probably for whom the book is intended.
August 21, 2016
I took my time reading this beautiful book, taking a break between each house; I think that I appreciated the detail in each 'chapter' by doing so.
The quality of the paper and presentation really shows off the illustrations, which are relevant and varied.
The history and usage of each house was explained in great detail, in a lovely writing style; I could just imagine the lyrical tones of Alan Titchmarsh reading the book aloud. My favourite section was the detailed description of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, but there are also many snippets that provided an insight into the operation of the Royal Household across the years - for example the number of horses and carts that were involved in the royal procession round the country in the time of Elizabeth I
A couple of things dropped the book down to four stars:
- the 'family' tree is right at the end of book, just before the index. I didn't find it until I had finished, having resorted to another source to work out some of the relationships. It needs to be at the beginning of the book so the reader knows it is there!
- the year of George VI in the section on Sandringham is wrong! It correctly says that he was diagnosed with cancer in 1951. It then says "He was at Sandringham for Christmas as usual that year and in early February enjoyed some successful duck shooting. On the morning of 6 February 1951 his valet found him dead in his bed; ....". That is incorrect!! His date of death is 6 February 1952!!! That is a very sloppy mistake and makes you wonder about the accuracy of other dates that form a major part of an otherwise fantastic book.
The quality of the paper and presentation really shows off the illustrations, which are relevant and varied.
The history and usage of each house was explained in great detail, in a lovely writing style; I could just imagine the lyrical tones of Alan Titchmarsh reading the book aloud. My favourite section was the detailed description of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, but there are also many snippets that provided an insight into the operation of the Royal Household across the years - for example the number of horses and carts that were involved in the royal procession round the country in the time of Elizabeth I
A couple of things dropped the book down to four stars:
- the 'family' tree is right at the end of book, just before the index. I didn't find it until I had finished, having resorted to another source to work out some of the relationships. It needs to be at the beginning of the book so the reader knows it is there!
- the year of George VI in the section on Sandringham is wrong! It correctly says that he was diagnosed with cancer in 1951. It then says "He was at Sandringham for Christmas as usual that year and in early February enjoyed some successful duck shooting. On the morning of 6 February 1951 his valet found him dead in his bed; ....". That is incorrect!! His date of death is 6 February 1952!!! That is a very sloppy mistake and makes you wonder about the accuracy of other dates that form a major part of an otherwise fantastic book.
February 22, 2016
This was a brief overview of the 5 royal residences still occupied by the British Monarch every year.
I would like to have learned more about the smaller houses on the estates themselves. There is much history in those residences. Maybe another book will address this topic.
I would like to have learned more about the smaller houses on the estates themselves. There is much history in those residences. Maybe another book will address this topic.
August 16, 2015
I found the book to be interesting but felt it could have dealt deeper into how she actually lives in these houses more so than just who lived there and decorated them.
February 7, 2017
Was hoping for more photos of what these homes look like on the inside. Discussion of how the table is laid out for state dinners was very interesting!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews