Corgi and Bess: More Wit and Wisdom from the House of Windsor

by Thomas Blaikie

Following the success of ‘You Look Awfully Like the Queen’, this is a second anthology of hilarious and touching royal anecdotes, collected by Thomas Blaikie. An unfortunate culture clash occurred when a Geordie councillor was invited to one of the Queen’s informal lunches. As is the old-fashioned custom there were two puddings. The Queen enquired, ‘Would you like cake or meringue?’ ‘No, y’er not wrang, Your Majesty,’ the councillor replied. 'I'll have the cake.' On a Royal visit to St Albans Abbey in January 2006, the Duchess of Cornwall spied a ladder in a corner and attempted to make an unscheduled ascent. ‘Not in those shoes,’ her lady-in-waiting said firmly, bringing the runaway Duchess back into line. ‘It’s for my nanny,’ Prince Harry thoughtfully explained to a somewhat wide-eyed assistant at Selfridges as she popped his purchase into a bag. It was a maribou-trimmed thong. The Royal Family has been a source of curiosity and amusement for centuries, and in this delightful little book, Thomas Blaikie takes a second fond look at the UK’s first family. Published to mark the Queen’s 80th birthday, this second instalment includes more stories of our favourite royals, along with newer additions to the adult clan, including the Duchess of Cornwall and Princes William and Harry.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this little book of snippets about the British Royals and thought it might be interesting for $0.50. The price was about right. Some of the anecdotes (less than a page each) are of the "Royals, they're just like us" variety. Some are spilling the tea on faux pas, whether by a Royal or in the presence of Royalty. And some are of the "what planet are these people from that they are so clueless about life?" variety. I think a British person would appreciate the stories more -- at least if they were a monarchist. An anti-monarchist would find plenty of ammunition. There were a few chuckles, however, like the remark Prince Philip made to newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth on the way out of the coronation, "Where did you get that hat?"

[alison blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

The Royal family are still human and not robots so why shouldn't they behave like this good on them all

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny