The Queen's Coronation

by Jennifer Ryan, January LaVoy (Narrator), Imogen Wilde (Narrator)

As a young Queen Elizabeth II prepares to take the throne, three women in her employ will discover where they belong in a rapidly changing world in this heartwarming novel from the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir>.

London, 1953. Buckingham Palace and the many employees vital to the smooth running of the monarchy find themselves in bedlam as the Queen's coronation quickly approaches.

Caroline Brimstone, assistant dresser to the queen, watches the queen finding the strength to rule—a woman taking charge of her future. Meanwhile, Caroline’s life is worn thin by her gambler husband, and she is barely holding on as every penny she earns seems to run out the door. When a trip to Balmoral brings her face-to-face with the man she once loved, she finds herself at a crossroads between what her life is and what her life could be. Can she, like the queen, find the strength to define her own future?

Lucy Jones is a junior wardrobe assistant who positively radiates life—she's young, idealistic, and eager to become a famous singer. So when a handsome, wealthy man at the palace promises to help her on her way to stardom, she's over the moon to have such a supportive husband-to-be. And if he's asking some things of her that she's not quite sure about, isn't that just part of the glamorous life?

Miranda Miller has come over from America just in time to help with preparations as a temporary secretary in the palace. The job is a perfect way to gather information for the article she's writing about the coronation for a magazine back in New York; the article that will keep her boss from firing her because of her gender.

But as all three women discover, just because a woman will soon be sitting upon the throne, it doesn't mean that society will change overnight—and if they want to carve places for themselves in this world, they'll have to do it together.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, British Literature, Womens Fiction, Adult Fiction, Royalty

12 pages, Audiobook

First published June 2, 2026

About the author

Jennifer grew up in the British countryside with a penchant for climbing trees and a wonderful grandmother who told her hilarious stories about the Second World War.

As an adult, she became a nonfiction book editor, first editing politics and economics at The Economist Books, and then moving on to the BBC, DK, and other publishers, editing books on health, cooking, wine, and history.

All this time, though, she harbored a longing to share her grandmother's stories about the war, and so she embarked on an MA in fiction at Johns Hopkins University. The novel that she wrote while there--The Chilbury Ladies' Choir--became a National Bestseller.

Please visit Jennifer's website for more information and free giveaways.
www.JenniferRyanAuthor.com

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Penguin Random House for the advanced copy of The Queen's Coronation.

I really wanted to love this book, being a huge fan of historical fiction and the Royal Family, I was very excited to pick this up. I've read previous works by Jennifer Ryan and knew not to expect anything too heavy, but historically accurate.

This book is very well researched and she spent her time both getting palace facts and coronation events accurate. However, reading this book was just frustrating to me. The book is the story of three women, Miranda, Lucy and Caroline along with their friend and motherly figure Betty. All four work in the palace, Miranda and Lucy being new to their jobs. The point of the book is how women are held back, have to fit into society's expectations and fulfill their roles while being too stupid to do any jobs as well as a man. There is discrimination both in the work place and in the home. Jennifer's point was to be women can do it if they stand behind each other and show their skill and confidence. However, I don't know how to explain the communication of these points besides blunt. Things happened very suddenly- whether a problem or the solution, it was conveyed in one sentence. Everyone but Betty was weak, even though constantly being told they were strong it was not shown. The girls were overly dumb in their choices, helpless in their predicaments, Supposedly smart and skilled enough to earn respected positions in the palace but showing stupid and risky behavior when these jobs meant everything to them. Miranda especially was supposed to be intelligent but behaved stupidly. When the women were being supportive of each other, they were overly blunt and harsh in both their forgiveness and wisdom imparting. I found them all irritating. Annabel, Caroline's "young" daughter was supposed to be 13, but came off as much younger and more helpless than a girl of her age in that time period. The men were so stereotypical and brutish it wasn't even believable. The love story was frustrating, the feeling and attraction s not written enough to be believable. I did find the message of looking to Queen Elizabeth's reign to empower other women a good point and inspirational, but the rest of the book was just not in a style that was respectable or motivational.

The conflicts were convenient, the resolutions neatly tied up, and story lines and character traits so repetitive. I liked the parts about the actual coronation, but all the behind the scenes fiction was tedious. I feel bad writing this review, but it was just not up to par with other books.

[Dede · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed this book. I loved the storyline and the characters. I thought it was well written. I liked following the characters along in their story. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fell short of what it could have been. The dialogue and situations were too cut-and-paste and lacking energy and intensity. In fact the Author’s Notes and the Acknowledgments sections were more compelling than the actual book. Instead the book characters were left with more of a Disney princess morality to them. The book being a historical romance ran counter to the book theme of women struggling for recognition as equal citizens under the law and in the workplace. One character said, “sometimes life knows us better than we do ourselves, if we have the bravery to let our own power inside us lead the way. it is up to me and me alone to decide my future, not a man and not society.” And yet this was said immediately after divorcing one man and marrying another.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5 stars, I received an advance copy of this book but finished it after publication day. I liked the subject, surrounding the young Queen's coronation. Told from the perspective of a few women, working in & around the palace. I am not sure why, but it just fell flat for me. I did finish it though.

[MadiG Raps · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for the arc!

this book highlights three women whose lives intertwine with the queen (and the fourth women we see glimpses of!). i felt connected to the characters and wanted all to work out and be right for them. i appreciated the variety of characters and plot lines .

that being said, this took me a while to get through and initially didn’t grip me; however, when halfway through, i was eager to finish and learn what happened to the ladies. while entertaining and good to finish, there was nothing in particular that made this stand out.

3.5⭐️

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miranda is a young American widow looking for a way to keep her newspaper reporting job by going undercover in the castle preparations for The Queen’s Coronation.

Small-town Lucy is trying to escape her doomed life and become a famous singer in the city of London.

Caroline is living a life which feels forced upon her but she sees no other way to move forward. She had found herself pregnant after her boyfriend went to war and never corresponded with her. She married a man who was willing to say the baby was his so that her daughter wouldn’t be ridiculed. But he’s a cruel loser.

All three young women are working in Buckingham Palace as Princess Elizabeth is readying to become the Queen. None of them are in great situations. Some of them unknowingly make things worse for themselves. They are all desperate to prove themselves and to improve their lives.

None of the three were overly strong-willed at the beginning of this novel and all were in denial about their realistic prospects. They fell prey to their own bad decisions, their naïveté, and, sometimes, the ill will of others. It was often painful for me to read about them. Their stories were simply sad. They lacked the right sort of support and were living in a time when women were treated like property of power-hungry men. It was infuriating. Thankfully, there was one older woman with whom Miranda, Lucy, and Caroline were all close and she was able to provide an overarching level of moral support once the three women finally got fed up enough to take a proactive stance in their lives’ destinies. The ending was happy, of course, as all Jennifer Ryan novels are. This one definitely had a message to deliver and the three main characters were each given a platform to monologue a bit about their newfound girl power. Ryan’s agenda was a bit heavy-handed but, of course, I’m in agreement with it.

I’ve read four other novels by Ryan and knew that the characters’ situations would all eventually improve. The women in her novels all face and overcome hurdles. Sadly, I didn’t really care about these three women as much as I normally care about Ryan’s characters. Typically, I find her characters delightful. However, I found Miranda to be outright annoying. Lucy was just out of her league. And Caroline did have a good heart but also did some pretty stupid things. This isn’t my favorite novel by Ryan. But it was fun to get a view inside the palace and of the young Queen Elizabeth at the time of her coronation.

I’d like to thank Ryan, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for giving me early access to this novel. The Queen’s Coronation will be released on June 2, 2026.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Queen’s Coronation by Jennifer Ryan is a historical fiction based around the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It is a snapshot of the lives of several women who work in the palace. Full of good characters with interesting problems, it also gives a look behind the scenes at the young woman set to become the monarch and the traditions and ceremonies surrounding her. It was an enticing read, full of interesting details. Miranda is a reporter whose aunt works at the palace and gets her a job, undercover, of course. She gets plenty of tidbits, enough to satisfy her editor, but hardly enough to convince him that a woman can be a hard news reporter. Another of the women, Caroline, is an assistant dresser to the queen who is stuck in a horrible marriage necessitated by the fact that she became pregnant out of wedlock in a time where the world was against a woman in that situation. Lucy was a young woman who wanted to be a star and was seduced by a predator, who did nothing but take advantage of her, nearly causing her death.

All-in-all, an entertaining piece of fiction with just enough reality. It was a time of change for women all around the world, coming out of WWII, when they had run everything at home while the men were away fighting. Many were reluctant to return to their previous lives as wives and mothers. They wanted more. Elizabeth was leading the way in the eyes of many of these women. It was an entertaining read, full of problems for all involved. The plot was good, full of problems and some romance, and the characters were endearing. I would recommend it to all.

I was invited to read The Queen’s Coronation by Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
#Netgalley #Ballantine #JenniferRyan #TheQueensCoronation

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story of the Queen's coronation told through three everyday women working in the palace at the time leading up to the grand event. There's, Miranda, a widowed American journalist, Lucy a poor aspiring actress from a country village and Caroline, assistant dresser to the Queen who is stuck in a marriage with a gambler and finds herself unexpectedly reunited with her daughter's biological father. Each woman has different dreams for themselves and the contrast of their lives against Princess Elizabeth's is both stark but similar in ways. Good on audio with a full cast of narrators and perfect for fans of The Crown and Julia Kelly's The last dance of the debutantes. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

CW: abortion, forced prostitution

[Kristen Cook - A Book Ninja · Rating 3 out of 5]

London 1953, three women from drastically different worlds find themselves all working at Buckingham Palace as a young Queen Elizabeth prepares to take the throne.

Lucy Jones is a wardrobe assistant who is determined to make the big stage as a singer. Caroline Brimstone is an assistant dresser to the queen. Miranda Miller, a reporter from NYC, has come to London to try to get the inside scoop to the queen's coronation and report back.

This is a story of found family and perseverance.

The reason I only gave this three stars is that all three women's stories wrapped up too well. I am all for HEA for all the characters. But there were some major obstacles for each of the characters and this felt too fairytale like in the end.

As always, check trigger warnings before starting. You know you.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Ballantine Books. I did chose to purchase the audiobook version and I think the narrator added to the story.

[Reading Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to start this review with the truth. This book wasn't for me. I didn't like any of the three main characters. I was very excited for a story about the Queen and I enjoyed every second I got to spend with her in this story. I think people that enjoy historical fiction and aren't completely obsessed with the royals will like this. Jennifer Ryan is well researched and a great writer.

[Sherrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to attend a book launch @oldtownbooks for The Queen's Coronation and meet author @jennifer_ryan_author. I love royal history especially when it comes to the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II. This book follows the story of three women - a dresser for the queen, a wardrobe assistant and an American journalist. Each women, from different walls of life and paths trying to make their way in post war england . Though, the world is celebrating England"s first queen since the days of Victoria, society still remains unchanged.

As I mentioned earlier, maybe it's my fascination with royal history , but I found myself enjoying this book especially around Caroline"a story and her interaction with the Queen - some of the details reminded me of The Crown. While each of the women faces their own challenges, I felt like Caroline represented women of the time, and unlike others, she was strong (maybe the fact that she was a mother)?

If you are like me, and enjoy books on this period, I recommend it, and for me, having a chance to meet the author was a treat! #readingisempowering #sherinthecitybooks

[Maggie Boyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I typically love Ms. Ryan's treacly novels, but The Queen's Coronation, with its rather insipid heroines, fell a bit flat for me.

London, 1953. There will be a new Queen on the throne soon. Buckingham Palace has employed dozens of new workers to help prepare for the event, and the old hands find themselves not only taking on extra duties but keeping an eye on the newbies and making sure they meet the demands of their positions.

Caroline Brimstone was completely delighted when she was promoted as assistant dresser to the queen. There are plenty of disgruntled ladies who didn't get the job, but Caroline has worked tirelessly to earn her place over the last decade. She is fascinated by the young queen, whom many want to control and who must navigate being charming and accommodating while still keeping the reins firmly in her own hands. It's a skill Caroline, who is the queen of bad decisions, has never managed. She'd been in love during the war, had refused to marry her beau until they had time to go to her home parish and do it properly, and wound up with an unplanned pregnancy and a soldier who had disappeared on her. She'd married Richard, a fellow employee at the palace, to give her child a name and legitimacy, but it quickly proved to be a wretched choice. No longer employed, he squanders her paycheck on gambling, treats her daughter abominably, and physically abuses her.

The worst part of it all is that she knows her love didn't die in the war; he'd simply absconded on her. He is now working as a gardener at Balmoral. When she accompanies the queen to her country estate and sees him face to face, she learns all is not as she thought, but her choices over the years have left her little room to fix what has gone wrong.

Lucy Jones knows she has what it takes to be a great star; she just needs the right person to give her a big break. As a junior wardrobe assistant at Buckingham, who is lively and as pretty and curvaceous as Marilyn Monroe, she garners plenty of attention. But most is from her peers, and she needs someone who can give her a leg up. She loves the luxury of working in a castle, dreams of living in such opulence, and one afternoon, takes a nap in a guest bedroom. When the gentleman returns and finds her sleeping there, they begin a flirtation that soon blossoms into a romance. He lavishes her with promises of introductions to all the right people, and it isn't long before Lucy sacrifices her virginity to ensure her path to stardom. Convinced it's love, she's begun to imagine a future with her handsome helper, but it isn't long before she starts to realize he might be imagining something quite different.

Miranda Miller knows that cuts are coming to all the newspapers, but manages to blow a pivotal interview anyway. The whole thing had just been so beneath what she is capable of and the kind of stories she wants to be writing. When she is called into her editor's office, she struggles to give him one good reason he shouldn't let her go. Then it hits her - her aunt had offered her a chance to work the coronation. Miranda will go, get inside information for the paper, and then hopefully hold on to her job. It will mean betraying her aunt and all the people who will help her along the way, but isn't that what reporters often do to get the story?

Easily the most fascinating character in this story is the young Queen Elizabeth, who flits through scenes with elegance, temperance, and strength. She's a careful, thoughtful person, caught in a labyrinth full of traps, who manages to navigate it with skill and grace. Far less interesting are our heroines. My main problem with both Caroline and Lucy is that they are daft. Even when people are screaming warnings at them from the sidelines, they manage to fall into every pitfall set for them. Both could have been sympathetic - they each came from bad home situations - but they managed to be so off-putting that I couldn't really root for them. Lucy is convinced everyone is jealous of her, even though she has zero reason to believe that, and ends up learning some hard lessons as a result. Caroline, who has a great career ahead of her, simply wants to be a wife and mother. Throughout the story, she seemed to lack both the backbone and the ambition to have earned the position she held. It was an odd juxtaposition to see her unable to navigate life for herself and her daughter and excel at her job.

Miranda had lost her mother at a young age and her husband during the war. She has a lot of issues to work through, but as the story progresses, she does the hard work of climbing out of the hole life has dug for her. Making friends, making peace with her past, and thinking seriously about her future enable her to finally live fully in her present. I didn't much like the woman I met at the start of our tale, but I was very satisfied with her character arc by the end.

There are romances here, but they all come with entanglements and complications that affect the latter portion of the plot, so I'll leave the reader to discover them for themselves. Miranda's is the most fully fleshed out, with Caroline's relying heavily on chemistry and past events, and Lucy's just at the starting stage when our story ends.

While we got a good look at some of the details that go into planning a royal event, I was really disappointed by the lack of history in this story. Everything about palace life remained pretty much cloaked in mystery, and the focus was on the characters' home lives rather than their work lives.

Like this author’s previous works, The Queen's Coronationis a bubbly, hopeful tale about rising above any and all challenges life may throw at you with the help of friends. It is heavily sugar-coated so that bad decisions never lead to bad results.

[Maine Colonial · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a free advance digital review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

I’ve read all of Jennifer Ryan’s previous books, which I’ve described as tales of plucky British women in wartime. I can’t quite say that now, since this book is set in 1953, as young Queen Elizabeth II prepares for her coronation. For 80% of the book, I can’t really say it’s about plucky women, either, as I’ll explain.

Chapters are devoted to each of three women, all of whom work at Buckingham Palace:

Caroline is the assistant dresser to the Queen, working with the Queen’s former nanny and now principal dresser, “Bobo” Mcdonald. Caroline is only in her early 30s, but her life has no joy in it other than her 13-year-old daughter, Annabel. At the beginning of the war, Caroline fell in love with Angus. They planned to marry, but before they could, Angus was whisked off into the armed forces and she didn’t hear from him again, despite her sending him at least a dozen letters, including telling him that she had learned she was pregnant. A man named Frank who then worked at the palace too, offered to marry her and raise Annabel as his own. Caroline agreed, but Frank quit his job, lived off of her, gambled away any money they had, and treated her as if she should be eternally grateful for his name. And then the day arrives when a gardening crew from Balmoral arrives at the palace for a few days’ project, and you will not be surprised that Angus is the lead gardener. Nor will you be surprised that he never received her letters, because he was a POW. But their reunion can’t be, because Frank says if she leaves him the courts will grant him custody of Annabel.

Miranda is an American widow of a serviceman who has been working as a journalist at a paper where her boss is a brute named O’Hara. Miranda is afraid that job cuts are coming and that as a woman, she’ll be one of the first to go. Surprise; she’s right! But she tells O’Hara she has an Aunt Betty in London who works at Buckingham Palace. Betty can get her a job working on the coronation and Miranda can give anonymous stories back to the paper from inside the planning.

Lucy is a young woman from Penzance (no limericks, please) who feels her mother never wanted her around after she remarried and had more children, all boys. Lucy is pretty, has a great singing voice and is determined to make it big in London. She rents a room from Betty and gets a junior wardrobe assistant job at the palace. Soon, she meets one of the posh courtiers, who promises he can be her friend and introduce her to the right people. You will certainly guess where that’s going to go.

While I enjoyed all five of Jennifer Ryan’s previous books, I found this one tough going. It lacks the humor that sparked the previous books even in difficult times. The baddies in this book are really awful, and their ill treatment of the lead characters is told in melodramatic terms. Frank is an utter creep, oppressive, emotionally abusive of Caroline, and neglectful of Annabel. He makes Caroline’s life a misery, and she puts up with every bit of his mistreatment, thinking it’s what she deserves for her bad choices and she must be grateful for Frank’s protection as her husband. Miranda is selfish and uses her friends and relatives to get her gossip pieces, putting their careers in jeopardy. Her excuse seems to be that since her husband’s death, she is emotionally closed off, and all she has is her career, which now requires her to respond to O’Hara’s demands for dirt. Lucy is unbelievably naïve, so much so that she essentially allows herself to be trafficked among men she thinks will support her career ambitions.

Of course, everything works out happily in the end, just as the coronation takes place. All the women are inspired by the new young queen, as she makes her own way, though surrounded by family, politicians, and courtiers who want to control her.

Jennifer Ryan does have a talent for creating characters and spinning a yarn. For me, this one was just too heavy and melodramatic for too long to make it as enjoyable as her other titles.

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Palace Women (published as The Queen’s Coronation overseas) is a heartwarming read of three women learning what they want and working towards it on the background of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. All three women work at the palace, and the story combines their lives with that of the Queen as she gets ready to lead the British Empire. It combines history with drama, but everyone gets their happy ending.

Caroline is the assistant dresser to Queen Elizabeth, which means she’s there for every outfit and most importantly, the fittings for the coronation gown. She’s the one who the Queen most regularly talks to, offering an insight into a quietly determined young woman who is receiving ‘helpful’ advice on how to be a monarch on all sides. Caroline’s home life is in stark contrast to the Queen’s, where she holds none of the power. Married to a cruel man with a daughter that isn’t his, she’s forced to work to keep their heads above water. But when the man she once loved, Angus, arrives at Buckingham Palace they reunite for the first time since the war. There is a lot of missed opportunities and hurt to get through, but can they rediscover their feelings? Lucy is a junior wardrobe assistant to the Queen, which seems like she picks up a lot of clothes to take to the laundry for the palace. She’s escaped her family for London and hopefully a career as a singer. She meets Richard in one of the guest rooms at the palace and he offers her everything she’s ever wanted in return for seemingly nothing but his affection. But he introduces her to a seedier side of London, where Lucy will need to decide how far she is willing to go for fame. Miranda is a journalist from New York, with her job hanging on delivering scoops about the coronation. Will she be found out as the person leaking secrets about the coronation?

Jennifer Ryan always writes stories that weave many historical facts into a good story and The Palace Women is no exception. (In fact, I think I enjoyed this novel more than The Underground Library). The coronation of Queen Elizabeth is not a topic I’ve found in other historical fiction novels, and certainly not so close to the Queen herself. Ryan writes Queen Elizabeth quietly and with grace. There’s nothing that you wouldn’t expect, but simply a quiet determination and highly keen observational skills (and a corgi of course). The fictional characters are a lot more vibrant with Ryan able to put them in any situation. I found Caroline the easiest to like, while Lucy teetered on the brink of ‘too stupid to live’ as she is incredibly naïve about her relationship with Richard for most of the book. Miranda is incredibly brash initially and when she first arrives in England, she is the caricature of the loud American saying a lot of ignorant things. She does tone down as the story continues and she confronts her fears thankfully. Holding it all together is their fellow worker Betty, Miranda’s aunt and Lucy’s landlord. She’s just the older, motherly character you want to listen to all of the characters’ problems and offer sage advice. Their problems do all resolve very neatly around the time of the coronation – perhaps a new Queen, a new start for all? The book does raise the limitations for women in work and life in the 1950s but it isn’t the main focus, rather more in the background. It’s an enjoyable read about a different aspect of history.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for the copy of this book. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything looks regal, polished, and perfectly in place… until you realize the real drama isn’t on the throne—it’s in the lives of the women quietly holding the entire world together behind it. Kimberly reviews The Queen’s Coronation by Jennifer Ryan. Published by Ballantine Books—huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted ARC.

This story sweeps you into 1953 London, where the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is building toward this massive, glittering moment—but what really kept me turning the pages were the women just outside that spotlight. Caroline, Lucy, and Miranda aren’t just working at the palace—they’re surviving it, navigating lives that feel just as complicated and uncertain as the world shifting around them. Caroline completely wrecked me in that quiet, slow-burn way. She’s loyal, exhausted, and stuck in a marriage that drains more than it gives, yet she keeps showing up—for her daughter, for her job, for herself in the smallest, bravest ways. Lucy is all bright-eyed dreams and hopeful ambition, chasing a singing career while not quite realizing how easily that hope can be taken advantage of. And Miranda? She walks in with sharp edges and something to prove, balancing ambition and vulnerability in a way that felt so real it almost made me uncomfortable—in the best way.

“Just because a woman wears the crown doesn’t mean the world suddenly belongs to the rest of us.”

That line settled right into my bones and refused to leave.

The reading experience felt like sitting in a beautifully decorated room where everything looks calm and composed—but you can hear the tension humming just beneath the surface. It’s not a plot that’s going to shock you with twists, and yes, there’s a certain predictability to where things are heading—but honestly? That didn’t bother me. Sometimes you don’t need chaos. Sometimes you want a story that unfolds gently, one that reminds you how powerful small choices and quiet resilience can be. And this one does exactly that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s not about the Queen as much as you might expect—it’s about what her rise represents, and how these women are trying to carve out their own space in a world that still feels very much designed to keep them small. The friendships, the struggles, the moments of courage—they’re soft, but they matter. And if you’re the kind of reader who loves historical fiction that focuses on women finding their voice, building connection, and pushing against expectations without everything feeling heavy or overwhelming, this is going to land just right for you.

This is the kind of book you pick up when you want something steady, something thoughtful—something that feels like a quiet conversation over coffee rather than a dramatic monologue.

So tell me… do you prefer your historical fiction to sweep you away with big, dramatic twists, or do you love these quieter, character-driven stories that linger long after the last page.

[Ariana Ochoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Everyone wants us women to be prefect these days. We have to be ideal wives, good wage earners, and sex objects for men, but what about the characterful, carefree girls we were? We need freedom, not all these expectations.”

The story is set in the 1950s and is told in multiple perspectives of three women: Miranda, Lucy, and Caroline.

Miranda is a war widow, an American journalist looking for her next big scandal surrounding Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. She flies to her mother’s country to stay with her aunt and uses the cover of a procession organizer to gain secrets within the palace. Miranda is progressive, ruthless, and unrelenting until she meets a coworker who seems to stop her in her tracks and offer a soft place to land as she is running from her grief.

Lucy just landed in Camden from the countryside and is looking for her next big break as a singer. Her place in the palace is temporary, but she meets someone in the palace that sweeps her off her feet and promises to introduce her to people in the industry that could help her rise in fame. Everything is seemingly wonderful until Lucy is faced with the consequences of her actions.

Caroline is and assistant dresser to the Queen. Her home life is bleak, funding a man who is heavily addicted to gambling and raising her young daughter who is the center of her life, but Caroline holds a dark secret that could upend her life. When her past comes knocking on her door, she faces old emotions that cause her to question her past choices.

The Queen’s Coronation is one of Jennifer Ryan’s historical fiction novels that covers a cannon event that marked the reign of a new monarch. Queen Elizabeth’s coronation not only marked the beginning of a new era but made a splash in the progression of women’s rights. This book is one that covered heavier topics. It was racier than her normal content and painted a picture of women who were at the mercy of men who misbehaved and used their power to trap women. I was both enthralled and agitated at some scenes in the book. I found Lucy’s arc to have more adult content, and the author did not shy away from addressing women’s issues of the the time. Women were placed in appalling situations and often had to suffer in silence when dealing with their male cohorts. It was infuriating to read through.

I was captivated by this story surrounding the coronation but was specifically centered on the lives of the women working in the palace.

“Sometimes we find something better in life, something that is more real than what we’re told to want, more tangible than a dream or wish. Sometimes life knows us better than we do ourselves, if we have the bravery to let our own power inside us lead the way.”

Content warnings: abortion, pre marital sex, infidelity, two off page romances, death

If you are a fan of The Crown or of the British monarchs, you will love this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. This review is voluntary.

[Stefani Higdon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an engaging blend of royal history, women’s fiction, and personal drama that I flew through it. Set in 1953 during Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, the story follows three very different women whose lives become connected during one of the most iconic moments in British history. While the Queen herself stays more in the background, the excitement and pressure surrounding the coronation create the perfect setting for stories about ambition, love, heartbreak, and starting over.

The strongest part of this book for me was definitely the characters. Caroline, an assistant dresser to the Queen, was probably the one I rooted for most at first. She’s devoted to her role at the palace and to providing a better life for her daughter, all while quietly struggling in her personal life. Her storyline had a lot of emotional depth, and I really enjoyed watching her slowly rediscover her own strength.

But surprisingly, Miranda ended up becoming my favorite character by the end of the book. She’s an American journalist sent to London looking for a major story tied to the coronation, and I loved how determined, flawed, and layered she was. Beneath her ambition, there’s also grief and vulnerability that made her feel incredibly human. Her storyline brought a really interesting mix of career pressure, mystery, and emotional growth to the novel, and I found myself the most invested in where her story was headed.

Then there’s Lucy, the youngest of the three women, who dreams of becoming a singer and is desperate for her big break. Honestly, her storyline was probably the most frustrating at times because she’s so naive and eager to trust people who clearly don’t deserve it. But that also made her feel realistic for her age and circumstances, and I found myself really hoping things would work out for her.

What I appreciated most about this book was how much it focused on women trying to build independent lives during a time when society constantly limited their choices. Even though the coronation provides the glamorous backdrop, the real heart of the story is these women navigating difficult decisions, relationships, and the expectations placed on them.

Some parts of the plot felt a little predictable, and a few storylines wrapped up more neatly than I expected, which is why this lands closer to a 4-star read for me rather than a full 5. But overall, it was emotional, entertaining, and easy to get invested in.

If you enjoy historical fiction with strong female leads, royal-era settings, emotional character arcs, and stories about resilience and reinvention, I’d definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Opinions are entirely my own.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed several books by Jennifer Ryan so I was excited to read her soon to be released novel, The Queen's Coronation.

The research and excellent writing about the hard work and months it took to prepare for Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation was brilliant. At times, I could envision the dress and formality of the time, Elizabeth’s trepidation about becoming Queen, the sheer grandeur and history of the rooms in Buckingham Palace, the magnifigance of Westminster Abbey. I loved learning about the Royal Carriage dating back to 1762, generations-old pomp and circumstance, the Royal Regalia. The work environment leading up to the coronation was tense and there was some subterfuge going on with staff. But, overall, the feeling of pride people took in their work was apparent as was their fondness for Elizabeth.

Had I felt the coronation was the heart of the novel I would have rated it five stars. The focus, however, was on the lives, loves and interactions of three women; Caroline - the assistant dresser to the Queen, Miranda - a New York journalist who makes a deal to go undercover and reveal the inner workings of the coronation for her newspaper, and Lucy - a naive young woman with a goal of making it into the big time as a singer in London.

All three women faced conflicts and subjugation still faced by women today. Caroline feared if she left her husband he would be given custody of her daughter. With Miranda, her deception was so obvious it was hard to believe no one in the Palace caught onto her game. And, for me, Lucy’s naivety was over done.

And, then there was Betty, Miranda’s aunt. She reminded me of Ron Howard’s Aunt Bee on the Andy Griffiths show. Betty worked in the Palace, secured Miranda a job there as well as a place to live, and was good friends with Caroline. Betty always had the right words to diffuse a situation and was a kind and understanding soul. Eventually, all three women live together in Betty’s home. The story ends pretty much as I anticipated, but with an unexpected but much appreciated twist. That’s about all I am willing to share about the book because, to do otherwise, might spoil it for the reader.

My sincere thank you to Random House Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and comment on Jennifer Ryan’s The Queen’s Coronation.

[Leann L · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Coronation by Jennifer Ryan is an interesting and well-written novel about three women and their connection to each other and to the young Queen Elizabeth and her Coronation Ceremony. It takes place during the time following the war, when Great Britain and the world were trying to establish a new normalcy. For the three women, Caroline, a young mother in a hopeless and ruined marriage, Lucy, a singer who dreams of making it big in an industry rife with deception and danger, and Miranda, an American reporter trying desperately to make it in a male dominated role, it is a special time in history where they feel encouraged and excited for change as the young Queen ushers in a new era as the reigning Monarch.
I enjoyed the stories of each of the women, and appreciated the many challenges each woman faced. The prejudice against women and the stereotypes that women were subjected to in that time made it difficult and challenging at best for any woman who had aspirations outside of the home. Caroline, Lucy, and Miranda’s stories developed a clear picture of those challenges and there were so many times I wanted to jump into their stories with my modern, 2026 thinking and make them see that their dreams and their aspirations were worth fighting for. Despite what society said or what any of the misogynistic viewpoints from some of the cantankerous, rude, belittling, and horrible men the women were forced to deal with, the women eventually stood up for themselves and gained self-worth and a sense of who they were and what they wanted for their futures.
I cheered the women on throughout their stories as they each grew in confidence and strength and found it within themselves to stand up for what they believed in.
I loved the connection to Buckingham Palace, to Queen Elizabeth and her family and how the author revealed how the Queen herself grew into her role as Monarch and stood her ground to show her strength and courage.
I would recommend this book wholeheartedly, especially for readers who love stories where the main characters grow into their own strength and realize their own dreams. The fact that it takes place during the time of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Ceremony is a plus.
This was the first Jennifer Ryan book I have read and it won’t be my last.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the Advance Reader Copy of Jennifer Ryan’s book, The Queen’s Coronation. It was indeed my pleasure and an honor to have been chosen to share my review. Thank you to the author, Jennifer Ryan. I look forward to reading more of her books.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buckingham Palace - 1953

Queen Elizabeth II is soon to have her coronation and it will be fabulous. The plans are intense and so many people are working on every aspect of it. Follows are some who will have first-hand knowledge of it all.

Caroline Brimstone is the assistant Dresser to Queen Elizabeth and is working closely with others to get her gown made and fitted perfectly. As such, she has close and intimate contact with the Queen. Caroline is married to Frank who is demanding and takes her pay and ends up gambling much of it away. She has a daughter, Annabel, who is the love of her life.

Miranda Miller, is a journalist in New York. No matter how hard women work, it’s the men that get ahead. On the cusp of being fired, she tells her boss that if he sends her to London, she will be his undercover person and find out any gossip about the coronation. She has an aunt she can stay with and who can get her a job at the palace. He agrees. So, she’s London and working in the palace trying to overhear any gossip she can learn and calls him now and then with updates. He wants a picture of her gown, but Miranda puts him off because she feels that’s not right.

Lucy Jones is a young and pretty girl who is working at the palace as a Junior Wardrobe Assistant. She has a lovely signing voice and all she wants to do is be a singer. But she finds herself connecting with a powerful man in the palace and it may lead to her ruin.

The story follows these three women and their close friend, Betty who took care of them all. I really wanted to see Frank get his due but that didn’t really come his way. Angus is a total love and such a wonderful man. I really got angry with Miranda and her underhanded ideas. At first, I found myself calling her Meghan! So glad she came to her senses. Lucy was so naive and I wanted to reach out and be a mother to her. I’ve read absolutely countless books about Queen Elizabeth and all of the members of the royal family and have loved all of them. There are so many more books to read about this extraordinary woman and I would love to sit down and read all of them. I am so grateful to have been able to read and review this delightful book. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley and Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[That Girl Reading Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jennifer Ryan’s The Underground Library was one of my favorite reads, so I was excited to pick up The Queen’s Coronation. While this novel didn’t fully pull me in until the final third, that’s when the characters’ motivations and emotional depth really began to shine. Set in 1953 during the preparations for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, the story follows three women — Lucy, Caroline, and Miranda — whose lives become intertwined with the Royal Household during this historic moment.

Lucy, at just nineteen, frustrated me for much of the novel. Determined to become a famous singer in London, she is willing to sacrifice nearly anything — including her morals — to achieve her dreams. She constantly puts down her friends and seems consumed by climbing the social ladder, which made her come across as self-centered and petty. I wish more of her backstory had been explored earlier, because it was difficult to empathize with her until she reached her lowest point. Still, I couldn’t help feeling sympathy for her when she became yet another woman manipulated and exploited by a vile man.

Caroline’s storyline was by far the most compelling to me. As Queen Elizabeth’s assistant dresser, she lives a life shaped by duty and sacrifice. When the love of her life, Angus, went off to war and she found herself pregnant, she married another man to give her child legitimacy after believing Angus had died. But when Angus unexpectedly returns thirteen years later, long-buried feelings resurface. Trapped in a loveless marriage to a gambling addict, Caroline faces heartbreaking choices with very few paths to happiness.

Lastly, there is Miranda, an American journalist hired to assist with the coronation coverage. Secretly, however, she plans to use the opportunity to advance her career by writing anonymous articles filled with royal gossip. Having lost her husband in the war, Miranda has buried herself in work as a way to avoid confronting her grief, shutting herself off from truly living.

What I appreciated most about the novel was its portrayal of Queen Elizabeth as a woman determined to forge her own path within the constraints of royal life. Her courage, intelligence, and devotion to duty became an inspiration not only to the people around her, but especially to these three women, encouraging them to find the strength to change their own lives and pursue the futures they truly wanted.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Kate Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very good thing that coronations are not an everyday occurrence. They're grand productions which would make Nelson deMille proud. So many details and traditions relative to each moving part and a vast array of staff to effectuate the resplendent affair. This is a warm and endearing story of three women caught up in the preparations, balancing workplace professionalism with their own hidden secrets.

London, England, 1952.

Miranda, a young widowed American journalist, is working undercover at the palace coordinating viewing stand protocols and placements while covertly sending coronation prep details back to a newspaper in the States. Caroline, assistant dresser to the queen, has a thirteen year old daughter and is married to an emotionally abusive husband who is not the child's father, yet who provided his name to the child for propriety's sake. Lucy is an aspiring ingenue working as a maid at the palace, whose ambitions yearn for the footlights of a grand London stage. All three women bear hidden scars and secrets. This is their story as the world greets Great Britain's radiant queen.

Author Jennifer Ryan has deftly written a beautiful and engrossing story. She has done her research which is no less than herculean. Using actual events for the framework, she weaves the stories of these three women in and around it. The reader gains glimpses into the challenges women faced in post-war Britain. They who were diligently manning the industrial complex as their men marched off to battle in WWII are now relegated back to their more feminine roles. Unlike Ms. Ryan's earlier works, this story bears a certain gravitas. The earlier books' touches of humor lightened the war years' heavy subject matter. We are made painfully aware how difficult it was for working women of the 1950s. Yet, all in all, this was an interesting, informative and enjoyable read.

I am grateful to author Jennifer Ryan and her publisher Ballantine Books for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: June 2, 2026
Number of Pages: 336
ISBN: 978-0593872277

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved all of Jennifer Ryan’s previous books, which primarily dealt with strong women facing the adversity of World War II Britain with the help of female friendships. Therefore, I was excited at the prospect of reading her latest novel, “The Queen’s Coronation,” set as the title suggests during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. I had so wanted to like this book, but as described more fully below, the plot was dull, the characters were unlikeable and the storylines were all tied up suddenly at the end.

The book focused on Caroline, Miranda and Lucy, young women who worked at Buckingham Palace in support of the new Queen. Caroline, who had married an abusive man because she was pregnant with the child of an absent World War II soldier, worked as an assistant dresser to the Queen, focusing on the coronation gown. Miranda, an American lodging with her British Aunt Betty, was working on logistics for the coronation while secretly sending reports about the coronation details to her odious boss at a New York newspaper where she held a tenuous minor role. Lucy, also lodging with Betty, came to work in housekeeping at the Palace, seeing it as a temporary position until she could find fame and fortune as a singer. She falls in with a disreputable nobleman who takes advantage of her naiveté and ambition by promising her introductions to prominent people. Her friends at the palace try to warn her about relying on him, but she arrogantly informs them she knows better while belittling their life choices.

For some reason, this novel failed to resonate with me. I didn’t find any of the characters very likable despite their individual struggles, which were suddenly resolved during the last 20% of the book. Moreover, their daily lives were something of a drudge and thus not very enjoyable to read about. This negative impression may have been my individual feelings and others might enjoy the book. On the plus side, it was well-researched, shedding light on the struggles and lack of independence suffered by women even as late as 1953.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four Coronation Stars for this new Jennifer Ryan tale about three women who work behind the scenes as the new monarch prepares for her Coronation Day.

Check out that opulent cover! Really makes you want to read this one, does it not?

Planning for the big day took months and a huge number of personnel. The ending of World War II casts a shadow over the culture as women who were used to shouldering the burdens at home were pushed aside or given new, unwelcome hats to wear by the male population. This book covers some heavy topics like divorce, sexual exploitation, extramarital affairs, gambling, widowhood, misogyny, abortion, and more.

Despite the weighty subject matter, the women we meet are shining stars and show us the power of friendship and community as well as the great value of having a special spouse to spend life with.

👸Queen Elizabeth II really shines in this new novel. As a young monarch, wife, and mother she has so much on her plate. Her desire to serve her country and do her duty before God is front and center. What a treat to see her working that out in the early days in this story.

👩Caroline Brimstone is an assistant dresser for the Queen. She has a front row seat for gown fittings before the big day and even gets a trip aboard The Britannia en route to Balmoral. During the war Caroline fell pregnant with no word from the father. Her choice of husbands haunts her still. Will the Queen help inspire Caroline to take a new look at her future?

👱‍♀️Lucy Jones comes to London with stars in her eyes. Surely with her looks and her voice things will really start to happen. Before long she will have news of fame and fortune for those naysayers back home, right? Working as a maid in Buckingham Palace brings Lucy to the attention of a man who says he can help her reach those dreams. What will be the price she has to pay?

👩‍🦰Miranda Miller is a reporter, a war widow, and an American. She gets a job on the Coronation Committee, but also has plans to pen some hard-hitting articles for the paper back in the states. How will meeting the Queen in person and getting to know the palace staff change her goals?

Jennifer Ryan excels at presenting us with compelling, well-researched historical fiction. Happy Publication Week and thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Available June 2, 2026.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Queen's Coronation is a cutesy story about three women who are trying to find their voices and some semblance of independence in a world that isn't always kind and doesn't always take them seriously. Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and the challenges she faced with her advisors and even her own family to be seen as a monarch who knew what was best for her country rather than a little girl who needed people to guide her is a backdrop for the story.

There's a line in the book that summarizes the story best, "You have to take the darkness from your life and turn it into light."

The three main characters are Caroline, Miranda, and Lucy.

Caroline is a mother who works as an assistant dresser to the Queen. She got pregnant 13 years prior and didn't marry the father of her child before he went off to war. Now she is married to a man she doesn't love, but she feels like she owes him her loyalty because he saved her from being an unwed mother in a judgmental society.

Miranda is a newspaper journalist and a widow. She lost her husband in WWII. She goes undercover in the palace to find stories that would make her jerk of a boss happy. Being a widow, she's afraid to fall in love again because she can't bear possibly losing someone she loves again.

Lucy is a teenager who dreams of having a singing career. She leaves her family in the south of England for London in an attempt to become famous.

The stories I liked most were Caroline and Miranda. Lucy, I feel, didn't get as much attention or development as them. She has less chapters than they do.

None of these women are perfect. Caroline tends to be meek and has very little self esteem. Miranda is very, very stubborn and tries her best not to get attached to anyone. And Lucy...ah, Lucy. She is so naive and can be cutting when people try to look out for her. Flaws is what makes people human, though. If these characters didn't have frustrating traits, they wouldn't be believable. While they had flaws, I still rooted for their happiness and for them to get their lives together.

[Jennifer Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Queen’s Coronation by Jennifer Ryan is the story of three women’s worlds change with a friendship. It is London, 1953, Buckingham Palace prepares for the new queen’s coronation. Caroline Brimstone is an assistant dresser to the queen and admires the strength the young woman shows against the pressures and rules around her. Caroline’s personal life is in shambles as her husband’s gambling problem has her holding tightly to every penny she earns. Can she follow the example of her new queen and find the strength to take the chance for a better future? Lucy Jones is a junior wardrobe assistant who is young, idealistic and eager to become a famous singer. When she has a chance to so stardom, she is excited until some things come up that has her questioning her idea of a glamorous life. Miranda Miller comes from America to take a temporary job as a secretary in the palace. However, she is actually an undercover journalist writing an in-depth article about the coronation.
I have loved Ms. Ryan’s previous books so I was so excited to read The Queen’s Coronation. A story about friendship during one of the greatest historical events of the 20th century. Overall, I loved the opening chapter and the introduction of each woman; however, the story didn’t capture my attention. The story is well researched, especially with the details about the queen’s coronation and the planning. I enjoyed the parts about the actual coronation; however, I did not enjoy the story about the women, their lives or their friendship. And some of the events which happened would not have been acceptable and would have resulted in multiple terminations. The story became more about how horribly women were treated in the 1950s. I can see how the overall theme of the story was that Queen Elizabeth’s coronation empowered other women; however, I feel it fell flat. Unfortunately, this story was not up to par with Ms. Ryan’s previous books. I do not recommend The Queen’s Coronation.

The Queen’s Coronation is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook

[Doreen Prentiss Gabriellini · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Queen’s Coronation by Jennifer Ryan is based on the time prior to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and is a work of historical fiction. It is a story about the lives of several women who work in Buckingham Palace. As with all of Jennifer Ryan’s novels this story is full of great and memorable characters with interesting problems. Portions of the ‘historical portion’ gives a look behind the scenes at the young woman set to become the monarch and the traditions and ceremonies surrounding the beginning of her reign.

Miranda is a reporter whose aunt works at the palace and gets her a job. She doesn’t tell her aunt that she is actually working as an undercover reporter to get any scoop about the coronation. She gets plenty of tidbits, enough to satisfy her editor, but hardly enough to convince him that a woman can be a regular reporter (as opposed to being male).

Another of the women, Caroline, is an assistant dresser to the queen who is stuck in a horrible marriage necessitated by the fact that she became pregnant out of wedlock in a time where the world was against a woman in that situation.

Lucy was a young woman who wanted to be a star and was seduced by a predator, who did nothing but take advantage of her, nearly causing her death.

The time of the coronation was a time of change for women all over the world. It was a time just after World War II when women were sent back to being just women. It seemed everyone forgot that they had run everything at home while the men were away fighting. Many women were reluctant to return to their previous lives as wives and mothers. They wanted more. The soon to be crowned Elizabeth was leading the way in the eyes of many of these women.

It was an entertaining read, full of problems for all involved. The plot was good, full of problems and some romance, and the characters were deep, rich and endearing. There were many interesting historical facts. As with every Jennifer Ryan’s stories it was evident that she had done a lot of research. I would recommend it. Well done.

[Nessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

📖BOOK REVIEW📖 ⭐⭐⭐.75

Thank you to @netgalley and Ballentine for the opportunity to read this book early.

This is a story of three women in the 1950's who work in Buckingham Palace at the time of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. Caroline is one of the Queen's Dressers, a mother who is stuck with the horrible man who agreed to marry her when she found herself pregnant and couldn't connect with her soldier boyfriend. Miranda is a war widow who feels like she doesn't need anyone and certainly no man to get ahead in life. A journalist by trade, she is given the opportunity to work for the coronation and she sees it as the chance to save her struggling journalism career. Lucy is a young woman who has been abandoned by everyone who should care for her and she finds herself as a laundress in the palace in order to support herself while she tries to start a singing career.

Each of these women is manipulated by men throughout the entire book. Their agency and rights taken from them at every possible opportunity and they all react to it differently, Caroline feels this is what she deserves, Lucy doesn't know she is being manipulated, and Miranda feels like it is exactly as she expected from men.

But they all find commonality in each other, they find community and even hope in their friendships with each other.

This wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but my issue with it is that the manipulation went on for too long for my liking. It got to a point, pretty far into the book that I was sincerely afraid that they would not get what they deserve out of life and they would all just accept this as the reality of their life. It only turned around in the last maybe 15-20% of the book and for me that was a bit too little too late.

On the whole, it was an interesting look at what a life in the palace must have been like and of course what trials the independent women of the 50s had to endure.

The Queen's Coronation publishes June 2nd, 2026.

[Lynn Latimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the year 1953, the young Queen Elizabeth II is preparing for her coronation with the help of a myriad of relatives and staff overseeing every fine detail. She has many people surrounding her making sure the coronation is perfect in every possible way while also trying to deal with being a wife, mother, and daughter. Three women involved in the very intense preparations include Caroline Brimestone, assistant dresser, Lucy Jones, junior wardrobe dresser, and newly arrived American, Miranda Miller working as a temporary palace secretary.

Caroline works long hours at her job while having a reprobate gambling husband who takes almost every penny leaving little for the household and her young daughter. She feels trapped by a decision made years before especially after encountering her first love again who had disappeared from her life after the war.

Lucy Jones is the very innocent young ingenue who has big dreams to be a singer; however, she is taken in by a handsome palace crony of Prince Phillip who promises her the moon; however instead sends her down a very dark path. Lucy believes he will make her his wife even though her friends are warning her that he is not to be trusted.

Miranda works for a New York publication looking for inside information on the happenings at the palace. Miranda agrees to be an informant to keep her job since she was about to be laid off. She has an aunt working at Buckingham who gets Miranda in without knowing her true intentions.

As historical fiction, this story deals with known or supposed information about Queen Elizabeth and her actual coronation as well a look at women’s lives in the time period after they had careers and vital jobs supporting the war effort and then were expected take a step back to become less than the men. All three women are struggling to make work and personal choices against difficult odds both because of the time period and their own questionable decisions.