Queen Elizabeth II: A Woman Who Is Not Amused

by Nicholas Davies

Exposes the private lives of Britain's ruling dynasty, detailing Elizabeth's celibacy, Prince Philip's adulterous affairs, and the demise of Charles and Diana's and Andrew and Fergie's marriages

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, European History, History

539 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

Reviews

[Katy Larkman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given this book by someone who knew I was a republican. I remain a republican.

[WowSuzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so obviously biased. Not uninterested, but biased and could have been written better. I would recommend finding a book on the Queen that will be factual, AND unbiased.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book discusses various aspects of royal life, including the relationships between Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales. There is plenty of talk about affairs and strained relationships in the book. Clearly this book was written some time ago, and I would consider this to be outdated, though I didn't expect much for a twenty five cent used book. I would also suggest that the author of this book was biased in his assessments. At any rate, I wouldn't say this is the worst book I have read this year, but I would not be recommending this to anyone.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

In depth study of the Queen's childhood that developed her adult character. How difficult her marriage to Phillip was/is. How adulterous the "royals" are. How terribly political the inner workings of Buckingham is. For all the financial riches, being a member of the Royal Family is a curse and the Queen is living in a "guilded cage" (basically a jail bedazzled in jewels). It is truly very sad.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better book than I expected,some of these books tend to be dry.i found this one an accessible read some of it gossipy,a couple of the chapters dragged on a bit,but on the whole an interesting invite to a family that is just as dysfunctional as anybody else the only thing being they have money and power to cover up their indiscretions.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

#45 of 120 books pledged to read during 2022

[Amanda Runion · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very bad

[Erika Jaeger-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chose to find out more after viewing The Crown (which is excellent). This book has facts and is tons of fun but is at times a bit gossipy.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently went to London for the first time and I was watching a PBS special on the Queen and she intrigued me. In this book, the Queen's life (up until about 1996 anyway) was chronicled. Her childhood, marriage, rise to the throne and her family. Wow, those royals are a bunch of wacky people. I don't think she's a very warm person or anything (British reserve) but frankly it sucks to be her.

[Shannon Duran · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was okay not worth a re read in my opinion. The only interesting parts to me where about prince Phillip. The book spent lots of time discussing him rather then Elizabeth. Elizabeth is very interesting and I expected to learn more about her then just her ongoing disapproval of her children. I feel like a expert on Phillip now. Overall the book was interesting last 100 pages were a bit boring though.

[Salma Bakeer · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on the British Royal Family and on Queen Elizabeth in particular.

Reading this book one can see that Mr. Davies is quite knowledgeable and has done his homework where researching the subject is concerned.

Queen Elizabeth may not be easily amused - and she has every right not to be - but I certainly was highly amused and entertained.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, published in 1994, was just a little too dated to enjoy. It did make me see very clearly how difficult it must be to live the life of a "royal" in England despite all our american romanticized ideas.

[Becky Galambos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Originally picked it up at a rummage sale as it is the only book I remember my mother returning to the library and complaining about the amount of sex in it (That turned out to be all in one chapter). A bit dated now but a good basic biography.

[Paulette]

Charlene's recommendation

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This might be more about the Royal Family than I ever wanted to know--although the parts about Prince Philip were interesting.