Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle

by Tom Quinn

For more than 300 years, Kensington Palace has played host to a colourful cast of kings, queens and assorted aristocratic hangers-on. A stone's throw from the bustling streets of central London, this grand building has served as the stage for some of the most dramatic and bizarre events in the history of the royal family.

It was here that the young Queen Victoria was held a virtual prisoner for eighteen years; and it was here that George II installed both his wife and his mistress, giving the latter rooms so damp that there were said to be mushrooms growing on the walls. More recently, the palace has witnessed an extraordinary series of scandals, from Princess Diana's bombshell TV interview with a journalist smuggled into the palace disguised as a salesman, to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's shock departure – first for Frogmore Cottage, and then for America – amid rumours of a rift with William and Kate.

With exclusive interviews with palace staff past and present, fascinating historical details and a fully updated postscript considering what life after Kensington holds for Harry and Meghan, Kensington An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle offers a rare behind-the-scenes insight into one of Britain's most iconic residences.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Memoir

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 12, 2021

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

After having read a few excerpts of this title in the UK's Daily Mail, I was very eager to read this book and purchased it on the day it was released. Unfortunately, the book did not quite live up to my expectations and the best bits were those excerpted in the paper. Inexplicably, the first portion of the book is dedicated to explaining why you should read about Kensington Palace. I think this section was unnecessary because if the reader has already purchased the book they have most likely reached the conclusion that they are interested in reading about Kensington Palace.

The author has done a good job of researching the history of Kensington Palace and includes some interesting information regarding the construction of the building as well as the substantial remodels that have been undertaken over the centuries. The book includes numerous anecdotes of the many royals and servants who have lived within the palace gates. Most of the stories focus on early inhabitants of Kensington and there were not as many tales of the modern royals such as Princess Diana and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge that I was hoping for. While I understand that current employees of the palace are subject to iron clad non-disclosure agreements, a bit more backstairs gossip on the current inhabitants of Kensington would have greatly improved the book.

If you are interested in reading about the trials and tribulations of the London landmark known as the "Aunt Heap" Kensington Palace An Intimate Memoir is a decent place to start.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

With an image of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on the cover and the title, "An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle" imagine my surprise that 90% of the book doesn't even mention Meghan or Harry, for that matter.

What this book REALLY is is a history of Kensington Palace (architecture and decor) along with histories/stories of the residents who lived there.

For those only buying this for the Meghan and Harry drama, you can get all this info by going back and reading articles on the Daily Mail (which there are dozens!!). The Daily Mail even published snippets of the Meghan/Harry portion of this book which basically sums up all of the info found in this book about them.

In other words, save your money and buy another book if you've been lured by the cover and title and want more Harry and Meghan. For those genuinely interested in the actual history of the palace itself and want to learn about the past centuries worth of residence and their staff then this is a good book for you.

As to the writing, the author Tom really jumps around a lot and it can be confusing. My head was spinning with the amount of timeline jumping he does. The book seems a bit unorganized, but I did enjoy some of the stories of the older generations (hence why I gave the book 2 stars instead of just 1).

[Honest Mabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it

The book covered a lot of ground and had some insight I did not find in other books which is exactly what one is hoping for when one reads these. It was gossipy but the author absolutely addresses that in the beginning. Like hello the entire book is based off gossip. Realistic expectations on the books content allowed me to thoroughly enjoy everything

[Kimberlee McLeod · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave it two stars because the author goes on tangents and then comes back to his original point so frequently that much of the book was confusing.

[srharmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5⭐️....this book is all about the history of Kensington Palace but covers more of the time long before Queen Victoria. Don’t let the cover of this book fool you. They didn’t even discuss Princess Margaret until 80% in...boo!

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible

Don’t waste your money. What a bunch of nonsense. Nothing new to learn about the royals. Quite dreary and boring. A bunch of entitled, ungrateful, crazy people.

[Ann Lechleiter · Rating 1 out of 5]

As the title denotes, the book is about Kensington Palace. However, unlike the cover and some reviews suggest, little is included about Meghan and Harry.

[Jill Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people will pick up “Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir From Queen Mary to Meghan Markle” because they’re expecting a tell-all about Prince Harry and La Markle. They’ll be disappointed because most of author Tom Quinn’s book is about the Palace and its inhabitants prior to 1990. Also, this book is not a “memoir” which should be a personal recollection. It’s a straight history of the building and it’s royal residents through the years.

I am giving Quinn’s book 4 stars. It would be 5 stars but the publisher didn’t include pictures or maps of this very important royal palace. Now, I couldn’t find any in my eversion, but I don’t think there were any in the paper version. So I’m knocking off one of the five stars. It would have been a five stars because Quinn is an engaging author and he writes well about the variously “interesting” occupants of the palace since it was built during the reign of William and Mary. The Palace has long been the home of the children, exwives, and various second-string royalty. It was the early home of Queen Victoria and her mother before she ascended to the British throne. More recently it has housed Princess Margaret, Princess Diana, William and Kate, and, briefly, Harry and Meghan.

“KP” is a huge place. Tom Quinn about the building and its tenants well enough that the reader wants to picture the rooms and its less famous residents. It’s a loss not to have them pictured.

[Linda Edmonds Cerullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting history of Kensington Palace and the members of royalty who resided there through the roughly 200 or so years of history. Beginning with the sons of George III and continuing right up through the current occupants (including William and Kate and Harry and Meghan), it is at times amusing as Tom Quinn recounts some of the more eccentric (and downright bizarre) tenants and covers historical facts not normally shared in other sources. Little known details of Queen Victoria and her difficulties with her mother were fascinating. Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon's sometimes nasty marital issues are eye-opening and somewhat tragic. In addition the book is current as it gives some description of the problems Harry and Meghan and William and Kate have experienced in recent times. A fun historical read!

[Cheryl Rowland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time finishing this book for the same reasons as other readers said. Even though the subtitle was From Mary to Meghan the book concentrated to much on the first three Georges and definitely said very little about George V's wife Queen Mary of Teck, grandmother of Queen Elizabeth which is what made me want to read it. But once I commit to reading a book unless it is just plain horrible (which I have had) I just plow through. Also, I get so tired of authors or writers calling Catherine, Kate (which she never was called even as a child) or Kate Middleton which she hasn't been for ten years. This same complaint also applies to Meghan, who hasn't been Meghan Markle for the past three years. I gave the book three stars because of these issues.

[Julia Partin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, the author tried to stick to details about the palace, but was heavily concentrated on the history of William and Mary and the earliest occupants of KP. The stories did not flow well and there are many blatant inaccuracies stated in the book. For example the author refers to Princess Charlotte Augusta as Princess of Wales when in fact she was Princess Charlotte of Wales, her parents were Prince and Princess of Wales. Also, the author states that Princes William and Harry found out their mother Diana had died while they were at KP. I believe most everyone at this point knows they were at Balmoral when she died and found out there.
Not the worst royal book but definitely not a good one.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was such a letdown. I remember reading excerpts in an English newspaper, which made it seem like we’d be presented information that was never shared before. However, most of the book explains the bad state Kensington Palace was once in and that royals used to live in moldy and damp apartments. Ok cool.
The first time you’ll read about the “young royals” is on page 231- keep in mind that the book only has 258 pages. That means you’ll effectively get 27 pages of “gossip” (nothing we haven’t heard before) in a book that has Meghan and Harry on the cover.

Because of how misleading the cover and blurb are, and how incredibly dull the content itself is, I rate it 1 star.

[Janie Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you were hoping for a book full of gossip about the Royals, go get a magazine. This is not the book for gossip.
About 80% if the book is a long jumbled history of Kensington Palace and it’s former residents focusing on Queen Victoria and her relatives.
Meghan and Harry may be on the cover but there isn’t much in the book most people don’t already know. Skip to Chapter 16 if you want to see what this author thinks about the younger royals.
I borrowed this from my local library, I’d advise you to do the same. Definitely not worth the purchase price.

[Helen Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but there are a number of inaccuracies in it. The most glaring being that William and Harry received the news of their mother's death in Kensington Palace. Everyone knows that they were with their grandparents at Balmoral at the time. I picked up several other pieces of inaccurate information throughout the book. All I can say is that it was a good read but I don't believe all that the books contains. I will stick to real historians such as A.N. Wilson and Lucy Worsley in future.

[Maria S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay; however, I think maybe I was expecting more…
It delves into the past history of the royals and going back into the early years and the role that Kensington palace has had through out that time. It discusses the way the kings used to have all these mistresses as well as the low wages that the staff was paid. It then catches up to most recent times of Queen Elizabeth and princess Diana.
Interesting side note: some of the earlier royals actually hated some of their children and some relationships were never repaired.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that I kept thinking about giving up but devoured quickly anyway. I was at a definite disadvantage because my knowledge of the royal family is basically Henry VIII and the current batch. I couldn't get a read on what the author thought of his subject; if I was British, maybe the subtext would be clear? It was interesting enough but not overwhelmingly so, nor did it offer anything new about modern times.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a history lover, and Kensington Palace is a must-visit when I travel to London. So this book was fun, but agree with the other reviews that the cover is misleading as it spends very little ink on more contemporary royals. It’s also not strictly chronological, which can get confusing when talking about the Georgians. The author jumps around a lot, and sometimes repeats himself.

So overall I thought the content was interesting but the approach and editing could have been better.

[Hannah Dargan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was glad I read this and I learned some really interesting facts and stories about the royal family. I think this book could have been more impactful if it followed the timeline more strictly as it felt like some things were very repetitive. I definitely wanted to learn even more about the royal family (past and present) after I finished reading.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book

I loved to read about the author's experience with kensington palace & many other royal houses. It's a great book & very much detailed about the life of the royal family .

[Andrea Cover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read

Very interesting insight into English architecture and royal history of some very fascinating characters, loved the book looking forward to reading more of Tom Quinns books.

[Lisa Kahler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes difficult to follow with all the different names a Royal goes by. What would have been helpful in this book is a family tree diagram that explains where everyone mentioned fell into the family.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not anything terribly new, but a fun and interesting history of Kensington Palace! And a great bibliography if you are looking for more books on KP and the British royals

[Pamela Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing

[Janie Whaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to visualize

Well written account, but no visuals! I can find diagrams online, but it would have enhanced the book to have them includ

[Kathleen Kirchner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good history just not gossipy enough 😂

[Jenny Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. The author jumped around too much.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs maps, photos, and architectural drawings.

[Pat Lampe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a history of KP and its inhabitants. Interesting but somewhat misleading from the cover images. Nothing new and scandalous, alas.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superficial

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about Kensington Palace. Did not like the cover picture.
Nobody wants to look at those two grifters