My Mother and I

by Ingrid Seward

The story of the real relationship between King Charles III and his mother, by the esteemed royal biographer, Ingrid Seward.

The relationship between the late Monarch and her son, the King, has long been a subject of fascination. The upbringing of an heir is especially important and places an extra burden on top of all the cares of motherhood. The demands placed on the monarch are unique and there was no one better placed to know this than the late Queen. She knew that not only must they be figureheads, but they must be seen to care for others less fortunate than themselves. They are also expected to uphold family values. Princess Elizabeth made it a point of maternal honour to try and build her routine around her young son while doing her duty. When she became Queen, it was a more delicate balance, but one which she eventually learnt to sustain.

Unlike his self-contained mother, who always put duty above personal happiness, King Charles needed love and support to function properly. This is the story of how Charles was shaped and moulded by his heritage. His mother was the woman he always loved but could never be close to. As Queen she held the Pandora’s box of the crown and all he could do was wait and learn. In his mother’s old age, he finally received the affection and respect from her he had craved for so long. This book documents  his life through many personal anecdotes from his family and his friends, from the moment the guns saluted his birth to the day he was officially declared as the King at his Coronation.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Royalty

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 15, 2024

About the author

Ingrid Seward is Editor-in-Chief of Majesty magazine, the leading monthly journal covering all aspects of British, European and other royal families around the world.

Since it began in 1980 Majesty magazine has remained the market leader in its field.

Ingrid is acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent writers and commentators on the royal family and has published over 20 books and contributed numerous articles to publications worldwide.

An experienced public speaker both in the UK and North America, Ingrid has worked for every major TV and radio station across the world. She is currently royal commentator for ABC network's Good Morning America.

Ingrid is in the unique position of knowing many members of the royal family personally and through Majesty enjoys a special relationship with the Royal Household.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Mother and I is an interesting and charming look at Princess Elizabeth, her role as Queen from when she was only twenty five, and the birth of the future king, Charles. The institution of the Royal Family is one steeped in tradition, and Buckingham Palace was a place of work. Queen Elizabeth needed to put her work foremost, and her children sometimes suffered from this. Charles needed his mother's love and caring - and his father's, Prince Philip - but the "keep a stiff upper lip" was wound through the family and the lives connected. The author, Ingrid Seward was in the unique position of knowing well, many members of the Royal Family, and this book was fascinating to read, although there is some repetition.

I particularly love the cover, of a mother and son and them both laughing hilariously at some aside comment. An enjoyable read, My Mother and I is one I recommend.

With thanks to Simon & Schuster for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a concise read about Queen Elizabeth and King Charles, and looks at their relationships with different members of the royal family. There is a distinct element of shade toward Prince Harry throughout the book, which greatly appealed to me and is well deserved in my opinion. Ingrid Seward’s dislike and disgust in his actions and his continual playing of the victim in a problem of his own making makes for an interesting and enjoyable read. Definitely the break I needed from some average-at-best thrillers!

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much new here, but still an engaging read about the late queen and her heir the now King Charles III. I did laugh at the snark toward Prince Harry. Quoting Spare then saying how he really doesn't understand how anything works. And also pointing out the hypocrisy. Before his marriage, he loved being the spare and being able to get away with everything. Then he married and became a miserable whiner and now says he hates everything about his very privileged childhood and family. It amazes me how there are still people who don't see that. If you are truly happy, you don't constantly complain about your life and try to bring down others, especially those who have loved, nurtured, and yes, covered up your many indiscretions. Given the current issues surrounding the royals, one hopes Harry and his family will finally make good on their plans to live a quiet private life in America. She also goes too easy on Andrew, given his friendship with a literal sex offender. I'd say this book is best as an audio book. Something to casually listen to while working around the house as it doesn't need undivided attention.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book about the relationship between the late Queen and her son, the King. The author delves into the King’s upbringing with often absent parents due to monarchical responsibilities and the way children were raised among the aristocracy at the time and the impact on the King’s life and character. The book also chronicles the understanding and relationship between the two built in more recent years. It was a good book with a lot of info, sometimes repetitive, but a book about the royal family has to be bad for me not to enjoy it

[Debra Govier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queen Elizabeth and King Charles were both children of reigning monarchs, so their parents were always busy or travelling and not able to spend as much time with them as they would have liked.
So nannies, governesses and close family members stepped in and were a big influence on their lives.
This book tells us about those people who had a big effect on their lives and how Elizabeth and Charles became the adults, and eventually parents they were to their own children.
I would have liked to hear more about Charles' relationship with his mother.

[MR K J GILBERT · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rubbish.don't waste.your money

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a feeble excuse for a new book. I read and learned nothing new, it is all old rehashes of other books and news articles. The chapters were oddly titled "My Mother", My Siblings", etc and then proceeded to talk about everyone under the sun besides the person in the chapter title. It was a waste of time.

[Shuggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book should have been called Myself and I instead, it barely mentioned the relationship between the former Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III. The book spent more time stating what other people had documented rather than new information, and most of the mother information offered was talking about The Royals in a bad light.

[Patsy Lesperance · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent enough book. No much new information and very obviously biased against those who have displeased the royal family.

[Bobbiann Markle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an interesting book, but the author’s sympathies clearly lie with the king, Camilla, and William; Diana and Harry received more criticism—perhaps deservedly, but it feels a bit biased. I’m not sure why she chose the title; some of the chapters are titled similarly, e.g. “My mother’s sister,” “My Father, Prince Philip,” “Our Faith,” as if the author was speaking for Charles.

I do not understand why Princess Charlotte is contrasted with the Duke of York (instead of Princess Anne!) in Chapter 13 (p. 263) in reference to the Succession to the Crown Act. Andrew only lost his place as second in line when his brother Charles had a child, which will be exactly the same for Charlotte if George has a child. Charlotte kept her place when Louis was born, unlike Anne when Andrew was born.

[Colleen Baldwin-Hayter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this book on audible.

I enjoyed the history of this book. It gave an investing view of the reign of Queen Elizabeth and her relationship with Prince Charles, now King.

I loved the history of the her majesty’s rise to Queen and the duty to ensure Charles was moulded to on day be King.

I was disappointed that it seemed more like a history lesson than the relationship between mother and son. I had hoped there would be more stories between the two.

I still recommend the book for those interested in the monarchy.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the royal family and love reading books about them so I had to read this one next and it was amazing.

I really enjoyed this book and I loved reading all about the relationship the Late Queen and her son Charles had.

The author delves into the King's upbringing with often absent parents due to monarchical responsibilities and the way the children were raised. It also details Charles relationship with his own children.

This book was really enjoyable, and I loved the photos that are in the book too.

[Honest Mabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was good

While somethings were categorically wrong in how she reported Harry where there are shots of William off to the side in the press where Harry was in effect the scape goat throughout his childhood. Much of this was interesting. Seward chose to gloss over some other things and downplay parts of the Diana Charles aspect. There are shots certainly fired at Harry throughout the book.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written biography about the everyday life of those born into royalty. Other than having a wealth of resources at your finger tips, royal life is not necessarily a better life than any commoner, especially when it comes to family dynamics and always being on display for the public. Some parts were repetative, but it offers the perspective of those who perhaps sometimes were roasted in the public eye. There are always muliple sides to the story when it comes to human relationships.

[Stevie Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book unfortunately fails to focus solely on the relationship between the King and his mother, as described in the title 'My Mother and I'. Instead, the author writes of previously well chartered relationships between Charles and many other royals as well as the late Queen. There's only a few secrets/snippets I hadn't heard before though. I didn't actually read what I thought I was going to, and so the title is misleading.

[Adrienne Cullen-Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When are these Royal authors going to come up with something new about the Royal family. There was a lot of rehashing of what we already know with nothing new that I could discern. At the end of the book it is confirmed that Queen Elizabeth and her son had a better relationship late in her life than earlier. The book however is well written.

[Nancy C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

well researched and balanced

Enjoyed this book. Ms. Seward looked at various aspects of the monarchy and relationships within the Royal family. Sources were well described and many of her conclusions of events were insightful and seemed balanced. I would recommend to a follower of the monarchy.

[Leslie M. Cann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting look into the royal family and particularly the relationship between mother and son, Queen Elizabeth and King Charles. I felt it was well written and not overrun with gossip as so many “biographies” of the royal family seem to be. It is worth the read if you are into the royal family.

[Neil McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Royal Family is a icon that I have come to always expect to be there, they are a family of high standards with less problems than most, which is important when living with the eyes of the world on them 24/7/365.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring! Nothing really earth-shattering, and the author really ought to study history a bit more. Churchill was not the Prime Minister at the time of the abdication. If you can get that bit wrong how reliable can the rest be?

[Aussie54 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay, in that it was easy and interesting to read, although I did know most of it.

I found it odd that the title is “My Mother and I”, when many chapters concentrate on different people, other than the Queen.

[Kimberly Krauch · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Mother and I

I found Ms. Seward's book relateable of how many families' relationships are, whether in the past or what we see today regardless of social status. A fine book indeed.

[Pía López Copetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book, and from a respectable author rather than a biased source

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Lcitera · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for Anglophiles.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. Thought it was a little biased at the end, but still a good read.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful glimpse into the lives of a mother and a son whose lives are lived out in constant public scrutiny.
This book is warm and personable and an enjoyable read if you like all things royal.

[Helen Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read about King Charles and his relationship with his mother.

[Sinead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A interesting insight into Charles' relationship with his late mother.

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good