In April 2022 I reviewed Robert Hardman's book Queen of Our Times and in my post I said that "Robert Hardman has written an admirable book. It is refreshingly lacking in hyperbole and he has a journalistic style which makes for easy reading".
And now he has produced a book on Charles III and, once again, I have to use the same phrase. His lack of gush and royal obsequiousness is the main characteristic of the writing. He does not exaggerate or over egg the narrative and what emerges is a very interesting portrait, not just of the King as he is now (written and published before recent health scares) and I found it of immense interest.
I am a Royalist and supporter of the Monarchy and always have been. I find the long line of Kings and Queens all through history absolutely fascinating and the family likenesses and traits emerge over time, all of which can be intriguing or irritating depending on one's point of view.
This book covers the Queen's death in detail though it is not intrusive in any way. One of the tabloids secured the serialisation rights thus arousing pre-publication interest and, naturally, as one has to sell papers, tended to highlight the antics of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. However, thank goodness, they only feature in a small way in this biography and the author focusses on the events prior to her Majesty's death and the way the machine clicked into action when the news broke.
Of course, her funeral arrangements had been made years before and regularly updated under the codename London Bridge and telephone lines were busy after she passed away with those in charge receiving a call and the given code word. Everyone then swung into action and my goodness me, did not hang about.
The details of the arrangements, not only of the funeral, but the Proclamation at St James (never filmed before) and then the Coronation are laid out in a meticulous manner and I am totally overwhelmed with admiration at the details and efficiency of all concerned.
One example - the St Edward's Crown used in the Coronation had to be taken to pieces and expanded to fit the King's Head. "this entailed making four strips of yellow gold, each seven millimetres wide, before sawing up the crown, inserting each strip and then welding it - imperceptibly - to fill the gaps" I would not care to be the jeweller in charge of that.
After the pomp and the pageantry a large section of the book covers the day to day working life of the King and royalty in general and, once again, incredibly interesting.
Regarding the Commonwealth Hardman posits "that while most ex-colonies opted for a republican constitution some actively chose to retain the British monarch as head of state. In part this was because the Crown was seen to confer greater stability and respectability"
Seems Fidel Castro agreed with this as in 1994, when the Antiguan Prime Minister told him that he wanted to remove the Queen as Head of state the dictator advised him not to. "Does she interfere?" he asked. She did not. "So why are you doing that, you want to be a big tourist island and she is good for showing off your stability"
Can't argue with that!
An absorbing book, well researched, impeccably written and well worth reading.
