The subject matter of Royal Affair was interesting enough, I suppose, however the chapters were incredibly long! I still enjoyed it overall though.
This nonfiction book examines George III in relationship with his brothers and sisters. Not all are mentioned or given equal attention. The book primarily focuses on Caroline Matilda, his youngest sister, who married Christian VII of Denmark. Prince Edward, Prince William, Prince Henry all get a chapter apiece. Several of his siblings married without permission which was almost unforgivable from George III's perspective. I definitely felt for Maria Walpole who secretly married Prince William, Duke of Gloucester. They kept the marriage secret as long as possible, until she conceived, though in truth George III was unofficially aware of the marriage. As long as it was "secret" he could continue to receive his brother and have him as part of his inner circle. But once it was announced, he had to be harsh because he wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong impression of his authority. The couple would have three children together, but, he fell out of love with her, started talking bad about her, found a new mistress, and made up with his brother. The marriage definitely didn't lead to a happily ever after for her. I struggled with Caroline Matilda. On the one hand, she had little choice in her marriage, and she was definitely married to someone unsuitable in almost every way. Her husband was essentially insane a good deal of the time, and, even when he was sane, he was far from ideal. (He loved prostitutes). On the other hand, falling in love and having a baby with one of the court doctors was scandalous. These sections were rarely boring!
© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
2 comments:
I'm going to have to add this to my Books to find list. I find this time period extremely interesting but really know just enough about it to be confused! This sounds like an interesting read.
aw I watched this movie last year and really liked it.
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