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Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'
The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown
1 review
meganpbennett's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
With all the buzz surrounding Spare, I thought I'd look at what my library offers through Libby on the BRF, and found this book, The Palace Papers.
Less a book of narrative non-fiction and more an exercise in overly-long form journalism, The Palace Papers is a fascinating look behind the curtain of the women in the Royal Family. Growing up in the United States, it's hard to see past the curtain and past the social media blitz of Meghan and Harry. It's easy to see how the Monarchy should have done things a certain way the first time, but hindsight in 20/20, and things are much easier to see in retrospect.
Oddly, the person who came out looking the worst was Meghan. While it was clear that she didn't realize what she was getting into when she married Harry, it became abundantly clear that she didn't care and wanted to do things her way, regardless of the fallout, personally and professionally. While she doesn't deserve the racist and misogynistic press she's received (no one does), a lot of the issues could have been solved had she just taken a deep breath and thought things through (the oft-mentioned lip gloss "snub" is a very good example: it wasn't a "snub" so much as a "I don't share my lip gloss" thing). A working Royal calling a US Senator and asking her to vote a certain way? That is not something that should happen, and something Meghan should have thought through before making the call. There's no way the British Taxpayers would be willing to fund their non-Royal engagements, something else that should have been obvious from the get-go, as should their decisions to attempt to force the Firm into giving them what they want.
All in all, it's a fascinating look at the BRF, especially how the women of the family differ in how they go about their duties. The Queen is the rock, the steady and careful influence on her people and her family, carefully separating her life as a mother and grandmother from her duties as Queen. Camilla (who should have been allowed to marry Charles, that would have kept so many problems from happening), is steadfast in her love of Charles and is his anchor. She didn't want to be Queen, but there she is. Diana, who was falsely lead to believe she was in a love match, growing more and more bored and equally reckless as she realizes the depth of what she was roped into. Catherine, who's "girl next door" relatability was carefully crafted and perfectly polished to make her the perfect woman to be Queen. And, finally, Meghan, who learned far too late that the Palace doesn't protect non-fiances (just ask Kate), and that doing what she wants while being a part of the Firm wasn't possible. Which is something even this American knows about fairy tales, it's only a happily-for-now.
Less a book of narrative non-fiction and more an exercise in overly-long form journalism, The Palace Papers is a fascinating look behind the curtain of the women in the Royal Family. Growing up in the United States, it's hard to see past the curtain and past the social media blitz of Meghan and Harry. It's easy to see how the Monarchy should have done things a certain way the first time, but hindsight in 20/20, and things are much easier to see in retrospect.
Oddly, the person who came out looking the worst was Meghan. While it was clear that she didn't realize what she was getting into when she married Harry, it became abundantly clear that she didn't care and wanted to do things her way, regardless of the fallout, personally and professionally. While she doesn't deserve the racist and misogynistic press she's received (no one does), a lot of the issues could have been solved had she just taken a deep breath and thought things through (the oft-mentioned lip gloss "snub" is a very good example: it wasn't a "snub" so much as a "I don't share my lip gloss" thing). A working Royal calling a US Senator and asking her to vote a certain way? That is not something that should happen, and something Meghan should have thought through before making the call. There's no way the British Taxpayers would be willing to fund their non-Royal engagements, something else that should have been obvious from the get-go, as should their decisions to attempt to force the Firm into giving them what they want.
All in all, it's a fascinating look at the BRF, especially how the women of the family differ in how they go about their duties. The Queen is the rock, the steady and careful influence on her people and her family, carefully separating her life as a mother and grandmother from her duties as Queen. Camilla (who should have been allowed to marry Charles, that would have kept so many problems from happening), is steadfast in her love of Charles and is his anchor. She didn't want to be Queen, but there she is. Diana, who was falsely lead to believe she was in a love match, growing more and more bored and equally reckless as she realizes the depth of what she was roped into. Catherine, who's "girl next door" relatability was carefully crafted and perfectly polished to make her the perfect woman to be Queen. And, finally, Meghan, who learned far too late that the Palace doesn't protect non-fiances (just ask Kate), and that doing what she wants while being a part of the Firm wasn't possible. Which is something even this American knows about fairy tales, it's only a happily-for-now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, and Eating disorder
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