Reviews

Gossipmonger Kelly narrates her latest unauthorized biography, this time targeting Britain's royal family. She has included some interesting factual information about the royals, describing the early-20th-century history of the family and its ties to Germany. But the biography is a mix of fact and tawdry, unsubstantiated innuendo (Phillip may be bisexual, one son may not be his, etc.). Wherever possible, Kelley's inflections as narrator make events seem naughtier still. There are two obvious flaws: not once are sources cited clearly, and most of the slurs are based on what someone says without scrutiny of motives. Of the family, the Queen comes out of the fray best, and Charles definitely gets the worst of it. Throughout, schlock rules over scholarship. Not recommended.‘Mark Pumphrey, Polk Cty. P.L., Columbus, N.C.

"Kelley's pen is mightier than the sword." - Houston Voice---
"Miss Kelley is a fine writer and indefatigable researcher...She has lost none of her edge here in The Royals...A delightful read...As early as the second page, Miss Kelley is referring to the royal family's 'secrets of alcoholism, drug addiction, insanity, homosexuality, bisexuality, adultery, infidelity and illegitimacy' in this century. None of this is exaggerated, none of it is false." - Washington Times
"Pages that genuinely illuminate the careers of the flawed humans who have occupied and circled the throne this century. Never before have all the stories about all the bit players, from Prince Philip to Princess Margaret, from the Queen Mother to the grimly devoted old courtiers, been collected in a single, useful place."-Washington Post Book World---
"Salacious...irreverent...juicy details...the product of four years' research...Regarded as the most sensational of her scandal-packed oeuvre...Gripping." - Chicago Sun Times---
"The larger, hotter rumors are as interesting for the way they are presented and justified as for what they contain." - The New Yorker ---