Power and Glory

Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty

By: Alexander Larman

Narrated by: Alexander Larman, Sophie Roberts

This program features an introduction read by the author.

Alexander Larman, the master chronicler of the House of Windsor, brings his acclaimed trilogy to a dramatic and poignant conclusion.

When the Royal Family took to the balcony of Buckingham Palace on VE Day in 1945, they knew that the happiness and excitement of the day was illusory. Britain may have been victorious in a painful war, but the peace would be no easier. Between the abdication crisis, the death of King George VI, and the ascension of young Elizabeth II to the throne, the continued existence of the monarchy seemed uncertain. And the presence of the former Edward VIII, now the Duke of Windsor, conniving and sniping from the sidelines in an attempt to regain relevance, even down to writing a controversial and revelatory memoir, could only make matters worse. Still, the question of whether or not Elizabeth could succeed and make the monarchy something that once again inspired international pride and even love remained.

In Power and Glory, Alexander Larman completes his acclaimed Windsor family trilogy, using rare and previously unseen documents to illuminate their unique family dynamic. Through his chronicling of events like the Royal Wedding, George VI’s death and the discovery of the Duke of Windsor’s treacherous activities in WWII, Larman paints a vivid portrait of the end of one sovereign’s reign and the beginning of another’s that heralded a new Elizabethan Age which would bring power and glory back to a monarchy desperately in need of it.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2024 Alexander Larman (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Alexander Larman's final volume of his trilogy, about the Windsors, Power and Glory, is a fascinating exploration of the activities, relationships and emotions of the British royal family and parliamentary leaders in the post-war years of the forties and fifties. If you want to better understand England and the English people, read this book.”—Patrick Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of Making It So: A Memoir

“Modern royal history at its best—clear, unsentimental, authoritative, captivating. The struggles of the post-war monarchy and the dawn of Elizabeth II’s reign are told with the perfect amount of detail.”—Gareth Russell: author of The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court

"Drawing from diaries and memoirs of the royals and their retinue, Larman produces an elegant study of the interplay between the personal and the political. Royal watchers will be satisfied with this fitting final installment."—Publisher's Weekly

Yawn

If you have read extensively about the British royals, you will not find much which is new. Just VERY comprehensive.