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    The Royal Nanny: A Novel
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    The Royal Nanny: A Novel
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    The Royal Nanny: A Novel
    Ebook407 pages7 hours

    The Royal Nanny: A Novel

    By Karen Harper

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Based on a seldom-told true story, this novel is perfect for everyone who is fascinated by Britain’s royal family—a behind the scenes look into the nurseries of little princes and the foibles of big princes.

    April, 1897: A young nanny arrives at Sandringham, ancestral estate of the Duke and Duchess of York. She is excited, exhausted—and about to meet royalty. . . .

    So begins the unforgettable story of Charlotte Bill, who would care for a generation of royals as their parents never could. Neither Charlotte—LaLa, as her charges dub her—nor anyone else can predict that eldest sons David and Bertie will each one day be king. LaLa knows only that these children, and the four who swiftly follow, need her steadfast loyalty and unconditional affection.

    But the greatest impact on Charlotte’s life is made by a mere bud on the family tree: a misunderstood soul who will one day be known as the Lost Prince. Young Prince John needs all of Lala’s love—the kind of love his parents won’t…or can’t…show him.

    From Britain’s old wealth to the glittering excesses of Tsarist Russia; from country cottages to royal yachts, and from nursery to ballroom, Charlotte Bill witnesses history. The Royal Nanny is a seamless blend of fact and fiction—an intensely intimate, yet epic tale spanning decades, continents, and divides that only love can cross.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 21, 2016
    ISBN9780062420640
    Author

    Karen Harper

    New York Times bestselling author Karen Harper is a former high-school and college English teacher. Winner of the 2005 Mary Higgins Clark Award for her outstanding novel, Dark Angel, Karen is the author of twelve romantic suspense novels, two historical novels and a series of historical mysteries. Karen and her husband, who divide their time between Columbus, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, love to travel both in the U.S. and abroad.

    Read more from Karen Harper

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    Reviews for The Royal Nanny

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      Well done historical fiction, tells the story in interesting way and is pretty accurate.
    • 5/5
      Every once in awhile that rare book comes along that captivates me from the very first page. Such is the case of The Royal Nanny that provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the Edwardian British Royals. It focuses on the six children of King George V as narrated by their nanny, Charlotte Bill. Hired as a nursemaid, Lala as she was nicknamed, rose to the position of royal nanny and became the thread of love, devotion and stability that provided comfort to these children throughout their lives. Lala was especially tenacious in her care of Prince John the youngest who was ostracized from the royal circle due to his epilepsy and autistic tendencies. The wonderful blending of fact and fiction makes this book a rewarding learning experience and is highly recommended to readers of historical fiction and British history.
    • 4/5
      This engaging book chronicles Charlotte Bill's employment by the British royal family in 1897 as a nanny to their growing family, which included future kings David and Bertie. Nicknamed "Mrs. Lala" by the children, she is a source of comfort and positive reinforcement when their parents are physically or emotionally absent. She is especially devoted to the sixth child, Prince John, who struggles with epilepsy and autism and later becomes known as The Lost Prince. This is an interesting, well-researched view of the lives of King George and Queen Mary, his parents and their extended European relatives. WWI presents new challenges for the royal family, and for Mrs. Lala as she continues to love and care for all of them through childhood and beyond.
    • 4/5
      The Royal Nanny is the story of Charlotte Bill the nanny to the royal children in pre-WWI Britain. Her charges include David and Bertie who go on to become king, but her special task is to watch over Johnnie. Johnnie is epileptic (and possibly autistic, though they don't say that in the book.)The Royal Nanny was a great piece of historical fiction. I didn't know much about the royal family before reading this book, and now can't wait to lean more. My only complaint is that the author seemed to force a scene between Charlotte and every important historical figure of that age.
    • 3/5
      Charlotte Bill was nanny to the royal children in the late 1800's. She was well loved by the whole family and the family was everything to her. This is an interesting behind the scene look at a woman who was closer to England's royal children than their parents. Lovers of historical fiction and fans of Downton Abbey will no doubt enjoy the interplay between the public lives and private reality of the children and their caretaker.
    • 4/5
      This is a great look into the British Royal family back around 1910 to the 1920s. Catherine Bell is the nanny assigned to care for the royal children. The story reads more like a memoir. It's not flashy and full of drama. It is what I would consider a very good interpretation of the real life job of Ms Bell, knows as Lala to the royal children.I love that the book gave us a bit of insight into the characteristics of the royals. For instance, King George VI's stammer, and King Edward VIII's inclination for older women who were more controlling in the relationship. Queen Mary had six children and Lala was more a mother to them than their parents. We also learned more about Prince John who was pretty much abandoned by his parents due to his epilepsy. Great story. I received a complimentary copy via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
    • 4/5
      I absolutely loved the story and all of the characters! This is partly a love story and partly a story about the love between a nanny and her charges. Throughout the book, you feel like you really know and understand the characters. I have always enjoyed stories about the British Royals. This was my first exposure to Charlotte Bill, also known as Lala so it made for an interesting, little known story. The story spans slightly over twenty years and tells of a young woman, her personal sacrifices and love for the royal children. It also tells her story as it pertains to her love of Chad, the gamekeeper who she turned down due to her love and care for the children.I found the story of Prince John to be the most interesting as he was always sickly and how Lala cared from him even as he developed epilepsy. The story describes his other behaviors which were likely autism, little discussed in the days in which the story is set. Lala's devotion to Johnny and the other five children is amazing. I also really enjoyed the story of David who became King Edward VIII and abdicated the throne for Wallis Simpson. I am hoping that the epilogue is the precursor to a sequel for the story.
    • 4/5
      You've probably seen the adorable pictures of the current royal children and if you're an Anglophile, you've oohed and aahed over those pictures. But pictures don't tell what it's like to be around these special and different children all the time. They don't tell what it's like to raise them or to love them. Karen Harper's newest novel, The Royal Nanny, isn't about Prince George and Princess Charlotte's nanny but instead fictionalizes the life of Lala, the nanny to their great-great grandfather and his siblings.Charlotte Bill is a young woman when she is engaged as the under nurse at York Cottage. She is to help the head nurse with David and Bertie and their soon to be new sibling. She is completely devoted to her small charges, loving them dearly even as she must make them toe the lines that their parents require and she will defend them with the zeal of a mama bear. Although Queen Victoria is still on the throne when the newly christened Mrs. Lala comes to York Cottage, the children are already being groomed for their eventually very public life. Lala must try to balance her own personal desires, including a budding romance with one of the games keepers on the estate, with her duty and care of the growing brood of children, a brood which eventually numbers six. She loves each of the young Yorks but her special child is the last and youngest, Johnnie. He was a frail baby who had a very rough birth, doesn't appear to have the same mental capacity as his siblings, and suffers from epileptic seizures, all of which combine to make him the hidden child, rarely spoken of or seen.Lala was in fact a real person who did indeed come to serve the Yorks and their children. She was the nanny to two future kings, Edward VIII and George VI, and was privy to the intimacies of family life with two more kings, Edward VII and George V. Told in first person by Charlotte/Lala, the reader is plunged into the personal lives of the royals. She witnesses the bickering and antagonisms between fathers and sons, the distance between spouses, and had a front row seat to British history. But all of these things, even the parts she disapproved of, are told through her loving eyes. Genuinely caring for the children and the trials they faced, Lala recounts tales about the children that correspond closely to adult traits that history has recorded for the more public of the Yorks, tales that might not be terribly flattering but that keep these rarified children human. She chronicles the ups and downs of life in the nursery and to some extent beyond. Woven into the happiness she derives from raising her charges, is the conflict she feels personally and just what sacrifices of her own hopes and dreams she's willing to make in order to continue to care for David, Bertie, Mary, Harry, George, and Johnnie.The novel is well-researched and offers readers a fascinating glimpse into royal life at the time and all of the conflicts swirling about in the family. Harper has done a good job balancing Charlotte's devotion and her regrets, asking the question whether duty and love for the children should supersede a chance at marriage and her own family. Life in the royal household, and especially Johnnie's so carefully hidden life is brought to life sympathetically and any reader who thrills to news of the royals will be engrossed. The pieces about Lala's own personal life sometimes felt a little contrived or repetitous although they were necessary to show the very real choices she had to make and how those choices shaped her entire life, even once her charges were too old to need a nanny. Life with the royals could certainly be glamorous but there was a heavy cost and readers will come away feeling sorry for the personal cost not only to Lala but to the children who bore the weight of a nation on their small shoulders from the moment of their births. Hopefully things have changed some for the better now but even if they haven't, this is a page turning read that definitely has a place in the beach bags of historical fiction readers this summer.
    • 3/5
      Historical fiction telling the story of Charlotte Bill (or Lala), the real-life nanny of the children of George V (those children including David, later Edward VII, and Bertie, later George VI, who was, of course, Queen Elizabeth's father). There's something pleasantly compelling about Harper's prose--it pulls you along nicely--but otherwise it is fairly unremarkable. The story itself is also rather bland, focusing more on Lala's on-again, off-again, ill-fated, and tepid romance with Chad Reaver, a groundskeeper at Sandringham, where Lala is most often in residence with her royal charges. The romance did nothing for me (honestly, it just sort of sits there, and I was never terribly convinced of the depth of Lala's feelings for him). The life of royal children and the role of their nanny in bringing them up was far more interesting, but while the book did spend a lot of time on that, it never felt like Harper was really that interested in that part of the story. Lala is portrayed as extremely devoted to the children and fiercely protective of them, but Harper never succeeds in making me worried about any of them (or, again, really convincing me of those feelings on Lala's part). This is history, so I know to what degree they're all going to be okay or not, and the book just doesn't get over that hump of making me invest in their problems despite knowing the outcome. The last third or so of the book deals almost exclusively with Lala's care of Johnnie, the youngest of the children, who suffered from epilepsy and was almost certainly autistic as well. This should have been fascinating, but was just sort of blah, just like the rest of the book. I think there was an excellent story in there, but one that would have been better served by a more substantial telling, a more serious tone, a lighter hand on the romance (or its absence altogether, as it did not really happen and added little to the book), and probably the third person rather than first. Disappointing.
    • 4/5
      3.5 A young nanny arrives to be under nurse to the young princes, Bertie, and David. Her name is Charlotte and will soon answer to the name, LaLa a nickname given to her by the young Bertie. Witnessing an act of cruelty she is soon made head nursemaid and will give up her life to care for this young royal family. A family that will add, Mary, George, Harry and John.This really happened, although of course the conversations, the dialogue is not known. A good hard look at these young lives, the royal residences, their parents, grandparents, the furnishings, the ceremonies, the many things and lessons it took to be royal. Anyone interested in Britain's royalty will find much to like here in this behind the scenes look. These royal personages were so lucky to be raised by so many caring nursemaids, teachers and servants. It didn't start out that way. Loved the end where Charlotte in now in her eighties, looking back, updating the reader on her charges. She gave up so much, her own romance, her own children, so much love, and so much heartache. She experienced it all. I realized reading this how little I actually know about England's rulers after Charles the second. Never even knew of Johnny existence, the poor young royal they call the Lost prince.ARC from publisher.
    • 4/5
      Being a huge fan of "Downton Abbey," this book was a must read for me! "The Royal Nanny" is a fictionalized account of the story of Charlotte Bill, or LaLa, as her young charges call her. LaLa arrived at Sandringham Castle in April 1897 to care for children who will one day rule one of the greatest empires to ever exist. She gives them her steadfast love and affection at great sacrifice to herself.The best part of this novel though is the setting - from yachts to large country estates and faraway lands. This story is fascinating imagining of one woman's close relationship with the royals she cares for and a glimpse into their almost unimaginable lives.
    • 4/5
      If you are one of the many people who love seeing photos of the young Prince George and Princess Charlotte on your Facebook page or when you see William and Kate and their beautiful children on the cover of People magazine must buy it, then Karen Harper's new novel, The Royal Nanny, is for you.Harper based her historical novel on the true story of Charlotte Bill, the royal nanny to the children of the Duke and Duchess of York, who eventually became King George V and Queen Mary, grandparents to today's reining British monarch, Queen Elizabeth.The children called Charlotte Lala, and she came to the family as an assistant to the main nanny, until Lala discovered that she had been mistreating David and Bertie, who would one day go one to become King Edward VIII, best known as the man who abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, and King George VI, whom we know best from Colin Firth's portrayal of him in the Oscar-winning movie, The King's Speech.Lala was devoted to her charges, including four more born after the boys. When the Duchess was giving birth to a baby named John, she had a very difficult birth and feared that she wouldn't live through the birth. She begged Lala to promise to always care for the baby and Lala agreed.Lala became very attached to baby Johnnie, and as he grew, John appeared to be different from the other children. He had trouble sitting still, and he was slow to learn. Today, we would probably place him somewhere on the autism spectrum.As Johnnie got older, he began to have seizures. These seizures frightened everyone, and doctors recommended that John be sent away to be cared for. But Lala would not allow that to happen. She appealed to the Duke and Duchess, and promised that she would care for John herself. Eventually, John and Lala were moved from the family home to a smaller home nearby, where Lala cared for him.Lala gave up her entire life to care for the children, never marrying. She had feelings for Chad, a young man who worked on the family estate, but her sense of duty got in the way of her happiness.Fans of Downton Abbey will love The Royal Nanny. You get such a sense of what life was like as a servant and as child in a royal household. History fans will enjoy it too, as we see David and Bertie's childhood lives, and how they grew up into the men they became.Harper has some interesting insight into why David would marry Wallis Simpson and abdicate, she believes that he was attracted to women who dominated him.In what could have been stock portrayals of real people, Harper brings out their humanity. The Duke loved his son Johnnie, and was torn about sending him away to avoid a scandal. The King and Queen are shown to be particularly fond of their grandchildren, just like every other grandparent. The King plays games with melting pats of butter and the Queen shares her love of small glass animal figurines with her grandchildren.I found the relationships among the royals and their extended family members who ruled in Germany and especially Russia intriguing. We tend to forget that the Windsor family had such close ties to the rest of Europe and how that affected them during times of war.The Royal Nanny is an utterly fascinating fictional look at a real historical character, and Anglophiles will want to put this one on their TBR list. I highly recommend it, and I'll be looking for more information on the real Charlotte Bill.
    • 4/5
      A fictionalized account of a true story, I enjoyed this book, overall. Charlotte Bill becomes the nanny to 6 royal children, one of whom is Queen Elizabeth II's father. I knew a good bit about the family, but this novel put a personal touch onto what I already knew. Be sure to read the author's notes at the end; I appreciate her research in writing this book. I was a bit disappointed in the ending. I wondered if there was a page limit that had been reached, because the ending, which is quite dramatic on a couple of different levels, was almost glossed over. I would have enjoyed reading a few more pages to get a better feeling about the end.
    • 5/5
      You are knowledgeable in terms of writing a novel, I really enjoyed it! Well done! ... If you have some great stories like this one, you can publish it on Novel Star, just submit your story to hardy@novelstar.top or joye@novelstar.top
    • 3/5
      I loved this novel and all the twists, turns and flips! I absolutely fell in love with the character Charlotte and felt every heartbreak and loss that she did, I almost cried even. You seldom get to see what life is like for royal nannies, so it was amazing to dive into Charlotte’s world. ??
    • 3/5
      The Royal Nanny By Karen Harper
      (Scribd).
      This book is based onn the life of Royal Nanny Charlotte Bill. She starts working for the royal family in England in 1897. Quickly dubbed Lala by the children, she takes charge of the two princes David and Bertie both destined to be king of England,and the four that follow. She develops a special attachment to the youngest one Johnnie who suffers from epilepsy. Though her eyes you see how world war 1 and 2 affected the royal family and will see Lala face and survive immeasurable tragedy. A very interesting book.
    • 3/5
      I wish the author hadn't tried to include a love story in this book. I understand her desire to show that Charlotte had interests and dreams that didn't include the children, but it was the weakest part of the book. In the beginning we don't get to see her relationship with Chad develop, so when she is agonizing about choices she's made regarding him, there is no resonance, though, this aspect did improve in the second half of the book.On the other hand, the parts focusing on the children were excellent. It was interesting and sad to see how the parents interacted with the children as compared to how Charlotte did, especially when it came to Johnnie who was the heart of the story.Something additional worth noting: this was one of the most well-rounded portrayals of David I've seen in page or on screen. I'm glad I read this novel. Not only was it interesting, but I was also ultimately moved by it.
    • 5/5
      A great novel of the nanny caring for not only Queen Elizabeth’s father, but her uncles and aunts also. One particular little prince touched Lala’s Heart more than any other...Prince John. Kept out of the public eye due to his seizures, but more so because of his unique behavior and personality, Lala denied herself amorous love, but did love Prince John as her own. A beautiful story illustrating that love is not just for those bound by blood.
    • 5/5
      I have to admit I was drawn to this story before I realized it was based on a real person. I suppose I should have known that but it somehow just didn’t occur to me for some reason. Parts of the tale are fictionalized but the woman at the heart of the story cared for the two young boys who would become Edward VIII and George VI not to mention all of their siblings.Charlotte Bill was recommended to a position in the royal nursery but when she arrived and settled in she found that the head nurse (what we now know as a nanny) was mistreating the young royals. She had the courage to speak up and then surprisingly found herself in charge of the nursery. The children and the royal family ended up calling her Mrs. Lala and so she remained for the rest of her life.The story follows Charlotte as she manages and yes loves her growing brood of royal children. The reader sees that despite their privilege they are still just children looking for love and acceptance but it was not coming from their parents. They got it from their grandparents and always from Mrs. Lala. While the novel is about Charlotte’s care of all of the children the bulk of it focuses on her time with the last of them, little John who had epilepsy. In those days children with the disorder where hidden away. It was not at all understood. Charlotte fought hard to care for her young charge.This was a fascinating look into the world of the royal family and it did not always paint a rosy picture of the various members. The only constant through all of the turmoil in the family and the world is Mrs. Lala. The book follows her into her retirement where she remained a friend to the royal family. She was ever loyal to them, sacrificing a personal life to the care of her charges. It was a hard book to put down once I started reading and I enjoyed learning some new bits and pieces of English history.
    • 4/5
      The Royal Nanny by Karen Harper is about Charlotte Bill, a nanny who devoted her life to the Duke and Duchess of York (King George V & Queen Mary) and their children. This was a well researched, accurate account of the growing up years of the six children – David, Bertie, Mary, Harry, George and Johnny. Their personalities and character traits are well documented and I found this to be fascinating behind the scenes look at these Royals. Charlotte, called Lala by the children and family, grew to love all the children but her heart truly belonged to the youngest child, Johnny, who was an epileptic and was a little slow due to a very difficult birth. He needed her constant attention and supervision which she gladly gave. When his seizures become frequent, he and Charlotte were moved to their own residence on the Sandringham Estate, and she was with him until his death at age fourteen. During her time with the children, many historic events occurred, from the death of Queen Victoria, through to their own father being crowned King. She worried about the eldest and heir to the throne, David, as he was rather weak and easily led and she was disappointed in him when he decided to abdicate. Her life was lived in the shadows of the Royals, but they thought a lot of her and she was even supplied an apartment on the Sandringham Estate to live out her life.The Royal Nanny was an absorbing read and I found myself constantly googling various people and castles as they came up in the book. Charlotte’s steadfast loyalty and unconditional care and concern for these royal children found her sacrificing her personal life for one of servitude. This hidden history aspect of Royal life and it’s upstairs-downstairs point of view made this book a fun read that I really enjoyed.
    • 5/5
      This was one of the best historical fiction novels I’ve read—by the end I was in tears. The historical parts of the novel are intriguing; the fictional composite characters fit in seamlessly and add to the story. The Royal Nanny is about Charlotte Bill or Lala as the children named her, and right from the beginning you see that she is heroic and selfless. If you know a little about the Royal Family, like I did, you’ll be astounded by what you learn here, especially the insight into the David, the eldest who is the Duke of Windsor, and Bertie who became King George the VI, and their early childhoods. If you just want to be entertained and miss watching Downton Abbey, than this book is the ticket.I loved Prince John dubbed “The Lost Prince” by historians and the public, who like the Kennedy’s daughter Rosemary had disabilities and when they got older, were taken out of public view. Something that was heartbreakingly common at the time. They were both given barbaric treatments by their doctors with permission from their parents and then saw little of their families. I’m glad the author brought his story to life and showed how “the hand that rocks the cradle” can make or break the future generation. Lala’s love for the Windsor children was a stabilizing force in their lives. Be sure to check out the sites Karen Harper recommends in the Author’s Note. 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      An insight into the households of the British royals beginning at the time of Queen Victoria. The royal nursery gets a new under-nurse who discovers the Nanny is cruel to her young charges. She reports this and here starts the story of Mrs LaLa, Nanny to the children of George, Prince of Wales and Princess May.
      We also learn about the British experience of WW1, historical events and rural life in the following years and understand how it was that David abandoned the throne for an American divorcee.
      Captivating, especially if you like historical novels.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I have to admit I was drawn to this story before I realized it was based on a real person. I suppose I should have known that but it somehow just didn’t occur to me for some reason. Parts of the tale are fictionalized but the woman at the heart of the story cared for the two young boys who would become Edward VIII and George VI not to mention all of their siblings.Charlotte Bill was recommended to a position in the royal nursery but when she arrived and settled in she found that the head nurse (what we now know as a nanny) was mistreating the young royals. She had the courage to speak up and then surprisingly found herself in charge of the nursery. The children and the royal family ended up calling her Mrs. Lala and so she remained for the rest of her life.The story follows Charlotte as she manages and yes loves her growing brood of royal children. The reader sees that despite their privilege they are still just children looking for love and acceptance but it was not coming from their parents. They got it from their grandparents and always from Mrs. Lala. While the novel is about Charlotte’s care of all of the children the bulk of it focuses on her time with the last of them, little John who had epilepsy. In those days children with the disorder where hidden away. It was not at all understood. Charlotte fought hard to care for her young charge.This was a fascinating look into the world of the royal family and it did not always paint a rosy picture of the various members. The only constant through all of the turmoil in the family and the world is Mrs. Lala. The book follows her into her retirement where she remained a friend to the royal family. She was ever loyal to them, sacrificing a personal life to the care of her charges. It was a hard book to put down once I started reading and I enjoyed learning some new bits and pieces of English history.
    • 3/5
      Karen Harper writes this bittersweet novel in the words of Charlotte Bill, Mrs. Lala, an actual nanny in the household of George V of England. The story describes the royal household and the many hidden secrets of Queen Victoria's legacy. Harper freshly presents the details of running the nursery and caring for the six children of George V and his wife, Mary of Teck. The reader learns that the second child of George and Mary is the father of Queen Elizabeth, and also learns of the terrible treatment the two oldest children received during the reign of a different nanny. I found the book entertaining, and not boringly filled with facts of wars and treaties and political moves. Harper does address the tension and apprehension created by World War I due to family relationships within the fighting countries. The book focuses mainly on Mrs. Lala’s time as the royal nanny to the six children, and her utter devotion to the youngest child, Prince John, who died in 1919. The style presented easy reading, but inserted historic events to enhance an understanding of the family and sense of duty.
    • 2/5
      I am not the person to review this book and it is my own fault. Somehow, when I requested it as an early reviewer, I thought it was non-fiction, and was excited to receive it because I love reading about British royalty and thought reading about a nanny's experiences would be quite interesting. But I hate historical fiction, having OD'ed on it in my youth. So take this review with a grain of salt.Caveat aside, I did not think this book was very well done. I got no real sense of Charlotte Bill's character, and found the intrusions of (discreet) sex and romance with Chad irritating. It covered such a long period of time that I also got no sense of the personalities of the children, or really much of her duties - it seemed to skip from historical event to historical event without much transition. Couldn't wait to finish it.
    • 5/5
      This is the story about Charlotte Bill, nanny to the children of King George and Queen Mary. I don't know as much about this portion of history so I found a book from this perspective fascinating. The story was very emotional, from the time she fell in love and then lost her chance for a family of her own, to the different personalities of all the children and their utter devotion to her. I felt as if I were right there beside her, experiencing everything she did. If you enjoy historical fiction, then you will really enjoy this.
    • 5/5
      I have always been fascinated by the British Monarchy and this book drew me simply by its title. Written from the perspective of Charlotte Bill, also known as Mrs. Lala, it is the behind the scenes look at the British Royal Family from the years 1897 through 1959. Charlotte has been hired as under-nanny for the royal children – David, Bertie, and soon to be born Mary. Within a short time she witnesses an atrocity playing out with David at the receiving end of love/punishment from the head nanny Mrs. Peters. Sadly Mrs. Peters has ‘an illness’ and is sent to an asylum and Mrs. Lala is promoted. Over the years we witness the ever-expanding royal family and learn of the eccentricities of those in power as concerns their offspring. Sometimes laughable, sometimes sad, these eccentricities are what make the royal family who they are. Not until the last child of the Waleses is born does Mrs. Lala find the love of her life: John Charles Francis who would eventually be called the Lost Prince. Unlike any of his other siblings, Johnnie is prone to epileptic fits that worsen over time. And it is Mrs. Lala who stays by the boy, tends to him, nurses him through his fits, and becomes his lifelong companion. All this at the expense of a life of her own away from her royal duties. After witnessing one of the boy’s fits that totally unnerves his siblings, Johnnie and Mrs. Lala are moved from the family homes to a small cottage at the far reaches of Sandringham where they stay until his demise at the age of fourteen.I loved this story, mostly because it is based on true events and populated with historical characters who actually lived. It has given me a new perspective on how the upper class comports themselves and what their actual expectations may be. I also was eager to learn more about Prince John as I had never heard of him before. The story quickly grabs the reader and exposes them to the wonders of royal life via the descriptions of their residences – mostly Sandringham and environs. The on-again, off-again romance of Mrs. Lala and Chad Reaver is one of unrequited love that eventually gets straightened out although it takes a number of years to get to its completion. Attention to detail is excellent and I felt like an onlooker over Mrs. Lala’s shoulder throughout the story.Excellent story.