Before the Crown offers a captivating glimpse into the early romance between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. This historical fiction novel skillfully weaves together the personal and the political, providing a rich tapestry of the era. Overall, Before the Crown is an enjoyable read for fans of historical fiction and royal romance. It offers a fresh perspective on a well-known love story, humanizing iconic figures while remaining true to the historical record.

As a British royal fan, I was excited to read this book. Especially with the gorgeous cover!! But it fell a little flat for me. Maybe because it’s so difficult to fictionalize the lives of real people, especially people who have passed in recent years. It was a great premise but not my favorite.

Okay, I'll admit it. I love me some royal scandal. I was raised as a royalist and I flippin' love the history of it all. Therefore, Flora Harding's Before the Crown was like catnip to me.

Before the Crown is the story of Princess Elizabeth and Philip's courtship and the stumbling blocks they faced during their relationship. How Philip was not seen as worthy candidate for the princess and how the media intrusion felt oppressive. Hmm, interesting take Flora Harding, once that definitely parallels modern circumstances.

Take away they royal element and Before the Crown is still a gorgeous love story. It is lovely to see the growing bond between the couple but also Harding has given Philip a voice which is something that hasn't necessarily been given air time.

I really enjoyed Before the Crown. It was a generous look into the hidden world of the royal family.

Before the Crown by Flora Harding is available now.

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This is a very well executed story. This is a perfect book for fans of the British royal family.
It ends with the wedding of Princess Elizabeth.
I loved this book so much

2.5 stars

As someone who remains fairly interested in the British Royal Family, especially Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, I have to admit: I struggled with this book.

First off, it's hard to fictionalize the lives of real people, no matter the circumstance. Add on to that the fact that these events happened eighty years ago and it's no small feat. But...I found it difficult to read this book, especially with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip now being gone.

Without question, there was an extreme element regarding sense of duty when it came to their relationship. As this book correctly sums it up, their relationship was not built just from love.

However, I found it really hard to have that exposed and how political it all felt. Although I'm sure there is a lot of truth to that, a lot of their relationship in this book read as cold and distant. Again, I'm sure there is some truth to that but I really do hope their relationship wasn't as cold as this book made it out to be.

Overall, this book just made me sad. Luckily they both lived long, seemingly happy lives. But there was a lot of responsibility handed to each of them. Especially Elizabeth. I really do hope that they were better together than they would have been apart and that they were mostly happy.

***Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

This book is the beginning of the long marriage of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. I enjoyed the book, even knowing the ending. A great read.

We all know Queen E and Prince Phillip but I really really didn’t feel like these were historical figures we knew when reading this - apart from their names and occupation I felt this was a fantastical recollection of their love - whilst that was fine for the plot I’d have been more convinced if it wasn’t on that particular couple

I absolutely love reading about the royal family and with the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth and King Phillip I thought it was time to read the tale of their start. I absolutely loved this book. The writing style, the history behind the story and well everything worked great together. I will be adding this author to my favorites list and looking for more by her soon.

This was a rare book about the Queen before she became the Queen. Harding paints an insightful portrait of a young woman, who is not unlike any young woman. Despite being the future queen. She also describes the future Prince Philip as a young man, and I learnt a few things about his family that I didn't know.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read. I will definitely pick up Ms. Harding's next book. Highly recommended.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an amazing plot, but I felt the characters were a bit hard to connect to.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

This is a very classy and elegant history which kept my attention throughout, I loved the sound of this book from the moment I set eyes on it, I am not a royalist by any means, but even I have to admit that there is something very alluring about the royal story whether fact or fictional and that is what happened here, I was intrigued and fascinated.
The story is a pretty basic one, one that those of use who reading historical's day-in-day-out would have come across more than once, but I was engaged with it, there is nothing new about it but it is very comforting to settle down and be transported away from a few hours.
I did think that some of it was a little long-winded, and certain scenes seemed to go on and on for way too long than necessary, but above all, it was an entertaining book and one I think anyone who is A) a historical fiction fan or/and B) a Royal fan will love.
I've not read this author before, but I will certainly be seeking out other books by her in the future.

Before the Crown tells the courtship story between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. Princess Elizabeth has been in love with Phillip, a Greek prince and a Navy officer, since she was a little girl. Since their first meeting, she has been writing letters to Phillip. However, Phillip does not notice her until she performs in the play, Aladdin. This novel chronicles their enduring romance that would be their foundation to a successful marriage that would last decades.

Through many non-fiction books and documentaries, I have learned about Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with her husband Prince Phillip. As a fan of the tv show, The Crown, I was disappointed that they did not show the Queen’s courtship with Phillip. Thus, I was delighted when this historical fiction novel was released because it would focus on the Queen’s courtship. This novel did not disappoint. I admired Princess Elizabeth’s tenacity. She was a woman who fought for what she wanted. She was also a mature woman and knew the weight of the responsibility that comes from being the heir to a kingdom. Therefore, Elizabeth is truly an admirable woman. I also found Prince Phillip to be the most suitable match for Elizabeth. It is not easy to marry the heir of a kingdom. While Phillip was struggling with the responsibility of marrying the future queen of England, he nevertheless supported and loved Elizabeth. Thus, their romance was very sweet.

Overall, this novel gives an in-depth look at Queen Elizabeth’s early life. The characters seem very complex. The story is very well-written and meticulously researched! There were some scenes that I thought were unnecessary. Still, Before the Crown was a very short and simple story! I recommend this novel not only for fans of the tv show but also fans of the Royals! Fans of The Queen’s Secret, A Most English Princess, and The Other Windsor Girl will enjoy this novel! Before the Crown is the perfect novel to read during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee!

3.5. A fascinating fictional take on Queen Elizabeth's courtship and wedding.

I highly recommend this book if you love stories about royalty.

A wonderfully written piece of historial fiction that really brings the love story to life. I was captivated all the way through.

This is a love story of Princess Elizabeth of England and Prince Philip of Greece. A brilliantly well written romantic historical novel. The story begins in 1943 at Windsor Castle. It’s a captivating historical novel of royal secrets and forbidden love surrounding the Princess and Prince. Followers of the Crown will love this book as it’s a perfect form of escapism.

I thought this book was really interesting and informational. I'm not really that interested in the royal family and don't know much about them, but I read this book right away and really enjoyed learning more of the queens back story.

I enjoyed the writing style and the overall storyline. I felt like the ending was a little abrupt. Definitely a book I'll reread in the future.

This was a brilliant read and is being featured on my blog for my quick star reviews feature, which I have created on my blog so I can catch up with all the books I have read and therefore review.
See www.chellsandbooks.wordpress.com.

I like The Crown and thoroughly enjoyed this novelization of the courtship.
Even if I knew what was going to happen I appreciated the details and the well thought characters.
An entertaining and engrossing historial fiction.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I think this suffered from timing. I had just finished The Rose Code which portrayed Philip as a reluctant suitor and this books did nothing to dissuade that. It was certainly a love story but it was also decidedly one sided.