Very sweet quick read blending fact and fiction. About the most famous couple in history. It just shows that even though your royal you are still a person. Enjoyed very much.

Beautifully written, this book is a wonderful and relaxing read. You know the ending, but the author does a terrific job and stringing out a love story we all know, keeping you guessing right up until Princess Elizabeth walks down the aisle.

The narrative alternates between Elizabeth and Philip, giving both of their viewpoints. Philip's narrative was particularly compelling. The author did a great job of presenting both of these narratives, seamlessly weaving them together.

Excellent book, highly recommended.

I'm not really sure what to say.
It didn't grip me, and I feel like I was reading a story that I already knew. It did remind me a lot of the TV series The Crown, which I loved.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy.

Absolutely loved this book!!! This is the author s reimagining of the story of the courtship of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip based on facts that she has referenced in the epilogue. Enjoyable story. Highly recommend.

I think this book is good if you view it as fiction inspired by real events and not as a true life historical novel as who really knows what each of the characters were thinking and if all the minor happens actually did happen, or are just good storytelling. The main reason I marked it down is that the tense the author writes in makes it very hard to immerse oneself in the novel, words like "She is seventeen now. She longs for him" and "Elizabeth draws a breath" (I've taken quotes from the early chapters so as not to ruin the story for anyone) it feels as though this is someone only just learning to write professionally and struggling to convey things to the audience in a natural manner. I loved watching the crown and was drawn to this book due to hoping it was similar. There is similar artistic licence taken, and it's a nicely done as a story and not just facts, but the writing style makes the book hard going and to be honest I won't be reading anything by this author again, or recommending them

This is a book about Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip and now they met, their courtship and ends at their wedding. It was an interesting fictional historical read that made me curious as to how real life played out. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

I love history and this is a great light hearted easy yet interesting read about the Queen and Prince Philip. It’s starts right at the beginning at the play where the attraction first started. I hope this story is how life really played out for the couple.

Thank you NetGalley for the read I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this book about Elizabeth and Phillip even if it didn't exactly happen as the book predicts. It's a good sneak look behind the curtain of royal life.

Before the Crown is an interesting historical novel about Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. The book show us a romance between the royals, starting from their meeting till their wedding day. A beautifully written book where we get a peek of the royals life, even if we can’t be totally sure if that’s how it really happened. It is a good read for historical and romance lovers.

I love this book. It's very easy to read and definitely a book I would recommend to those wanting to dip their toes into historical fiction. It was digestible and light.

I want to begin by saying that I received this book for free through Netgalley, but all thoughts are my own. As a lover of the royal family, when I saw this available for review, I jumped at the chance. This book is about the love story between Prince Philip and the lovely Queen Elizabeth II, then just Princess Elizabeth, leading up until their wedding day. It not only gives us an insight into what both of them were going through during WW2, but also how they may have seen the idea of marriage, a Prince from a family that had been exiled, and the heiress to the throne. Of course, we may never know how accurate these thoughts would be, but they seem to match the characters of Philip and the Queen as we know them from interviews, public appearances, rumours etc. I was glued to this book and read the majority of it in one day, I think I literally read 92% of it in a day! I love these sorts of books as they draw you in so easily. They feel so quick and easy to get through, and this was so well-written, it felt like I was reading a genuine account of what happened between them. I loved the inclusion of family history, to remember that Philip isn't just Prince Consort, but he was a Prince in his own right through blood, as they both descend through Queen Victoria. We get more insight into Philips naval career, which I liked. It wasn't just about the relationship, but their own personal lives and how it all interweaved, and the opinions of her own parents. This was something very enjoyable, and if you like a romance or the royal family, or both, give this a read when it's released in September!

THank you NetGalley for the digital ARC. I truly enjoyed this book! I hope this is how it all happened as it would ruin my imagination if it wasn't. A must read

The first half of the book is really strong and I read that really quickly. The second half was alright but got slow as most people will know the ending to the story. All in all I enjoyed this peak into the potential thoughts of the royal family.

Going into this book, I noticed that a lot of people were comparing it to ‘The Crown’ which is apparently a Netflix series. I had no prior knowledge of the series or history of the royal family. I've never been interested in the royals, so for me, it was the cover and the genre that convinced me to give this sort of book a crack.

This fictional story centers around the courtship of Princess Elizabeth by Prince Phillip. It gives off a ‘marriage of convenience’ sort of vibe with Phillip not actually declaring any sort of love for Elizabeth until a few days before the wedding.

Prince Phillip was described as a bit of a ladies man, but there were no examples in the book. I know it’s not the right demographic or perhaps an appropriate setting, but I wanted to see him act up a little and misbehave on one of his nights out on the town.

One thing I appreciated about ‘Before The Crown’ was that it wasn't weighed down by too much WW2 information. But the author did give the reader a taste of what post-war life was like. She mentioned the struggle people went through to rebuild their lives, the scarcity of food, and the bombsites that had to be cleared. Even though Elizabeth was royalty, she too felt the pinch of war. She disliked the shortage of fresh bars of soap, describing how part of ‘doing her bit’ was to fuse the cracked and grimy slithers together.

I feel like the story finished too abruptly. It got as far as Elizabeth walking down the aisle until she reached Phillips' side, and then it ended. An epilogue would have been a nice finishing touch instead of concluding on a cliff hanger.

Overall it was an interesting historical read, which has made me a little more curious in regards to the royals, their traditions, and the union of Elizabeth and Phillip in the years after the wedding.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Beautiful story of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, from the day they met until their wedding day. I generally don't read or watch stories about England, English society or English history, but I enjoyed this book. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. As you know, I have read several books about British royalty and namely Queen Elizabeth II. This is one story I haven’t read. An account of the relationship Elizabeth had with Phillip starting the first time they met and ending at their wedding. I think a lot of the personal conversations the author took a lot of liberties with but the story was good just the same. #beforethecrown #floraharding #june2020

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review.
What a fabulously beautiful book.
Giving the insight to the young queen to be very interesting and interesting read highly enjoyable.

This is a fun book where you would hope that this is how Price Phillip and the Queen's relationship played out - of course, we will never truly know.
The author richly describes the love story between two young royals and all of their ups and downs at the beginning of their long relationship.
It was a nice and easy read and I was a little bit sad when the story ended at the beginning of their marriage.

I hope Flora Harding goes on to write a sequel.

In December 1943, at Windsor Castle, the Royal Family gathered for a performance of Aladdin, starring Princess Elizabeth, heir to the throne, in the eponymous role. Despite her nerves, and natural shyness, Elizabeth’s primary concern is not forgetting her lines but whether the audience includes Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. The dashing naval officer had much impressed the 13-year-old Elizabeth. As the war rages on, the now 17-year-old Elizabeth’s thoughts turn to the future, and one that she desires includes Philip. But there are both obstacles and massive opposition to such a plan.

Before the Crown is Flora Harding’s fictional account of the courtship between Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Was it a love match or a marriage of state? Harding’s story considers both of these scenarios and others. The focus switches between Elizabeth and Philip’s perspectives, as they reflect not just on their motivations for marriage, but their thoughts on each other’s motives for marrying.

One of the more interesting contrasts is each others’ perspectives on the opposition the proponents of the match. The novel progresses smoothly through the courtship, considerations and reconsiderations, and the cliched realisation in the final chapters.

I enjoyed Before the Crown as an uncomplicated and easy read. My main criticism is that Harding delves deep into the reflections of the protagonists, but we seldom become part of the events. It’s more tell than show. But it works overall and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys period romance more so than historical fiction.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced reader copy to review. Before the Crown by Flora Harding was a fun and cozy read for me the first couple days of my staycation. I’m not usually a fan of historical fiction where the main characters are real people (I like it better when fictional main characters are set in a historical setting). But in this case while the author takes liberty describing specific events, conversations, and what is going on in their heads -- the overarching story is true. I also like it when a book makes me curious to read or learn more about something. In this case Queen Elizabeth’s 21st birthday is one of the events in the novel and is included in a way that stays true to what really happened so I could go find and listen to her actual speech. This is a great book for those who enjoy reading about the Royals and would like an easy and entertaining story covering the time during and just after the war leading up to the royal wedding. This book is really better than 3 stars for me but not up to 4.