what an interesting read!

I am way more interested in the British royal families than I should be. and this book made me so happy.

I didn't know much about this time in history and the writing was so good that at times I didn't know if it was fact or fiction

would definitely recommend this book, it's such a beautiful read

Who wouldn't love this story between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece at the time, of course we all now know as the Duke of Edinburgh.
We are transported to 1943, when seventeen year old Princess Elizabeth is desperate to see Prince Philip.
They had briefly been introduced a few years back and she had been keen on him.

I learned so much from the research the author did for this book and all of my questions were answered that I had often wondered about in watching the Queen now in real life.

I enjoyed how Philip did Marry for love even though the Mountbattens pushed their union and they have survived through allsorts together. I could imagine the events taking place at Windsor Castle and felt it was a wonderful insight to our Queen.

Lots of humour was portrayed in Philips character which I imagine is still there today. Trying to fit in place from being a sailor albeit a little cheeky, to fit into the mould that the King required.

The wedding sounded spectacular and I had to stop and look for photos on the internet. Ultimately even though they hold such great importance it's still the marriage of a man and woman in love. A simple love story.

Once I started to read this book I had a hard time putting it down, it's a beautiful romance and it captivated me from start to finish.
This is a wonderful historical fiction book, I loved every page and would more than recommend it. Thank you.

Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter a division of Harper Collins Publishers Limited 2020 for a copy of Before the Crown in exchange for my honest review.

This book was absolutely brilliant. Right up there with the short list of best books I've read this year.

The story starts off at Windsor Castle in December 1943 with a 17 year old Princess Elizabeth telling her sister Princess Margaret that a prince should be: "brave, witty, charming and handsome." Princess Margaret feels that: "Lilibet, you're going to be Queen of England one day. You are NOT 'lots of people'!"

Prince Philip is 22 years old and his Uncle Dickie Mountbatten tells him that: "Lilibet will be Queen one day, make yourself agreeable to her, you owe it to the family." Prince Philip finds Princess Elizabeth to be "cool and reserved."

The King and Queen wish Elizabeth to marry an aristocrat from a similar background (someone who enjoys hunting, fishing, and shooting) in order to prevent a repeat of what happened when her Uncle David chose his love of Mrs. Simpson over duty to the country. The King does not wish Philip as a suitor for Elizabeth as she's very young and not had a chance to meet other young men. Philip they feel is not "one of us."

On May 8, 1945 as people celebrate the end of the war Elizabeth begs the King to allow her and Margaret to slip out on the mall and become part of the crowd. She longs to look up at the balcony and cheer along with the crowd "We want the King."

The Queen's brother David Bowes-Lyon goes out of his way to make Philip feel as unwelcome as possible.

Due to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 Elizabeth needs the King's permission to marry until she is 25 years old. Margaret tells Elizabeth that "if you refuse to be Papa's heir, then they would be left with me, and we all know what a disaster THAT would be." The King finally agrees to allow Elizabeth and Philip to marry but they must wait 6 months to announce their engagement.

In October 1946, the King decides that they will go as a family on a Royal Tour of South Africa for 3 months. They will depart on the 1st of February and Elizabeth will spend her 21st birthday in April in South Africa. By the time they return from the tour it will be 9 months and the King and Queen were hoping that Elizabeth would change her mind about marrying.

During her birthday address, Princess Elizabeth makes the most memorable speech of her life. "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."

Philip in order to fit into the Royal family renounced his title of Prince of Greece and was simply known as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.

When Princess Elizabeth meets Philip's mother Princess Alice she gives them the one item that she had saved, her tiara. She wants Philip to use the jewels from it to make Princess Elizabeth's engagement ring.

Before the wedding the King bestows upon Philip the titles of: Philip, Baron of Greenwich, Earl of Merioneth and Duke of Edinburgh He is also made Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter.

As opposed as the King and Queen were to the marriage of Elizabeth and Philip, they have had one of the longest and most successful marriages. The book ends with Elizabeth arriving at the altar of Westminster Abbey. The only thing that would have made the book better was if it had continued to the point where Elizabeth becomes Queen.

This book is worth much more than 5 stars in my opinion.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC. I really enjoyed this novel. It depicts Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip before their marriage. Although this story is fiction, it had wonderful snippets of their true life happenings. I found myself doing a bit of research for fun.

This was a very good fictional read about a famous courtship between then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
The blending of fact and fiction was very well done, making it a very interesting read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins U.K. for an advance copy of this book to review.

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.