3 Stars (I received an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

While I enjoyed reading this book, the cover gives it the impression that the story is more flashy and glamour filled. Purple is also associated with royalty and one of my favourite colours, Margaret is one of the more vivacious royal family members. We do get some of the history of the queen mother prior to the birth of the princesses, which was a little bit boring due to the biographers writing style. At times there are part discussing other parts of the British monarchy I did find myself skim reading through those parts. Another issue I had with this book, is that that it only tells up to the end of the 1970’s in Margaret’s life. I was hoping to get some perspective into the time of Princess Diana since Margaret lived up until 2002.

This book wasn't my favourite. Unfortunately it was a bit slow and dull for my liking. There is some great content though and it would be great for anyone wanting to research Princess Margaret to gain factual information, it just wasn't the right book for me.

Princess Margaret is Queen Elizabeth’s forgotten sister. However, this biography shows that Margaret led a rebellious and scandalous life. This biography shows a woman who yearns to life a life according to her own terms. Therefore, this was a very engrossing and comprehensive biography of the little known sister of Queen Elizabeth!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This title was originally published back in 1974 and has been recently re-released by Sapere Publishing. This was the first book about Princess Margaret that I've read. The biography does a good insight into the life of the spare royal.

YES. I was so, so excited to receive a copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback. I finished another book from this publisher about Queen Elizabeth II & Phillip, and I have similar thoughts about this one. With the rise of attention to British family due to 1) media, 2) drama / legal stuff, and 3) the hit show The Crown, I think that more people are looking for info about the royals. If you have watched the show The Crown, then you probably were enthralled with Princess Margaret. I am a really big British history geek, and I will even admit that there is not that much updated info collected about Margaret and that has changed in the last 1-3 years. Researchers have presented some great updated biographies and this should be included among those.

This biography left me in awe of what Margaret gave up for her crown - how much she sacrificed for duty. I enjoyed learning how she decided to rebel in revolutionary ways while adhering (somewhat)to the path laid out for her by her father and then her sister, the Queen.

Such an insight book! A tribute to an extraordinary life of faith, love and royal duty. Ideal for readers of Hugo Vickers, Philip Ziegler and Anne Glenconner’s Lady in Waiting.

Loyal sister and friend to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret grew up in the public gaze and during her lifetime was one of the most-discussed women in the world. But what was early life like for the younger sibling of the future monarch? And what role did she carve for herself within the Royal Family?!

This book was originally published in 1974 and it has been recently re released by sapere publishing.
This is the first book I have read about the Royal Family. I have always been fascinated by Princess Margaret and her image of ‘rebel royal’ and more so recently since watching the crown.
The book is not a tell all so if that is what you are looking for you will not find it here.
I found the book interesting and I will likely read another book in the series about some of the other members of the Royal Family.
Thank you to Netgalley and Sapere Books for an eArC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4/5
An informative and entertaining read. This biography was compelling and classy, and perfectly brought readers from beginning to end alongside Princess Margaret.

Princess Margaret was written in 1974 by Helen Cathcart. It was re-released by Sapere Books on July 8, 2021. I enjoy reading about the Royal Family. Each book gives us a small insight into the much public but private lives.

Princess Margaret, known as the spare heir until Charles was born, a dutifull royal but very different from the Queen. Impossibly glamorous and with a penchant for partying, she lived a life on her own terms as much as allowed.

This is not a tell all book but a more respectful version of a Princess trying to honor the Crown and finding true happiness away from the prying eyes of the press. It ends well before her divorce from Antony Armstrong-Jones and her death twenty eight years later. But it does give us hope that she did find happiness even for a little while.

Princess Margaret no doubt holds a position as one of the most interesting and revolutionary royals of modern times. This biography provides wonderful insight on the beautiful Princess.

MV rating : 7/10
*Even though this is a reprinted biography with additional details known now, I found this to be a warm and compelling view of Princess Margaret and her role in the royal family.
* Any fans of the British Royal family will enjoy this as a dedicated view of the often underestimated Margaret.
*Cathcart is a master of the royal family biographies, and I thoroughly enjoyed her approach to this book.


Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy!

Another great book about the Royal Family by Helen Cathcart. This is a revealing story about Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister, an intriguing and colorful member of the Royals! Helen Cathcart is an excellent researcher and she never disappoints! A good read!

Helen Cathcart’s books have recently been republished, and I think that it is fantastic. While there always seems to be a rush for the news and latest biographies, reading older biographies can tell us a lot. This Princess Margaret bio was first published in 1974, and is kind of like a book time capsule. Margaret passed away nearly twenty years ago, and I think there is a fairly good idea of who she was and what her life was like.

However, this biography was written at a very different point in time, and offers quite a different view of Margaret. Cathcart’s biographies are of their time, and lack the “tell-all, shocking secret” style bios we are used to seeing now- I think that it is a nice change. If you want a full picture of Margaret’s life, I wouldn’t read this book and no others, but it does provide an interesting counterpoint.

This is a really interesting biography if Princess Margaret.

Originally published in 1974, the book is a fascinating portrait of the Princess and her family.

The writer is clearly a royalist and portrays the princess as hardworking, dutiful and devout. The emphasis is on royal tours and how Margaret promoted Britain around the world. There is no salacious gossip and little time is spent on well-known scandals.

The detail of the Royal tours are really interesting. The schedules are demanding and there are lots of gossipy anecdotes and quotes from conversations that bring the tours alive.

The writer presents the marriage between Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones as wholly positive and romantic. Published before they had officially separated, all rumours of unhappiness are dismissed and there is no mention of extramarital affairs.

The Peter Townsend scandal is presented factually and calmly. All of the drama is removed. Princess Margaret is portrayed as happily ending the relationship for the greater good.

This is an interesting contrast to more modern biographies and TV series like The Crown which focus on Princess Margaret’s unhappiness and the turbulent relationships.

The story of writer Helen Cathcart is just as interesting as the book! A prolific and popular royal biography in the 1960s and 70s, she was never seen in public. People dealt with Cathcart through her agent Harold Albert. After Albert’s death, it was reveled that Cathcart was a pseudonym for Albert himself. He believed that he would sell more books about royalty as a woman and picked a name that sounded trustworthy to hide behind.

Thank you to Sapere books and Netgalley for this gifted digital copy. A really interesting perspective and another prompt ticked off.

I feel misled. Just learned this is a re-edited book from 1974, which I now don’t care to read. Publisher should clearly state that!

too much disparity of this book with previous books written about Princess Margaret much too glowing

Helen Cathcart shares the life of Princess Margaret with a detailed account of her life. Told with intimacy and with great detail, the reader feels welcomed into her world and is enveloped with childhood stories, delightful anecdotes and the unique personality that was Princess Margaret.
This is not gossipy or filled with the negativity that often follows a high profiled individual. The intent I believe, was to present a life, her experiences, the joys, sorrows, highs and lows and the paths that she walked that made her quite unique.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable read and the time flew by. Highly recommended, well done and worth every moment.
My thanks to NetGalley, Sapere Books and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

I was a little surprised on receiving this book to find that it was first published in 1974!.
That said this book gives a good insight into the Queens younger sister. I felt I did learn more about Margaret from reading this book.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to see an arc.

Princess Margaret has long been an interesting to figure to me. I think she perfectly filled the role of "spare" for so long. I think had mental health awareness been more accepted and talked about, a lot of what she went through wouldn't have been so scandalous. I loved Princess Margaret and I appreciate the authors hard work with this book.

Part of the six-book series, "The Royal House of Windsor", Princess Margaret was penned in 1974 by the mysterious and reclusive Helen Cathcart. It's being re-released by Sapere Books on August 8, 2021. Incidentally, Sapere Books shares a short yet very 'revealing' biography of Helen Cathcart that's well worth taking a look at. [ https://saperebooks.com/authors/helen-cathcart/ ].

If you're craving a tell-all, gossip-laden, judgmental and opinionated examination of Princess Margaret's life, you'll need to look elsewhere. But if you're the type to pour a cup of tea and settle into a cozy chair with a heartwarming book, this biography is your perfect read. The writing style is quaintly old-fashioned, which I enjoyed. After all, this is not a modern-day biography, as the story of Margaret's life begins in 1930.

The highly-detailed anecdotes about Margaret's life are told in the intimate, loving manner of one who was right there enjoying her antics. The childhood stories are especially plentiful. I'm particularly fond of an encounter three-year-old Margaret had with Sir James Barrie, which is cute, cozy, clever and heartbreaking enough to top any of young Shirley Temple's movies.

Princess Margaret passed away 28 years after this book was written. Thus, the book occasionally refers to her as still alive and enjoying her life, and doesn't chronicle events of her later years. But, it's a lovely memento of the coming of age of a one-of-a-kind princess that's well worth your cozy chair and a cup of tea.

My thanks to Sapere Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.