The Princess considered her future sister-in-law a “rival” from the moment she appeared on the scene in 2016, according to Scobie. The King’s formidable sister, the Princess Royal, 73, is portrayed as the chief architect of the decision to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage, their Windsor home. With real historical events and facts to hand, my imagination took over. I invented a history for her that incorporated real people and events, including some of my other ancestors.

The Duchess by Wendy Holden is a fascinating and gripping read about Wallis Simpson. We’ve all grown up hearing about the notorious Mrs Simpson, twice-divorced, elegant, witty and the woman who inspired a king abdicate his throne out of love for her. In this book, we follow Wallis Simpson at two crucial moments of her life: at the funeral for her beloved David and when she first met the prince who would change her life. He quotes a source close to the royals as saying: “She spent more time speaking about Meghan than to Meghan.

Is the Duchess a true story?

For some additional book suggestions in this genre, just head on over and explore more historical fiction now. I also couldn’t sympathize with the Prince, since he seemed to bully Ms. Simpson into the marriage, whether she wanted it or not. He also seemed shallow and whiny. The evening of the father's funeral, Tristan, now the Duke, lets Angelique know that she will not be staying at the family estate. She has to leave and, in fact, the brother has secured a position as a Told in alternating time lines, one when she first moves to London and the second after the death of her beloved David.

But the press vilifies her over her refusal to marry a man she loathes, so Margaret goes to live in exile in Ireland, helping the poor and starting to write her own children’s stories. She makes her way in New York as a journalist and philanthropist, and eventually marries the man who has loved her for years. I personally didn’t know that much about the infamous woman who became the Duchess of Windsor before I read this book. My knowledge sort of began and ended with the basic story of the abdication of the king which many people know, along with the somewhat common perception that Wallis Simpson was an overly ambitious and ruthless gold digger who schemed her way into the life of the prince and thought that she would one day be queen alongside her king.I found the 1930s part of the story particularly compelling but was less enamoured by the 1970s narrative; Holden’s take on the British royal family was probably novel when she wrote it but it felt like it was covering similar ground to the recent Netflix series, The Crown. The 1930s element of the story, however, was strong and engrossing. It was fascinating to read Holden’s take on how Wallis worked her way up through the tight ranks of pre-war British society to become first acquaintance then mistress to a king. Their love was so strong, that a king gave up his throne and his country to be by the side of the woman he loved. carrying around the 25 pounds that her father gave her but doesn't want to use it unless she has to. The year is 1928. A middle-aged American woman from Baltimore named Wallis comes to London with her stuffy, boring husband Ernest Simpson but with no money, no glamour, no beauty, and no connections. This middle-aged woman with next to nothing does have one thing though – a huge desire to follow the glamorous set and become part of their social scene. But honestly, it’s just so far out of her reach. Until it’s not. Angelique Latham, daughter of the Duke of Westerfield, is thrown out of the castle she'd grown up in. She nannies several children, then, unfortunately, looses her job. Angelique moves to Paris, but can't find any employment. Rescuing a young woman fleeing an abusive madam, gives her an idea. Open a brothel.