Book Review: Royally Screwed: British Monarchy Revealed By Jacalynne Flax - GMonsterTV

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Book Review: Royally Screwed: British Monarchy Revealed By Jacalynne Flax


I find the British royal family to be an endless source of fascination...probably because their lives are so different from mine. No I don't have someone to put toothpaste on my toothbrush, nor do I want anyone to.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but Jacalynne Flax had me laughing out loud at times. I listened to it as an audiobook so her reading it added to the effect. It's an irreverent look at the British institution that is, as Jacalynne points out, not even really British. Per Wikipedia, King George V changed the family name in 1917 from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (a branch of the House of Wettin) to distance themselves from the Germans in WWI. And there were already a few castles laying around named Windsor so why not change it to that? 

Flax doesn't hold anything back when talking about Chuckie and his second wife. Tell us how you really feel. It is of course strange that Camilla's great grandmother (Alice Keppel) was Charles' great great grandfather's (Edward VII) mistress. It must indeed be a small island if there's so much interbreeding going on among the royals.

The author also spends a lot of time reviewing the information surrounding Diana's death. I personally don't buy into the murder conspiracy and feel sorry for everyone (Charles and Camilla included) who have to live their lives in a media fishbowl. I'm more interested in the ancient history of the monarchy when they were all poisoning and beheading each other. Now that's some good entertainment! 

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). A fun read for any Anglophile but if you're really sensitive about the royals you may be offended. I would have given it a 4 1/2 but it needed a little more balance regarding the Charles, Camilla, Diana love triangle.



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Book Review: Royally Screwed: British Monarchy Revealed By Jacalynne Flax Reviewed by GMonsterTV on 6:34 AM Rating: 5  I find the British royal family to be an endless source of fascination...probably because their lives are so different from mine. No I...

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