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The Little Princesses

The Story of the Queen's Childhood by Her Nanny Crawfie

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The Little Princesses

By: Marion Crawford
Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
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About this listen

 *With a foreword by former BBC Royal Correspondent Jennie Bond*

The touching and ground-breaking story of the Queen's childhood as told by her nanny, revealing the royal family's life before The Crown.

Now, more than ever, the Royal Family's private lives are no longer private. Marion Crawford, or 'Crawfie', as she was known to the Queen and Princess Margaret, became governess to the children of the Duke and Duchess of York in the early 1930s, little suspecting she was nurturing the future Queen.

Beginning at their quiet family home in Piccadilly and ending with the birth of Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in 1948, Crawfie tells how she brought the princesses up to exist in their royal world, whilst also exposing them to the reality of underground trains, buses and swimming lessons.

First published in 1950, The Little Princesses created an instant furore: Crawfie was demonised by the press and the Queen Mother - who had been a great friend and who had, Crawfie maintained, given her permission to write the account - never spoke to her again.

'A unique insight into the isolated childhood of the future queen and her sister' Daily Mail©2020 Marion Crawford (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group Entertainment & Celebrities Europe Great Britain Historical Politics & Activism Royalty Celebrity
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"There can be nothing more baffling in a human relationship than silence, the dark loom of doubts and questions unexpressed." ~ Wallis Simpson

This book ‘The Little Princesses’ is an incredibly in-depth account of not just how Queen Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret grew up, but also the psychological effects and the shaping of their personality surrounding their experiences living in a gilded Palace, where their physical needs were always met. However, their emotional, social, and intellectual needs appear to be neglected. Marion Crawford did a wonderful job explaining to her readers through her personal accounts with the Princessess and the rest of the royal families, the Princessess’ experiences. We must remember that Marion’s intentions were to one day study in the area of child psychology, so I wonder if Marion had written this book to help shape her own understanding of the personalities of the Princessess as she watched them grow up within the Palace walls. No matter her reasoning for writing this book, Wallis Simpson is right. Silence about your experiences in life can leave doubts and plenty of questions. It is better to be open about what you have perceived, how you were supported through certain challenges, and how you overcame the challenges. In that regard, I would re-think the quote: “The children will not leave unless I do. I shall not leave unless their father does, and the king will not leave the country in any circumstances, whatever”.
I recommend this book to individuals aged between 3 years old – onwards. Although the book overall is a type of fairy-tail and innocent in nature, the book is also incredibly revealing and requires the readers’ understanding.
Thank-you Marion for writing and bringing this book to light.

An incredibly revealing Insight

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No one other than a Scot would have ever been acceptable to the Queen Mother for the education of her Little Princesses and a deep love of Scotland formed an underlying theme of Crawfie's story telling.

After reading this. if one was ever in doubt , it becomes very apparent why Balmoral was QE 11's happy place. It also becomes clear that the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were cut from the same cloth.

The narrative was a very interesting insight into the mystery of the Royal family of that era that also had me feeling like an invader of their privacy on more than one occasion. Crawfie also didn't manage to hide at times her not so subtle disapproval of the youngest Princess or the iron first in the silk glove of the Queen Mother.

It is no wonder dear Crawfie fell from favour after this book was released. She ripped the band-aid off for sure even though we now have the benefit of half a century of added hindsight.

Monarchist or otherwise you come away knowing that QE 11 was born to reign.

Flowers of Scotland

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A wonderful well written account how sad they ostracised her after all those years and probably because of a mid communication .

A must read

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Absolutely love this book. I thought Crawford wrote this biography with grace. I enjoyed hearing what the princesses were like as kids and getting a glimpse into the personalities of the Bertie and Elizabeth. If your interested in royal history this is a must read.

Beautiful story

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