Marion Crawford (1909–1988)

Subtitle: The Story of the Queen’s Childhood by Her Nanny, Marion Crawford
The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs.

I had the 2002 reprint edition with a forward by Jennie Bond, former BBC royal correspondent. She comments about how this reminiscence of two little girls growing up together ultimately resulted in Crawford’s complete banishment from the royal family. She had to leave the “grace and favor” cottage she had been given “for her lifetime” upon her retirement from service. Neither the Queen Mother, nor either of the Princesses (later Queen Elizabeth II) ever spoke to “Crawfie” again.

And yet there is nothing at all salacious about this memoir. Perhaps the most “shocking” revelation is that the two girls behaved like any other siblings: “Neither was above taking a whack at her adversary, if roused, and Lilibet was quick with her left hook!”

I really enjoyed the glimpse into a world I will never experience. Crawford covers the events that took place during the sixteen years she served the family; from her arrival at the Duke’s household (no hint that he would one day be King, and his eldest daughter the Queen), through the abdication of “Uncle David,” to the war years, to Lilibet’s marriage to Prince Philip, and the birth of their son, Charles.

The book was published in 1950, two years before Lilibet would assume the throne following her father’s death. By today’s standards it is hardly scandalous but it was a sensation when it was published.… (more)