On Royalty: A Very Polite Inquiry into Some Strangely ...

Not gossip,but rather political & social ramifications.:
This book gives insight on how the Church of England and the government of the U.K. affect the royal family,and how the royals affect general society. There are a few behind the scenes,or below the stairs type tidbits. Overall it was a fine history lesson.

Less than worthwhile:
ON ROYALTY gives as its subtitle "A Very Polite Inquiry Into Some Strangely Related Families." It is my own fault that I thought that this subtitle was suggesting a gentle spoof. Instead, it is completely accurate; the book is, indeed, a very polite inquiry into some strangely related families. ON ROYALTY is too diffuse to have much merit. Anyone who attempts to weave the divine right of kings with the execution of Charles I and the Russian Revolution will end up with a mish-mash, and this is what happened here. Author Jeremy Paxman throws together a great many facts and a great many anecdotes, all connected only by the simple reality that these facts and anecdotes deal with royalty. There is the obligatory gossip about Sarah, the Duchess of York and some revelations involving the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Ultimately, the book centers on British royalty, a hardly surprising turn of events in that it is the House of Windsor which defines modern royalty--and that this author is English himself. In structuring his book, he would have been better served to go with a theme, whether it had been 20th Century royalty, rulers executed by their subjects or the descendants of Queen Victoria. I suspect that Paxman may have had bigger hopes for his work when he began writing but, in the end, he did exactly what he said he would do. He made polite inquiries into some strangely related families--and he also sold a few books in the process.

Royal subject takes on subject of royalty -- with limited results:
I would have enjoyed this book more if the typos hadn't started in the Introduction, followed by countless grammar and punctuation errors. And, of all people, a journalist writing about the royal family should be able to keep straight the proper use of titles; not the case here. (Side note: does Paxman have it out for the Queen Mother? I found it odd that he so often refers to her as "George VI's widow". She was, of course, but none of the other queen consorts in the book gets the heavy "widow" treatment.) A misleading title as well -- I assumed the book would cover the interrelatedness of European royalty much more than it did; it's pretty much just the House of Windsor, with a side trip to Albania. Also, note to the author: Henry VIII didn't divorce Anne Boleyn, he got an *annulment*. (Why the world insists on calling it a divorce, I don't know, but Paxman ought to know better. A divorce, ironically, would have been the easy way out. But noooo...) Overall, an uneven treatment of a fascinating subject; the book should have fascinated as well.

Light & Fun Read:
I found this book to be highly entertaining. I am from the U.S. but have lived in several countries in Europe, and this book gave me lots of interesting tidbits about the royals with whom I've always been fascinated. The one person who gave it 1 star should have read the jacket blurb for the book before they read it. I'm a little worried he blew an unnecessary blood vessel over a light bit of reading.

Good book.:
It was a good book, very well researched as well as giving both the good and bad points on having a monarchy within a country.