Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor - Softcover

This is a first-class piece of research and reconstruction graced by a first-class writing talent, with a startling royal family scandal buried at the heart of the story. -- Barbara Tuchman A clever and stylishly written biography. . . . For pure glitz and glitter, Matriarch beats anything to be seen on the soaps. * Chicago Sun-Times * Anne Edwards is a magnificent storyteller. . . . [Matriarch is] a vivid and memorable tapestry overflowing with pageantry and fascinating characters. -- Robert A. Caro A magnificent portrayal of majesty. . . . Edwards depicts the whole panorama, from pageantry and protocol to small private detail, with superb narrative finesse, psychological insight, and impressively far-ranging and scrupulous research. * Chicago Tribune * Anne Edwards never disappoints. . . . A fascinating portrait of an impoverished 'Cinderella' princess who became a dedicated, powerful, and indomitable queen, and who was indeed a woman of substance. -- Barbara Taylor Bradford

The life of Princess May of Teck is one of the great Cinderella stories in history. From a family of impoverished nobility, she was chosen by Queen Victoria as the bride for her eldest grandson, the scandalous Duke of Clarence, heir to the throne, who died mysteriously before their marriage. Despite this setback, she became queen, mother of two kings, grandmother of the current queen, and a lasting symbol of the majesty of the British throne. Her pivotal role in the abdication of her eldest son, the Duke of Windsor, is just one of the events that provide the backdrop for both thrilling biography and for narrating the splendors and tragedies of the entire house of Windsor.