So you’ve bingsed The Crown and set alerts for the Sussex and Cambridge Instagram accounts; you regularly read the daily coverage of the Queen, Kate, Meghan, Harry, William—and let’s not forget Princess Anne. But for a next-level course in royals immersion, the holidays are an ideal time to dive into reading of the book variety.
While the British family retreats to Sandringham for its jolly annual gag gift exchange and the Queen’s preferred “zaza” cocktails, curl up on the couch, pop a corgi on your lap, and begin making your way through Vogue’s definitive royals reading list.
All rise for this essential coffee table book by the Getty Images royal photographer who has had unprecedented access to the House of Windsor, from wedding days to royal tours and Prince George peeping out the Palace window. Glossy and glorious, the Kate fashion montages are a highlight.
Step one is falling in mad love with Helena Bonham Carter’s portrayal of the Queen’s mercurial sister on The Crown. Step two is reading this inventive alternative biography, told in “glimpses,” including snippets from Margaret’s birth and weddings announcements to a list of possessions found after her death.
Friendly reminder that the predominantly white real-life English royals are not the only kings and queens among us. Cole serves up a thoroughly clever, addictively readable tale about a cosmopolitan grad student who learns via very serendipitous email that she is betrothed to an African prince.
This breakout 2019 novel turned royal romance on its head, starring the first ever female president’s son—the First Son, thank you very much—falling in love with his sworn enemy, a Harry-esque British prince. The perfect blend of political and royal satire.
Of all the Meghan biographies that dropped right before the royal wedding in 2018, this one was the most satisfying, full of stories from Meghan’s childhood in California, her upbringing in an all-girls Catholic school, and her first marriage to producer Trevor Engelson.
