Rating: 
Summary: Delicious gossip, served with a silver spoon.
Review: The outraged royalists crying "shame" on Kitty should take a reality check- particularly the reviewer from Dublin who expressed such contempt for Miss Kelly. Is Princess Margaret to be defended after issuing such public statements as "The Irish are all pigs?" Yes, this book was a cold, hard slap in the face of the house of Windsor- and this reader has no sympathy. I felt that Miss Kelly's book showed the house of Windsor to be what it is- a crumbling institution that serves no purpose, except for the amusement of the tabloids. Miss Kelly presented a portrait of self serving parasites out of touch with their land and people, and she did it with skill. It was a fast paced, entertaining read, not always unsympathetic, but always fascinating. A revealing portrait of those who consider themselves our "betters," but, sadly and obviously, are not.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: Much of what is stated through Kelley's unnamed sources is verified through other more scholarly works on the Monarchy. There is a fair amount of information that is interesting but I'm not certain that I need to know it. There is other information that we all do need to know. This especially concerns the performance of the Queen and Philip in their official roles. Because this book is banned in Britian, the Royals must be afraid of its content. I would recommend that this book be read in conjunction with some other books on the same topic. Kelley's style is very readable, and I do believe that she did a lot of research and used the best resources that she could. Overall, she did a very good job.
Rating: 
Summary: Buckingham Bomb Shelters
Review: Kitty Kelley puts Buckingham Palace in her bomb sites, yielding direct and collateral damage. The direct hits include her inciteful portrayal of the Queen Mother & Prince Phillip. We know more about their real personas and motives. Kelley also demonstrates much of Princess Di is the product of a publicity machine. I look forward to a genuine account of her in the future . . . at least before she's cannonized. Kelley is off target on the essence of The Royals, their importance to British self-esteem and their financial importance to the GB economy. She reports her subjects like a 70's soap opera, not in the spirit of the 1,000 year legacy. It's too distant . . . too American. The most disappointing aspect is the thin depth Kelley achieves in finding the soul of Queen Elizabeth. We never discover her motives. Some will argue that Kelley could never get that close. That's the danger of a bomb run over the palace. You can drop them from thousands of feet, but you're too high to gauge the results.
Rating: 
Summary: I'd read it again!
Review: I really enjoyed The Royals, there was a lot of interesting "tid bits" about the Royal Family. I'm not sure I believe every word that Kitty wrote but I would read it again!!!
Rating:
Summary: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Review: This is the kind of book you read in the summertime when you don't want something too deep or intricate. Just something to unwind with. It's a quick read, but the truth is, most of the information is not new. It's rehashed and restated, but nothing that would truly shock. We all know by now that the royals are not the warmest folks in the world. And don't we all have skeletons in our closets? It's not worth the amount of money one has to dish out to buy it. Borrow it from a friend next time you're heading to the beach.
Rating:
Summary: One of the saddest books I've read in a long time
Review: I have followed the goings-on of Diana and her death quite avidly. I found her beauty and sincerity compelling and charming, her works of mercy a worthy focus toward which to swing the paparrazzi lens. So I read The Royals with interest. It is a fast read, and even for a Diana watcher (but otherwise not to avid follower of the monarchy), most of it was new to me. I was incredibly saddened by the lack of feeling of the main character, the callousness with which affairs were undetaken, the lack of class and sophistication, and the way the institution was put so ahead of individuals. I hope it was not all true, but unlike some of the official reviewers I've read, the anecdotes seem plausible, and in general well researched. If anyone is searching for an overview of the last 2 1/2 generations of the Windsors, wants a relaxing read, and is ready to be depressed by the lack of royal character exibited by the main characters, I would recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: It was enlightening...and loved the history!
Review: The book filled in a lot of misconceptions I had of the monarchy, and also filled in a lot of historical perspectives that I had not known. How many people know that the current "British" Royal family has hidden their GERMAN roots and created the name Windsor? I surely hadn't known. While gossipy, it was a great read!
Rating:
Summary: The German heritage of the Royal Family
Review: The first part of this book is the most interesting, detailing the German heritage of the Royal family. One starts to feel sorry for the nomadic Prince Philip. No wonder they don't let the Brits read it - I'll be off to Marienburg Castle near Hannover to get the real story on Prince Philip's 4 sisters. The second half of the book is condensed tabloid material and much less interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A vivid walk through history, a most fascinating book.
Review: I have read Ms. Kelly's writing before so I anxiously awaited this book and was not disappointed. She puts you in the middle of events. Her words describe so vividly the royals that at times one has the tendancy to practice a curtsey! I was saddened, angered, overjoyed, laughing and thoroughly immersed in the book. I would highly recommend it to everyone. This is her grestest work of the written word.
Rating: 
Summary: Much ado about very little
Review: This tome can only satisfy those who have been living under rocks. I'm glad I paid only $13 for it at a warehouse discounter -- but even that was too much. I must admit to having borrowed many books from the library about the "royal" soap opera in recent years, with the result that, for me, Kitty Kelley offered nothing new whatsoever. In fact, I wouldn't be totally surprised to hear sooner rather than later that she's being sued for plagiarism. Not only do I object to its lack of original material, but to its style and language. It reads like People Magazine, and one need only the vocabulary of a 12-year-old to comprehend it. For a really good read on that family, I would recommend a book published three to four years ago entitled, "The Queen Was Not Amused." It is a serious work of non-fiction, truly absorbing with much original material.
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