BooksBarbecue
Back Before the Crown Save as PDF

Before the Crown

Flora Harding
Contents ( 80)
  1. Before the Crown
  2. FLORA HARDING
  3. Chapter 1
  4. Windsor Castle, December 1943
  5. Chapter 2
  6. Chapter 3
  7. Chapter 4
  8. Chapter 5
  9. Chapter 6
  10. Chapter 7
  11. Chapter 8
  12. Chapter 9
  13. Chapter 10
  14. Chapter 11
  15. Chapter 12
  16. Cairo, April 1944
  17. Chapter 13
  18. Chapter 14
  19. London, 8 May 1945
  20. Chapter 15
  21. Chapter 16
  22. Buckingham Palace, January 1946
  23. Chapter 17
  24. Chapter 18
  25. Chapter 19
  26. Chapter 20
  27. Chapter 21
  28. Germany, Schloss Salem, April 1946
  29. Chapter 22
  30. Chapter 23
  31. Café de Paris, Monte Carlo, April 1946
  32. Chapter 24
  33. Buckingham Palace, May 1946
  34. Chapter 25
  35. Balmoral Castle, August 1946
  36. Chapter 26
  37. Chapter 27
  38. Chapter 28
  39. Chapter 29
  40. London, October 1946
  41. Chapter 30
  42. Portsmouth, 1 February 1947
  43. Chapter 31
  44. South Africa, February 1947
  45. Chapter 32
  46. Chapter 33
  47. London, May 1947
  48. Chapter 34
  49. Chapter 35
  50. Chapter 36
  51. Chapter 37
  52. London, June 1947
  53. Chapter 38
  54. Chapter 39
  55. London, July 1947
  56. Chapter 40
  57. Buckingham Palace, July 1947
  58. Chapter 41
  59. London, July 1947
  60. Chapter 42
  61. Balmoral Castle, August 1947
  62. Chapter 43
  63. London, October 1947
  64. Chapter 44
  65. Chapter 45
  66. Buckingham Palace, November 1947
  67. Chapter 46
  68. Chapter 47
  69. London, November 1947
  70. Chapter 48
  71. Buckingham Palace, November 1947
  72. Chapter 49
  73. Buckingham Palace, November 1947
  74. Chapter 50
  75. Kensington Palace, 20th November 1947
  76. Chapter 51
  77. Buckingham Palace, 20th November 1947
  78. Acknowledgements
  79. About the Author
  80. About the Publisher
Cover image: Before the Crown by Flora Harding

Before the Crown

FLORA HARDING

One More Chapter Logo

One More Chapter

a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

Copyright © Flora Harding 2020

Cover design by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020

Cover images © Shutterstock.com

Flora Harding asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This is a work of fiction. Every reasonable attempt to verify the facts against available documentation has been made.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook ISBN: 9780008387532

UK B Format Paperback ISBN: 9780008387549

Canada Trade Paperback ISBN: 9780008411701

UK Audiobook ISBN: 9780008406448

US Audiobook ISBN: 9780008412074

Version: 2020-06-15

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Chapter 1: Windsor Castle, December 1943

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12: Cairo, April 1944

Chapter 13

Chapter 14: London, 8 May 1945

Chapter 15

Chapter 16: Buckingham Palace, January 1946

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21: Germany, Schloss Salem, April 1946

Chapter 22

Chapter 23: Café de Paris, Monte Carlo, April 1946

Chapter 24: Buckingham Palace, May 1946

Chapter 25: Balmoral Castle, August 1946

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29: London, October 1946

Chapter 30: Portsmouth, 1 February 1947

Chapter 31: South Africa, February 1947

Chapter 32

Chapter 33: London, May 1947

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37: London, June 1947

Chapter 38

Chapter 39: London, July 1947

Chapter 40: Buckingham Palace, July 1947

Chapter 41: London, July 1947

Chapter 42: Balmoral Castle, August 1947

Chapter 43: London, October 1947

Chapter 44

Chapter 45: Buckingham Palace, November 1947

Chapter 46

Chapter 47: London, November 1947

Chapter 48: Buckingham Palace, November 1947

Chapter 49: Buckingham Palace, November 1947

Chapter 50: Kensington Palace, 20th November 1947

Chapter 51: Buckingham Palace, 20th November 1947

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Windsor Castle, December 1943

He’s not there.

Elizabeth has her eye pressed to the chink in the curtains. The velvet is worn and smells musty. It reeks of mothballs and greasepaint, of old productions carefully rehearsed, suppressed giggles, and first night nerves.

In front of the stage, she can see the audience beginning to fill up the rows of chairs. Some are taking their seats in deferential silence, others look around, defiantly casual about finding themselves in the castle. The splendid gilt of the Waterloo Chamber is dulled now by neglect, its walls stripped of famous portraits, but it retains plenty of its original grandeur. The carpets had been rolled up and stored at the beginning of the war, and now the great hall echoes with the scraping of chairs, the subdued burble of conversation, and the clearing of throats.