ePub 17 Carnations: The Royals; the Nazis; and the Biggest Cover-Up in History by Andrew Morton in History

Review

142 of 154 people found the following review helpful. Shoddy Gossip And Hyperbole; With Some Interesting Material At The EndBy John D. CofieldAndrew Morton is a British celebrity journalist best known as the author of an eyebrow-raising biography of the late Princess of Wales; who apparently was his unacknowledged collaborator if not co-author. That book was the beginning of a career during which Morton has produced a number of "unauthorized biographies." His latest production bears all his typical hallmarks: hyperbolic claims and hints of scandalous secrets which eventually boil down to nothing; or at least nothing much; until nearly the very end.This book can be roughly divided into three parts. The first 8 or 9 chapters are a recapitulation of the career of the Prince of Wales during the 1920s and 1930s: a lonely and emotionally damaged man who found love or at least release in a series of affairs with married women. Eventually he fell deeply in love with an American woman living in London with her second husband; Mrs. Wallis Simpson. Mrs. Simpson appeared to be exactly the sort of woman the Prince needed (Morton drops some hints about these needs); and by the time he became King Edward VIII in 1936 he could no longer imagine life without her. For her part Mrs. Simpson appears to have balanced the King and her husband along with several other possible lovers (including the German Ambassador von Ribbentrop; whose habit of sending her bouquets of 17 roses or carnations in memory of the number of their rendezvous is the source for Morton's title.) When it was made clear to Edward VIII that he could not remain King if he married a twice-divorced American; he abdicated in December 1936 and became the Duke of Windsor. I found this first part of Morton's book to be the weakest; heavily reliant on gossip; poorly referenced so that it is almost impossible to pin down the sources for some of his stories; and full of mistakes when referring to titled people. A British journalist who has written about royalty and aristocracy ought to know better than to refer to "Viscountess Thelma Furness" or "Lord Edward Stanley."Things improve in the second segment; covering roughly Chapters 10-14. Here we read of the newly wed couple's early years; when the Duke searched for a new role but found himself stymied by his brother King George VI and sister-in-law Queen Elizabeth's determination that he should not return to Britain or hold any prominent position. The Windsors became entangled with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis; who believed (with good reason) that they were sympathetic to the Third Reich; and made an ill-advised tour of Germany in 1937. When World War II broke out the Duke made some even more ill-advised statements about the inevitability of German victory and became the target; perhaps knowingly; of Nazi plans to restore him as King once Britain had been conquered. He and the Duchess were sent to govern the Bahamas during most of the war; but they continued to make nuisances of themselves to the King; the Prime Minister; and assorted officials; who had to take time off from dealing with the war to do things like collect the Duchess' favorite bathing suit and bedlinens from her homes in occupied France. There's more solid material in this segment; thanks to the plethora of scholarship from authors like Michael Bloch; Frances Donaldson; Philip Ziegler; and Jonathan Petropoulos.Chapters 15-17 make up my third segment; which is the real heart of the book. Here Morton tells the fascinating story of how Nazi government files; including some dealing with the Windsors; were discovered at the end of World War II and brought to safety in the British and American occupation zones in Germany. It was intriguing to read of the efforts by British officials to keep the embarrassing details about the Duke's dealings with Hitler and other Nazis from becoming public. As an historian I was saddened to read that some well-known academics were complicit in this campaign to keep the details under lock and key; or even to destroy them. The goal of the cover-up was to avoid embarrassing the Duke and by extension the House of Windsor; but that doesn't excuse it. It's a shame that Morton didn't focus on these chapters and expand them instead of throwing in so much weaker material in the first segment. In the end the question of whether the Duke of Windsor actually committed treason; or at least came close to doing so; remains unanswered in Morton's book. Readers who want to know more details can find them in Michael Bloch's several books on the Duke and the Nazis or in Philip Ziegler and Frances Donaldson's biographies.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Duke and DutchessBy DUTCHPacked with history during the era of the Duke (who abdicated)and his Dutchess (Wallis Simpson). I knew some of the history but not the depth of their pro Nazi involvement....as well as other prominent people. There lifestyle was lavish and their circle of friends were well know celebs; authors; poets; and the wealthy business people. What Decadent lives they lived. The Duke was really a weak person looking for a purpose but not someone U felt sorry for. An eye-opener.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The Japanese surrendered on my 10th birthday; so I ...By Robert R. BatchelderThe Japanese surrendered on my 10th birthday; so I have a vague memory of happenings during WW II. But I do remember my parents' disdain for the Royal Family and the damsel Wallis. This book makes clear the reasons for disrespect of the Royals. The book is well written and makes compelling use of evidence from lately discovered records to demonstrate the perfidy and arrogance; not to mention stupidity; of the Duke of Windsor.