The Royal We: If You Don’t Read it… BYE.

This past weekend I came home from the perfect ten-day tropical holiday to dreary, cold and way-too-noisy New York. As you can imagine, I was quite depressed in that cab ride back to my apartment. Then, I got home and had a package from Beverly Hills waiting for me. Things seriously turned around from there. My favorite Twitter twosome, Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks, aka @fuggirls, had sent me an advanced copy of their novel, The Royal We. Reading face on. Like, I actually had two week’s worth of TV to catch up on (including the premiere of The Royals and two episodes of Scandal) and I totally blew it off until I finished this book. I can pretty much end my review right there. Don’t worry, I’m not.

I have to admit, when Jessica told me back in 2013 that she and Heather were headed to Britain on a royal recon mission for their new book, I had seriously high expectations (which I didn’t tell them at the time, my bad J!). The Royal We far exceeded all of them. That rarely happens nowadays when it comes to royal reading. Well, any reading for that matter. TBH, I should not have been surprised that I read the book in 2 days – would have been one but I was seriously jetlagged and had to tap out with 100 pages left (the book is nearly 500 pages FYI). This totally makes me some sort of prodigy, right? Reading a book that big in a matter of hours? No, okay, moving onto the good stuff..

 Long story short, if you love the royals you will fall head over heels for this heart-warming novel inspired by our favorite soon-to-be-parents-for-the-second-time couple. If you don’t love the royals but you can appreciate getting totally lost in a book, a world that only exists in your wildest dreams, or have any interest in reading a good book whatsoever, you will still fall head over heels.

The story follows Rebecca “Bex” Porter, an American girl who heads to England for a year abroad and ends up bunking with the future king, Nicholas Wales. Hey fuggirls, get out of my daydreams, k? You think you might know the rest from there (the book is written in my favorite style – flashing back and forth between events, so you do know *something* upfront, but not everything), but you don’t. You so don’t. (Also, I’m incredibly impatient hence my love for books written this way. Again, H & J get out of my head, wouldya?) Obviously there is a romance. Obviously there is regal drama. But it goes deeper than that. And for royalists, just when you think you know what the next line is, because obviously we all know everything there is to know about William & Kate’s love story, they throw a twist at you.

While I very quickly got lost in the witty repartee that we have all come to know and love from Heather and Jessica on Twitter and in their royal round-ups, I also found myself taking mental notes (and some actual notes) throughout my Bex and Nicholas journey of the similarities between the W & K love story and the actual royal family. Well, what we know/think we know about it all. From the tartan McQueen coats and navy sailor striped t-shirts on her to the blue suits on him to meeting a prestigious British university and the ginger-haired, partying “spare” brother who loves his blondes, it is spot on. Yes, I obviously found myself drawn to the brother, Freddie, the most. H & J did their research, including lengthy descriptions of The Queen’s tiaras that left me salivating. Even the made-up newspaper headlines were exactly what you would see splashed across the front pages in the UK “We’re so Bea-xcited!”

I laughed, I cried, I yearned, I got lost in a world that most us royalists dream about on the reg. I’m a very emotional person and this book has a lot of emotions. It was perfect for me. I could go on for ages, but I’m already typing myself into reading it again and seriously, I need to get some actual things done in life  after my The Royal We vortex so I’m going to stop.

The book hits shelves on April 7th (less than two weeks, and very aptly timed for the Cambridge anniversary) and you can pre-order it here. In the meantime, the ladies have very kindly posted the first seven chapters for free on their website! Fair warning: I would refrain from reading the chapters until April 6th because you will want to devour it once you start. Once you read the book you will understand why I bolded/italicized that word.

So many congratulations to Heather and Jessica and thank you for allowing me to read it early. xx

Commonwealth Day 2015

I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. 

– Queen Elizabeth II, 21 April 1947

Today is Commonwealth Day, marked in the 53 member countries of the Commonwealth; an important date on The British Monarchy’s calendar. In her reign, Queen Elizabeth II has made more than 200 visits to the member nations around the world, the largest of which is Canada.

As is tradition, Her Majesty released a special message to the realm today:

The theme of the 2015 Commonwealth Day is ‘A Young Commonwealth;’ honoring that the Commonwealth, and the world in general, “can only flourish if its ideas and ideals continue to be young and fresh and relevant to all generations.” Very apt, in my opinion, as the young royals continue to take on more responsibilities on behalf of their grandmother and the brood keeps growing (ahem, royal baby number 2!)

The day will be marked with a service at Westminster Abbey today – 1,000 schoolchildren will attend, nodding to this year’s theme.

One simple lesson from history is that when people come together to talk, to exchange ideas and to develop common goals, wonderful things can happen.