Royal by Danielle Steel – a Review

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Description:
As the war rages on in the summer of 1943, causing massive destruction and widespread fear, the King and Queen choose to quietly send their youngest daughter, Princess Charlotte, to live with a trusted noble family in the country. Despite her fiery, headstrong nature, the princess’s fragile health poses far too great a risk for her to remain in war-torn London.

Third in line for the throne, seventeen year-old Charlotte reluctantly uses an alias upon her arrival in Yorkshire, her two guardians the only keepers of her true identity. In time, she settles comfortably into a life out of the spotlight, befriending a young evacuee and training with her cherished horse. But no one predicts that in the coming months she will fall deeply in love with her protectors’ son.

She longs for a normal life. Far from her parents, a tragic turn of events leaves an infant orphaned. Alone in the world, that child will be raised in the most humble circumstances by a modest stable manager and his wife. No one, not even she, knows of her lineage. But when a stack of hidden letters comes to light, a secret kept for nearly two decades finally surfaces, and a long lost princess emerges.

Review:

Royal by Danielle Steel is another one off her wonderful standalone romance novels. The story begins around 1943 in war torn England, and the King and Queen decide to send their 17-year-old daughter, Charlotte, who suffers from asthma, to a safer place in the country.  Charlotte is the youngest sister of three, and though very headstrong, she is weak and vulnerable.  Charlotte is not happy going to Yorkshire, but the family promises to keep her identity a secret, and she slowly accepts the time she is spending there.  She befriends the son, who works with the horses, which is her passion.  In a short time, they fall in love and when she becomes pregnant, they get married before he is sent overseas. Tragically, her husband is killed, and they keep the secret from her real family.  When Charlotte gives birth, her weakened state, causes her to hemorrhage and she dies. The Yorkshire family tells the royal family about her tragic death, but only says it was due to her asthma, no mention of her being married or her pregnancy.  

Lucy, who was also a member of the household in Yorkshire, but who was also jealous of Charlotte, begins to take care and love baby Annie. Within a short time, the couple both will die months apart, forcing Lucy to find another job, which she will take Annie as her own.  The story now follows Lucy, and young Annie, who loves horses, bringing her close to the stable manager.  Eventually Lucy and Jonathan will marry and bring Annie up together.  They were a happy family, as the years pass, until Lucy knows she is dying, and she tells Jonathan about the papers she hidden, revealing the true nature of Annie, who is rightfully a Royal Princess.

The last half of the story really perks up and I loved watching a happy Annie, and her closeness to her step father, but most of all I loved how everything changed for her.  We get to see the royal family, after a full investigation open their arms to the daughter of Charlotte, which was painful for them.  Alexandra is now the queen, with Victoria, the second sister still having fun playing the field.  Annie is happy to meet all her relatives, and is thrilled to get the chance to work for the Queen’s stables to train horses.   Annie dream is the be a jockey, but it is not allowed for females.  In a few years, she will have the opportunity to do this, and she proves how she excels in handling the horses. It was so much fun to watch the family, especially Annie as she becomes a household name in her endeavors to ride the horses.  

Annie will fall in love with Anthony, her boss’s son, and they were really great together.  Something will separate them, as Annie wants to continue her chance riding in the high stake’s races. I loved Annie the best of all the characters that Steel has given us, though I was not a fan of Lucy early on.

Royal was a wonderful and beautiful love story that spans over 30 years.  I do feel that the beginning was a bit slow, but not for long, as I could not put the book down, since I was enjoying it so much.  The early tragedy, leads to a remarkable enjoyable and fun story, surrounded by the wonderful characters created by Steel.  I wholly suggest you read Royal, so very well written by Danielle Steel.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher