My Memories of Six Reigns

by Princess MARIE LOUISE

Queen Victoria's granddaughter looks back on her over eighty years of royal life in Great Britain.

Genres: Biography, Royalty, History, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Memoir

328 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1956

Reviews

[Ghost of the Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any "serious" reader of Queen Victoria's life and (huge) family, will at any given point have heard of her granddaughter Princess Marie Louise and her Memoirs.
I have loooooong wanted to get my hands on a copy but prices were a little over my range until a happy discovery very recently - thank you TB!
Anyways i ramble a Little off topic...apologies!

Deliciously dated, perhaps somewhat mildly offensive to more sensitive modern ears, this is a fascinating collection of facts, people, gossips and jokes ...even though not everything is in here since, as she herself says "Toute verite n'est pas bonne a dire" ...Not all truths need to be told...
Born in the faraway year of 1872, daughter of Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, granddaughter of THE Queen Victoria, Marie Louise was a privileged witness of some major historical moments until her death under the reign of Queen Elisabeth II, whose coronation she witnessed and of which she talks as well in these pages.
You may not like the way this is written, it was published in 1956 and as she herself admits it, she's not a writer, however this is well worth your time and your patience....even all these years later, Princess Marie Louise is a treasure trove of information and, at least for me, reading this was the equivalent of a 5'o clock tea with my favorite great aunt ...that ends up stretching into the night.

Definitely worth it for any self respecting ;) fan of England and English history.

Happy Readings!

[Whimsical · Rating 3 out of 5]

HRH Princess Marie Louise lived a long and eventful live and from the pages of her book one was able to get an eye witness history. She lived during the reign of six monarchs and knew them personally.

Her proximity to six monarch from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II as well as Czars and Emperors is quite remarkable thus she provides a unique perspective.

I gave this book 3 stars only because it was not the literary masterpiece I was expecting. It was written by her in her own words was and not that of a ghost writer. Further more, HRH realizing the limits of the authorship apologized through out the book for not being able to offer up descriptions and analysis that readers expect from history books. Be that as it may, I really enjoy reading this book and was delighted to meet and spend time with HRH in her walk through history.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Princess Marie Louise was the grand daughter of Queen Victoria, and in 1956 - right before she died - she wrote and published her memoirs. She knew two queens and four kings intimately, and has stories about each. Princess M L pops up in books about the royals - especially King Edward and Queen Alexandra. She's not writing with a poison pen here; no hatches are buried in this memoir. The stories she tells are quite gentle and amusing. I imagine the princess herself was both of those things - plus adventurous, as she traveled all over the world well into her elderly years. She was also divorced by her husband right before World War I - at a time when that simply wasn't done (the rumor, which Princess ML most definitely does NOT relate, is that Aribert her husband was discovered by her in bed with a male groom). This book was hard to find (I ordered a rather expensive old penguin paperback online, that was shipped from England, and was in pretty bad condition), but it's worth reading if you like books about royalty.

[Zosi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I really, really enjoyed this book. Although I read it mostly for the historical context and for the bits about Queen Victoria, I found Marie Louise a much more engaging narrator than I would have thought. Her outlook on people and life are as relevant now as they were 70 years ago. Young people can relate to this book like young people in the 1950s even though our world is so different. Although her outlook is a bit old fashioned and out of date in parts (especially regarding colonization) I so enjoyed these ‘reminisces’ and just how much she was able to talk about and how much she saw change from her childhood to her death. A very interesting primary source and a good complement to history books of the time, with all her insider knowledge and funny stories (a few of them even made me laugh out loud).

[Luke Esdale · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such a strange book and unfortunately I really was expecting an account more closely linked to the reigns of the six Kings and Queens from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II. Unfortunately, Princess Marie Louise focuses a lot on her own experiences and life throughout these reigns and this was unfortunately not what I was expecting. For what it’s worth, the content of her stories were intriguing and focused on the importance of showing the royal family as normal as possible. Her stories are fun and in many ways timeless however the lack of mention of Edward VIII was disappointing albeit not surprising. Overall, a sweet little book that I would recommend if you love history and the royal family but be prepared to hear stories from a Princess set in a very different world.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

If more history books were like this, I'd read them. Of course, it's a memoir (of a granddaughter of Queen Victoria) rather than a scholarly work, but it offers a wonderful glimpse of (royal) life in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Is it tightly structured, objective, and does it provide political context? Certainly not. Is it sweetly gossipy and does it include charming anecdotes about getting hushed by the Pope and Queen Victoria's petticoats? Absolutely.

[Jeffrey Thiessen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rambling memories of a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Not exactly gripping stuff but interesting.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating

[Elise Hocevar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book! a little boring at the end but I still liked it!

[Christina Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the loveliest aspects of this book is the way that the character of Princess Marie Louise shines through every page. Her descriptions of the royalties of the era and other people whom she knew are written with such appreciation that Marie Louise herself must have been a wonderful person. Despite the shame and horror of her marriage, she even manages to write in a kindly way of her husband; despite the atrocities of WW1, she speaks so genuinely of the Kaiser and shows him in a different light than he is usually portrayed. The Romanovs, the Empress Frederick, King Edward VII, the Prussian Court and the stifiling atmosphere of Anhalt, right through to her love and respect for our present Queen Elizabeth II, are all in this slim volume. The fact that it comes right up to our present queen, makes the lovely book a kind of link to the world of Queen Victoria and today. If I were to be stranded on a desert island, this is one the books I would take with me!

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the stuff of my dreams. It was so fascinating to read the words of a Princess and of the incredible experiences she had throughout her long life during some historic times. Princess Marie-Louise is naturally gushing towards her fellow royals in her comments but nevertheless provides a warm and delightful read for anyone interested in history and royalty. Her Highness tells of receiving a gold watch from Queen Victoria on her birthday, how she played with the last Tsarina of Russia when they were both girls, her travels through Germany to see her uncle and cousin Kaisers Wilhelm I and II, the audience she had with the Pope among other personal stories. She also recounts her many royal and charitable works and the travels she undertook around the world. "My Memories of Six Reigns" is an incredible time-capsule of a bygone era and this book will certainly get pride of place on my shelves!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an age when women were expected to marry, produce heirs and play hostess, Princess Marie Louise challenged the rules. She points out that she did her best to follows those strict Victorian dictates, but felt stifled by them. The princess traveled the world without much pomp and provides the reader with a glimpse into a world that does not exist today.

Do not be fooled for one moment that she did not know where her loyalties lay. On the contrary, the princess plays the game of very well throughout the book. She acknowledges the Firm and provides insightful and sometimes very funny anecdotes about the Royal Family.

The princess does seem to ramble from tale to tale in places, but overall this is a fun and rare look into a very privileged world. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history, travel or just a good Saturday afternoon read.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are among the most enjoyable and fascinating memoirs of any member of a Royal family that I have read. Princess Marie Louise (“Louie” within the Royal family) was the younger daughter of Queen Victoria’s third daughter. This may seem a distance and abstract person, but it made a lot of more notorious people her FIRST COUSIN: Alexandra (or Nicholas and Alexandra of Russia), Kaiser Wilhelm, Queen Ena of Spain, and of course King George V. She was also the close friend of Princess May - who grew up to be Queen Mary. With all these illustrious relations, how strange that she spend WWI in a room in a “bed sit” cooking meals on a paraffin stove or that she spent WWII as a border in a flat on the top floor of a country house near Windsor.

[Noel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authoresss was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. It seems that her husband, Price Aribert of Anhalt, divorced her because he was gay. of course HRH never mentions that in this book, although she does mention the "pain" of the divorce. She never remarried so as to remain a good-standing Anglican. If you want an "inside" look at what it was like to be a minor memeber of the British royal family back in the good old days, this book will provide it. It's full of interesting anecdotes and historical tidbits. HRH was a bit of an odd old dear who gets a bit "preachy" at times, and that comes across in the pages of this otherwise very interesting memoir.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, somewhat out of date, recount of the life of a British princess. As one of the few divorcees of her time, she's had a very interesting life, keeping her role as a British royal family member and devoting herself to charities and helping out the reigning monarch in their social duty.
A nice reading, especially for a taste of a bygone era. The author remains throughout the book a victorian, but an intellingent and sensible one.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Marie Louise's volume is an absolute treasure. I adored so much of it. She speaks respectfully of everyone with great affection, if sometimes a hint of impatience, and yet her personality shines straight through the entire thing. It lagged a bit (okay, a lot) when she goes on about the many charities she supported over the years, but wonderful nonetheless.

Overall: a solid 8/10.

[Skygirl19 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it. Especially enjoyed the details of her interactions with Queen Victoria & King George V.

Remarkable, considering that the princess passed away mere months after publication. A time capsule

[Bernard Madsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir by a grandaughter of VR (Victoria's daughter Helena's daughter) Wonderful, lovely book... so full of interesting "inside" tidbits of royal life... thoroughly enjoyed.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book but a little too heavy on the descriptions of her charities