Sir Alan Lascelles (Edited by Duff Hart-Davis)

“…his own losses were irreplaceable:” The Life and Times of a Private Secretary to Royalty

End of an Era: Letters and Journals of Sir Alan Lascelles 1887-1920 by Sir Alan Lascelles (Edited by Duff Hart-Davis)

King's Counsellor (Abdication and War: The Diaries of Sir Alan 'Tommy' Lascelles) by Sir Alan Lascelles (Edited by Duff Hart-Davis)

May 8, 2024 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I’m glad that I read these out of order, because going from reading the last volume, where Tommy is fully mature and in his element to the first volume, where he is a child, really drove home to me how much growing up and having the time to think and experience life can make someone less annoying and more thoughtful. I think if I’d started with the first book, it would have soured me on him because he is very of his time and class […]

“I can’t help thinking that the best thing that could happen to him, and to the country, would be for him to break his neck.”

In Royal Service: The Letters and Journals of Sir Alan Lascelles 1920-1936 (Vol. 2) by Sir Alan Lascelles (Edited by Duff Hart-Davis)

February 19, 2024 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

This is a collection of mainly letters to friends and family from Sir Alan (“Tommy”) Lascelles, who worked as Assistant Private Secretary/Private Secretary for Edward VIII (David), the Governor-General of Canada, George V very briefly before his death, and George VI. There are also some letters from his wife and children in here as well to flesh out the portrait. The main reason to read this is the draw of Tommy’s descriptions and insight into David’s psychology and activities as the Prince of Wales, and […]

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