“She hit a new low in mid-July when she took up with Dodi Fayed, the son of Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Fayed, who had been repeatedly denied British citizenship by the U.K. government. Mohamed Fayed had befriended Diana as a generous… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“Your Majesty, I'm afraid everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong," said Major Sir Michael Parker, an impresario for royal events with… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“As the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the monarch is the defender of the faith—the official religion of the country, established by law and respected by sentiment. Yet when the Queen travels to Scotland, she becomes a member of the Church of Scotland, which governs itself and tolerates no supervision by the state. She doesn’t abandon the Anglican… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share
“Charles is difficult to pigeonhole politically. Tony Blair wrote that he considered him a “curious mixture of the traditional and the radical (at one level he was quite New Labour, at another definitely not) and of the princely and insecure.” He is certainly conservative in his old-fashioned dress and manners, his advocacy of traditional education in the arts and humanities,… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share
“Asked to explain how he became a war hero he (Kennedy) responded, "It was involuntary. They think my boat.” — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“Charles and their advisers and staff dealt with Diana’s bewildering and often infuriating behavior by placating her, trying to distract her, and ultimately, out… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“Philip revealed his carefully cloaked emotions when he wrote to his mother-in-law, "Cherish Lilibet? I wonder if that word is enough to express what… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“Jack Kennedy brought an "intense concentration" and a "gently teasing humor" to the dinner table, along with what Katherine Graham called his habit of… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“The Queen drilled in her own mother's maxim that "if you find something or somebody a bore, the fault lies in you.” — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“Thatcher once said that if she were a visitor from Mars required to create a constitutional system, "I would set up ... a hereditary… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“Like the princess, Philip didn't believe in public displays of affection, which made it easy to mask his feelings. But he revealed them privately… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“After American titan and presidential father Joseph P. Kennedy suffered a stroke that impacted one side of his body, guests pretended not to notice… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
“She hit a new low in mid-July when she took up with Dodi Fayed, the son of Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Fayed, who had been… — Sally Bedell Smith Copy Share Image
