Welcome!
Why Royals Extra?
Royals Extra takes readers behind the scenes of the British royal family over the last century. It draws from 20 years of research that informed four best-selling books about the monarchy, providing exclusive glimpses of the royal family in private and the careful planning of their lives in public. My most recent book, George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy, chronicles the eventful lives of the man and woman whose early struggles were featured in the movie The King’s Speech. I had already written biographies of their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II and their grandson, now King Charles III, and Diana, Princess of Wales. George VI and Elizabeth is both a love story and an account of bravery, leadership, and resilience during the momentous events before and during World War II. It is the first definitive biography of the 20th century’s most consequential King and Queen.
Taken together, the four books trace the trials and triumphs of the modern monarchy and explain traditions and values that have made it an object of fascination around the world. In Royals Extra I pull back the curtain on the mysteries behind the pomp and ceremony seen on television and online. My aim is to counter stereotypes and caricatures, to convey new information and fresh contexts, and to broaden understanding of the world’s most famous family.
My Expertise
Exploring and explaining what makes the royal family tick is my passion. For each of my books on the Queen, King Charles III, and Diana, I interviewed hundreds of people who knew and worked with them. To tell the story of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, I faced a different challenge: piecing together their lives through their correspondence and diaries, and other archival material. From this paper trail, I tried to put readers beside them and to share how George VI and Elizabeth grew and faced the challenges of their day. With the generous permission of their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, I was able to spend three months in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, climbing upwards of 100 medieval steps each day to pore over the papers. I was also granted access to the private papers of Queen Elizabeth’s family at Glamis Castle in Scotland, which were equally illuminating.
Paid Subscribers
While much of what I write is historical, I also aim to provide context for how members of the royal family are modernizing their roles as they heed the 1,000-year history of the institution.
I expand on my books with little-known vignettes, excerpts from unpublished interviews, previously untold stories, and character sketches of influential people in the orbit of the royal family. I show the ups and downs, and the moments of love and grief.
At first I posted mainly about George VI and Elizabeth and their myriad relationships. I lived with them for five years, and I still have much to share from what I know. In The King’s Speech, Colin Firth gave a mostly accurate portrayal of George VI’s determined and often touching battle to conquer his crippling stammer, but there continues to be more to tell. The general impression of Elizabeth has overlooked her role as queen and helpmeet, jumping to her image as the jolly “Queen Mum” during the fifty years following the premature death of her husband when he was fifty-six and she was fifty-one. I also offer personal insights into the late Queen and Prince Philip, as well as King Charles III and Queen Camilla—all of whom I have observed in public and private settings. Based on my knowledge from those close to the William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, I include those perspectives as well.
One of great satisfactions of writing biographies is the opportunity to talk to groups and share what I have learned. With Royals Extra, I enjoy connecting with readers in a similarly direct way.
I am hoping that those of you who are interested in the unfolding and often surprising story of the monarchy will sign up as paid subscribers to Royals Extra—either at a rate of $6 a month or $60 a year. I’ll post on the weekends and additionally when prompted by relevant news or circumstances. More than a year after the publication of George VI and Elizabeth, I continue to travel around the country giving talks about them. If the occasion arises, I’ll offer glimpses of those experiences, especially if they includes subscribers.
For those who want to go above and beyond to support my work with a founding tier ($150 a year), I thank you, and will find something special to do for you down the line.
Free Subscribers
I have been using this newsletter frequently, in a similar vein to my Facebook Author Page, although here I can connect with all of you in a direct and meaningful way as we build a positive and vibrant community together.
Royals Extra is meant to be a happy place, not a forum for arguing. I welcome comments and respond as much as I can. This is an exciting journey for me, and I hope it will be the same for readers.
About me
I have written eight best-selling biographies. My latest, George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy (Random House 2023) is the definitive biography of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s mother and father, based for the first time on special access to their letters and diaries in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle that was granted to me by the Queen
I’ve also written best-selling biographies of King Charles III, Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales, John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Pamela Harriman, and William S. Paley. Translations of my books have been published in more than a dozen countries.
I’ve been an on-air contributor to CNN since 2017 offering analysis and commentary on the British royal family. I was a contributing editor at Vanity Fair from 1996 to 2018. I previously worked at Time and The New York Times, where I was a cultural news reporter.
I received the 2012 Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence, an award presented by the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York, and Elizabeth the Queen won the 2012 Goodreads Choice Award for best book in history and biography. In 2012, I was also the consultant to playwright Peter Morgan on The Audience, his acclaimed drama about Queen Elizabeth II starring Helen Mirren. In 2020 I was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) by Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, my alma mater. I received my M.S. from Columbia University.
I am the proud mother of three children and grandmother to five, and I live in Washington, D.C. with my dear husband, Stephen Smith.
