A Holiday Message to the Royals Extra Community, With Much Gratitude for Your Support
I will be traveling over the next week and taking a vacation until after the New Year begins
Dear Friends of Royals Extra,
It has now been nine months since I launched Royals Extra, and yesterday I published my 64th post, this time about Queen Elizabeth II’s friendship with “Porchey,” her influential racing manager for three decades. My thoughts were prompted by his reappearance in the final season of The Crown, and I was eager to put their relationship into proper perspective.
Once a week, and occasionally more often, I have tried to offer you fresh insights, along with previously untold stories and rare images, drawing from the research informing my four books about the British royal family. The Royals Extra community has been growing steadily, and I thank you all for joining me.
If I could have one holiday wish, it would be for more of you to sign up as paid subscribers, for $6 a month or $60 a year, to support my work. I remain especially grateful to those of you who have showed an extra measure of belief in Royals Extra as Founding Members for $150 a year.
As paid subscribers, you can see my entire archive of stories. I’ve periodically given you highlights from my most recent book, George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy, and I’ll continue to dip into that rich history from time to time. I’ve also ranged across many other topics, including the dog Meghan Markle adopted and left behind, Queen Elizabeth II’s tender friendship with a cowboy horse whisperer, King Charles III’s special “Sanctuary” in his Highgrove garden, the Manhattan “debut” of Camilla Parker Bowles, the day Helen Mirren came to my apartment for coffee and talked about playing the Queen, my magical stay at the Castle of Mey beloved by the Queen Mum and King Charles, my memories of attending lavish Prince of Wales Foundation dinners in Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Palace and Kensington Palace, my friendship with Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin and confidante, and King Charles’s passion for Romania, with much more to come.
Below is a sampling of images I’ve posted. I hope you agree that they reflect the variety—and the heart—of Royals Extra.
Have a wonderful holiday season, with best wishes for a happy and healthy 2024,
Sally Bedell Smith
