The five sons of King George V and Queen Mary were very different characters, with very different strengths and weaknesses, all of whom were brought up to fulfil different roles within the Royal Family; until the eldest of the brothers rejected his role as King of England and plunged the family into crisis.
The personal lives of the British Royals were successfully kept out of the public eye by mutual agreement of the press and royal family, but this all changed in 1936 when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne and spurned his responsibility for the sake of the glamorous American socialite and divorcee, Wallis Simpson. During the Second World War, though the world's press focused on the far more public conflict tearing nations apart, the royal romance provided light relief for the British public. But this relationship had a darker side, and in Princes at War, Deborah Cadbury reveals evidence that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor colluded with Hitler to take back the British throne from Edward's younger brother, King George VI, should Germany prevail in the War.
Drawing on new research and recently released files, Deborah Cadbury shows that not only did George VI have to battle to lead his country but battle constantly to keep his brothers, and especially his older brother, in check.
