I enjoyed the dual POV fictional narrative of the Queen's courtship, such as it was. It is hard to imagine this type of wooing would entice anyone in contemporary times, but I found the practicality of the Queen refreshing if at times a bit staid. Prince Phillip is an intriguing character as is his family connection. His hesitancy was understandable, but you do wish he was a touch more demonstrative, but he comes through in the end. Touchingly relatable.

A fictionalized account of the courtship between Queen Elizabeth II.and Prince Philip. Fans of The Crown will like it but I struggled.with it and so did not finish.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. Although I love all things British and historical fiction, this was not for me. I think the present tense really made it hard for me to immerse myself in the past. Since I didn't finish it, I will not be adding a review on Goodreads. Thanks!

This is a great read from beginning to end. If you have an interest in the British Royal family of today this is a must read.

I really like the Crown, it's one of my guilty pleasures, so I already knew that the Queen and Phillip had an unconventional love story - I've been doing historical fiction study in the Royal family, from about Henry the 8th, to present times.
But there was something a bit...lacking about this. I can't even really explain what it was about it.
It wasn't badly written. It wasn't unengaging. It just lacked...that certain something I guess.

If you're like me, you came across Flora Harding's debut novel Before the Crown by way of Netflix's hit show The Crown. As the title suggests, Before the Crown takes readers into the lives of a then Princess Elizabeth Windsor and her future husband Philip Mountbatten before Elizabeth is ever crowned Queen of England. Fans of the television show The Crown will appreciate this journey back in time to the events preceding the series (The first episode of The Crown details Elizabeth and Philip's wedding, which is where Before the Crown ends.) If you have ever wondered how the royal marriage came to be, don't miss Flora Harding's Before the Crown.

Theirs is the longest marriage of any British sovereign, surpassing 70 years - Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip married in 1947 when she was still a Princess and he was a foreign Prince who renounced all of his titles and took up British citizenry just to have her hand. You may already be familiar with the ups and downs that have taken place during the pair's union throughout the years, but you may not know the story of Elizabeth and Philip's courtship. That's where Harding's Before the Crown comes into play.

Before the Crown opens in the nascent days of Elizabeth and Philip's relationship, showing how their feelings grew for each other over time, and detailing the obstacles they went through just to make it to the altar. While their story isn't as scintillating as say one about Princess Margaret, Elizabeth's daring younger sister, would be, it is grounded and realistic, showing the difficulties that come with marrying the future heir to the throne of Britain.

Harding's novel is informative and evenly paced, if not a bit dry and tedious, but again, readers should remember that this is a story about Queen Elizabeth, a women not only married to Prince Philip, but also to England and the duty that her role as sovereign carries. Elizabeth and Philip so often seem like an odd match, that people can't help but wonder how their romance found its start. Look no further than Before the Crown, which pulls back the curtain on the early days of the royal marriage and is worth a read by any fans of the British royal family.

I just could not get into this book. I’m a huge fan of The Crown, so I figured I would like this. However, I did not. It was just so boring and just dragged. I get that Elizabeth and Philip weren’t madly in love, but it didn’t even seem like they even liked each other, and maybe that’s historically accurate. But it makes for a very boring book.

I was hoping for it to be about what is like to be a royal and I felt that was missing from this book too. Elizabeth doesn’t even really grapple with the fact that she wasn’t supposed to be queen in the beginning, and just accepts it. I would think as a teenager she would have complained at least a little bit. Elizabeth just makes for a very boring book character. Overall, I would have skipped this book and DNF’d if it hadn’t been a NetGalley book I needed to review.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this! So good, so exciting, so gripping and great story. Can't wait to read more by this author - absolutely brilliant. Anything about royalty is a winner with me :)

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
Reading this was quite fun. Going from Elizabeth to Phillips point of view was kind of fun because there aren't many books written about them in a fictional genre. Before their engagement was such a strange time in history and reading about it from "their point of view" was intriguing.

As someone who loves all things Royals, I was so excited to read this book. The cover is beautiful and I love reading about the Queen (whether biographical or fictional). Unfortunately I just found this book to be boring. Not sure if it’s the book itself or just that honestly the love story of Elizabeth and Phillip isn’t that exciting compared to many other Royals. Thank you though to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read it.

I struggled to get into this one, and have not finished it. It isn’t anything to do with the book as it was well written, it just didn’t grab me. I will try again at some point.

Before the Crown is a charming, sweet depiction of the relationship between then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece before she becomes Queen Elizabeth. The story travels between war torn Europe and their wedding day, filling in the gaps of how the two first met and what was originally meant to be a marriage of convenience. Many historical events occur with accurate depiction but the relationship between Philip and Elizabeth, while drawn on anecdotes, is a fictionalized version of their courtship. It does not take away from the story, which is a quick read and fans of historical fiction and the royal family will really enjoy this novel!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Before the Crown is a fictional story that follows the courtship between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
Philip's family has been in exile for many years now, and Philip has been mostly raised by his Mountbatten relatives. When his Uncle Dickie expresses his enthusiasm towards Philip pursuing a marriage with the future heir of England, he is somewhat relentless in pushing Philip in this matter.
After 73 years of marriage, there is no denying that Elizabeth was indeed attracted to Philip from the off, did Philip have the same feelings or did he see this as a way to gain some power?
I am quite the fan of historical fiction, and this book certainly went above and beyond all my expectations. It is clear that the author has done extensive research in this subject, and the ways in which she adds character and charm to this story is truly wonderful.
Beautifully written and totally captivating right to the very last page. A wonderful read!

This book was a well-written take on the marriage between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

I have always had a soft spot for Prince Philip, and the way he has been portrayed in this lovely story makes me like him even more.

The characters are well developed and the story is a magical one - a real life fairytale which I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in.

Loved this and would highly recommend!

before the crown is a great historical romance. i really liked this one a lot. it's so interesting to me to read about englad and stuff. thanks a bunch.

Before the crown is about the love story between the Queen Elizabeth and the
Prince Philip. Elizabeth has always loved Philip, she believed He was the
one for her, the man who could see beyond her title and accept her like she was.
She is quiet but strong and determined. She takes her future role as Queen seriously.
I found their love story very inspiring, their love is not extravagant, they are two people who committed to each other to spend their lives together with honesty.

The story is well written and interesting. I learnt a lot about the Queen Elizabeth.

I received a copy of this book and this is an honest review.

Before The Crown
By Flora Harding

Before the Crown is a wonderful fictional story about the love story between HRH Elizabeth and Phillip - the dashing naval officer when they first met in London 9 years prior. This love story is such a beautifully written ode to their relationship that stood the test of time now 70 plus years later. I thought that the research that went to writing this book was incredible and Harding did a great job in making this amazing story a beautiful read.

I recommend this book for those who love a wonderful love story and if you follow the royals, this is a must read.

Beautifully written story that was absorbing and entertaining. The cast was well developed. I enjoyed it start to finish!

Just a lovely book looking at the history of the English crown and relationship of Elizabeth and Phillip. Easy to read and enchanting.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

True rating: 3.5

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book to read and give an unbiased review of.

What a delightful read! As someone who hasn't read much in the genre of fictionalized historical events, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was so interesting to experience the origin story of Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with her husband, Prince Philip. The writing of this novel was wonderfully rendered and the language and narration style very accessible, which I loved. The profanity was limited and there was nothing else untoward in the content, which was appreciated (and not something you see often these days, even in YA). Being able to see into the minds of both Elizabeth and Philip as narrators was perhaps my favorite part of the reading experience, as it added so much to the emotion of the story for me. I wish more stories had dual POV like this!

Some parts were a bit slow, though, and while I understand the inclusion of those sections for the sake of character development or even plot development, I found myself skimming here and there to move things along.

Overall, while not something I'd choose to read again and again, this was still quite an enjoyable read for me. I highly recommend for those interested in the British royals, historical romances that are heavy on characterization, and in stories of political intrigue/court politics. People who love THE CROWN would likely enjoy this!