Due to personal circumstances I forgot to review betraying the crown when I first read it. However I found the book engaging and a well written mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Thank you TP Fielden

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide me review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Betraying the Crown is the third Guy Harford historical cozy by T.P. Fielden. Released 31st May 2022, it's 302 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (indeed, the whole series) is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

I really enjoy historical mysteries, especially with a royal slant. This is a capably written, engaging, and exciting mystery set during WW2. There's a lot of wit and light humor along with some skullduggery and wartime intrigue. I found that I was drawn in by the likeable protagonist straightaway. He's a man of many talents, practical, trustworthy, and discreet and he brings with him an ensemble pair of eccentric sidekicks: Rodie (a lady burglar) and Rupert (MI6).

The author has a rare talent for sweeping the reader along.I was engaged in the story and the ensemble cast from the first chapter. The plot, denouement and resolution are self contained in this volume and so it works perfectly well as a standalone read; but all three books in the series are quite good and worth a look.

The story itself is written around a framework of real historical events and people and so well entwined that it's not always apparent where reality shades over into fiction. I was fascinated by the author's note on the story at the end of the book (huge spoilers - don't read the author's note before you read the book). Even if read out of order, readers will have no trouble following the plot or keeping the characters straight. Additionally, the author has included a list of dramatis personae at the beginning of the book, so it's easy to flip back to check if there's any confusion. (One reason I really like ebooks lately is the search feature).

The language is PG: hell, bloody, damned and so forth, nothing worse. Vernacular and spelling are British English (chips, flat, torch, etc) but shouldn't present any problems in context for readers outside the UK.

Four stars. This is an enjoyable read and would make a good choice for fans of light spy cozies. It would also make a nice candidate for a buddy or binge read. Fans of Nicola Upson, Kate Kingsbury, and Rhys Bowen will find a lot to enjoy here.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A royal mystery that is atmospheric and rich in historical detail. I learned a few things and I love that.
I was gifted with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

My first encounter with the handsome Guy Harford and his smart burglar girlfriend Rodie and what a terrific encounter! (I actually ran to purchase the two previous titles in the series)

It's 1943, the war is at its zenith and some strange shenanigans wi are ruffling more than one feather within the entourage of King George VI.
On the menu: murder near Windsor and the usual idiotic behavior of the detested Windsors currently living in the Bahamas....

A delicious murder mystery with lots of twists and turns stretching from London to Washington and the Caribbean, lots of sparkling dialogues, and a brilliant cast of exquisitely drawn characters some real some fictional. It really was a very entertaining whodunit and I'm really looking forward to more titles in the series...

A delicious Royal addiction that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!

Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for this terrific ARC

Betraying the Crown is the third Guy Hartford book and it’s all getting a bit complicated. It starts with Guy and Rodie having an idilic date where they break into an abandoned country bolt hole that used to belong to the Kings brother and they stumble on the dead body of a well known controversial courtier. They shouldn’t be there, he defiantly shouldn’t be there Guy must sort it out. This was probably my least favourite, there were so many different threads and Fielded seemed to get caught up on the politics that the plot suffered, I kept forgetting that we were looking for a murderer. My main bug bear though is Rodie and Guys relationship I have no idea why she puts up with his, he’s awful to her and swivels between being ashamed of her and tolerating her at best when in actuality Rodie is far too good for him. Sighs. It was ever thus. Also they all seem totally untouched the actual war that is going on.

I have enjoyed all previous books in this series. A good enjoyable murder mystery that I hope there will be more to come.

Guy Harford is back with another crime to solve, preferably before anyone else becomes aware of what's going on. This is the third in the series and is another enjoyable wartime mystery.

This was an odd but entertaining mystery
What made it odd: there were about 50 subplots, many of which were extraneous to the two main plots. The principal mystery wasn't solved by the lead character—in fact he didn’t really do anything involving it
What made it entertaining—good dialogue, interesting characters, good interweaving of real life characters and events

A thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery with a satisfying conclusion. I felt immersed in the time turbulent time period and who doesn’t love a troubled detective?

Windsor, 1943. Britain is in the grip of war and treachery is afoot. The body of controversial former courtier Lord Blackwater is found in the abandoned Fort Belvedere, once the country bolthole of the King’s wayward brother. And all signs point to murder. This is the third in the Guy Hartford series and one of the best. This is a fun mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously but gives you a great ride. Lots of suspects and characters….maybe too many and it does get hard to keep track of everyone but everything is tied up perfectly in the end and you be looking forward to the next in the series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK, in return for an honest review. While the third book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. The author draws upon his years of experience in covering, researching, and publishing about Britain’s royal family to craft a fictitious mystery series set around historical facts. This time, it’s 1943 and reluctant sleuth/palace employee, Guy Harford, must investigate the unaccountable death of former courtier, Lord Blackwater. Given the body was in the supposedly off-limits location of the Duke of Windsor’s favorite country home, Ft. Belvedere, why was he there, how did he did and who did it? Add in the Duke and Duchess’ flirting with American citizenship and the Firm wants things tidied up smartly. Clever weaving of history and fiction.

This is the third book in the series about Palace courtier Guy Hartford. When Lord Blackwater is found dead in the former home of the Duke of Windsor Guy is called in to solve the mystery discreetly to prevent a scandal.

This book was really interesting, with a lot of historical facts. It may have been a bit slow, but I still enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I enjoyed this entertaining historical mystery where we join Guy Harford as he works to solve another murder with royal implications.

Guy Harford is such a sympathetic character, I just can’t help rooting for him. Guy is handsome, artistic, and by no means perfect…but that makes him all the more lovable.

In this third book in the series, Guy stumbles onto a murder with connections to the King’s brother. The Duke of Windsor is in the Bahamas with ‘that Simpson woman’ and under strict orders to stay out of trouble!

As with the other books in the series, the book is based on true events. The author provides excellent historic details in the Author’s Note at the end of the book.

Overall this was an enjoyable mystery with an interesting main character. I think there is much more room to grow with this series, including Guy’s relationship with other characters in the series like Rhodie and Rupert.. I recommend this book to historical mystery fans as well as people who enjoy books about the royal family.

This was an entertaining read, and an enjoyable mystery. I really enjoyed the historical setting. The characters are interesting and feel quite real, as they are neither wholly good or bad.

At times I found this book confusing, trying to keep up with all the characters and their individual agendas. I did not realise that this book was part of a series, and it is likely that reading the previous books would have helped me to follow the plot of Betraying the Crown. Nonetheless, the book works as a standalone and was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for sending me this arc. I will be posting this review on my Goodreads and Storygraph accounts, and on Waterstones and Amazon upon publication.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/57438368-georgie
Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/gfairs’

Another compelling and entertaining instalment in this good historical mystery series.
I was glad to catch up with the characters and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
The historical background is vivid, I liked the humour and the style of writing.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved this book from start to finish, hope to read more from this author soon!
I have always loved mystery books and in fact I have loved history. I saw that the book is part of a series and I will certainly recover them all, I enjoyed the writing and characterization of the characters. the story is never boring and I enjoyed the final plot twist

Betraying the Crown is the third book in the Guy Harford mystery series. This is a fun story with supporters of the Duke If Windsor trying to restore him to the throne. The story starts with the death of Lord Blackwater. The body is discovered in Fort Belvedere, the former home of the Duke. Guy Harford is now on a mission to solve the mystery of Blackwater's death and save the monarchy from further embarrassment. Blackwater kept a detailed diary, which is now missing. Guy will have his hands full trying to find the truth.

A most unusual novel, based on untold events during WW2 of the House of Windsor. I found this confusing at times with so many characters, each with their own agenda and secrets. Essentially a work of fiction, based on real characters working in their own world , albeit as servants of the Crown or for one of the Government’s undercover departments. We get to learn about the push and pull of Palace workers, where their loyalties lie and editorial fabrication.

The only thing that kept me reading was to find answers to the big question, who killed Archy Blackwater and why?

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy.

The House of Windsor is the gift that keeps on giving. Every year historians, novelists, royal reporters, and journalists revisit the 1936 Abdication of King Edward VIII and the ripple effect caused by that seismic event. Has much changed since then? Look at the tagline of Betraying the Crown: “Intrigue and scandal threaten to rock the monarchy in wartime Britain.” Substitute present-day for wartime—some might see modern-day similarities.

Betraying the Crown is the third Guy Harford mystery. Guy is a multi-faceted fellow—an “artist, palace courtier, reluctant spy.” Although he has a storied pedigree, he views himself as an artist and resident of Tangiers. The palace uses Guy’s artistic career as a point of entry, a foot in the door, when it’s desirable to interview an elusive, uber-wealthy aristocrat. Women are flattered when a popular artist evinces an interest in painting them.

Guy and his burglar girlfriend Rodie are larking about one day at Windsor Great Park, seeing where the day takes them.

The Austin trundled up the hill and turned a corner to be confronted by an odd-looking castellated building, its tall tower pinkly blushing in the late afternoon sunlight. But though chirpy in appearance, Fort Belvedere seemed deflated in spirit as they approached.



‘Nobody about,’ said Rodie, looking round. ‘Quiet as the grave.’



‘That’s because it’s out of bounds. We’re not supposed to be up here.’



‘Oh good,’ she said, brightening. ‘I never do what I’m told!’

When Guy points out that the front door is locked, it’s tantamount to waving a red flag at a bull. Rodie won’t balk at a locked door, particularly since she’s now working for a secretive government department. Think of her as a government-sanctioned investigator/burglar. Like Guy, she works for his Majesty’s government, just a different branch. Even though Rodie is working on the respectable side of the street, some of Guy’s more snooty friends consider his relationship with Rodie rather infra dig. Fort Belvedere is not entirely deserted—the pair discover a dead man, no ordinary corpse. How did “controversial former courtier Lord Blackwater” die? Was it an unnatural death? Unsurprisingly, the men in grey suits would rather his death be described as natural, perhaps a heart attack? Lord Blackwater is a fictional figure but he accurately represents the men and women who were close to King Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor). After the Abdication, those courtiers were frozen out, both by King George VI and the Duke of Windsor.

If a former member of the Duke’s court is dead, could there be a connection to the Duke himself? Guy is tasked with uncovering what David (his family nickname) has been up to. Likely nothing good. Traitor King by Andrew Lownie touches on many alarming historical details. After his exile, the Duke of Windsor wrote a biography that was critical of his family. The Duke flirted—more than flirted really—with Nazism. The Duke was bitter about how his duchess was treated, bemoaning the fact that she wasn’t granted the honorific Her Royal Highness.

It doesn’t require the aloof but intensely loyal senior courtier Tommy Lascelles (who we met in The Crown) to tell Guy that the last thing anyone needs, as war rages, is a royal scandal. Are the folks maligning the Governor General of the Bahamas fair-minded or do they have an axe of their own to grind? Joe, an eccentric and wealthy woman living on an island near the Bahamas, says not only is the Duke laundering money, but he’s also rumored to be interested in becoming an American citizen. Guy thanks her for her help but he presses her hard on the accuracy of her information.

‘Listen, old chum,’ she said, ‘I’m half-English and half-American so I can see things from both sides—how wonderful your royal family is, and how outdated it all seems. Perhaps that’s part of its charm. So I want the royals to succeed, but I look down on royals who aren’t up to scratch. Windsor is one of those and anything I can do to help, I will.’



‘Then help me find out to what extent he truly is a traitor,’ said Guy sharply, ‘wittingly or unwittingly.’

Like Guy, author Fielden is balanced in his description of the Windsor’s sojourn in the Bahamas. Readers benefit from his intensive research: he uncovers stories that have been kept under wraps for decades.

Why is it up to Guy to “catch the killer and save the monarchy from crisis in wartime?” He’s an artist, not a courtier, or is that a fig leaf? In his own way, Guy’s as loyal to the royals as his masters at Buckingham Palace.

Let me leave you with a delightful amuse-bouche. Meet Ronald Morgan, a retired valet with infallible sources of information and a nose for champagne. Ronald lives at St. James’s, near Buckingham Palace, in a grace and favor “palazzo,” rather grand in Guy’s estimation.

‘Hello, Mr Morgan,’ said Guy, shielding his irritation. ‘His Majesty asked me to bring you this.’



‘Let me see.’



Guy handed him the bottle of Pol Roger ’32, peeling back the linen napkin which had kept it cool on its short journey from Buckingham Palace.



‘I’m more used to getting the ’27,’ grumbled the old man. ‘His Majesty knows I hate young wine.’

Guy is unhappy to be pressed into service listening to the reminiscences of a haughty retired servant but noblesse oblige, until the old man, who asks to be called Ronnie, veers into well-informed gossip. When Guy says he’s “seeing rather a lot of Osbert Lothian,” the floodgates open.

‘Man’s an idiot,’ wheezed Ronnie. ‘I remember him back in the old king’s day, used to walk about with a poker up his arse and a stink under his nose.’



Oh, thought Guy – I think I’m going to like you. ‘Top-up?’



‘Go on then.’

And just like that, “they drank and smiled, having quickly discovered each other’s wavelength.” When dealing with royals, whether it be writing about them or working for them, a keen memory and a sense of the unspoken pecking order are invaluable assets. Assets that Guy taps when he needs to separate fact from fiction and reality from rumor, as his investigation into the Duke of Windsor unfolds.

N.B. TP Fielden is the pseudonym of “acclaimed royal biographer and commentator,” Christopher Wilson, a longtime royal journalist and someone who knows where the royal bodies stories are buried.