Böcker av Thomas Blaikie

What a Thing to Say to the Queen! is a collection of anecdotes celebrating the lighter side of the royal family, specially updated to mark the passing of the much-loved monarch.

About thirty years ago the Guardian first published two amusing anecdotes about the Queen Mother. Readers reeled to see stories actually printed in a national newspaper that until then had had only an underground existence in certain circles. After that, tales about the royal family became respectable; they were also, quite rightly, believed to be true. Taken as a whole they reflect the contradictory roles we like royalty to fulfil: unworldly and impossibly regal, engagingly domesticated and just like us, or camp, worldly and outrageous. In this affectionate tribute Thomas Blaikie has gathered together a compendium of stories, many never published before, which provide access to a unique world. How exactly a Queen reacts when she finds her footmen draped in her jewels? What does she do to amuse herself as she whiles away the hours sitting for her portrait? And how did the Duchess of Windsor and the Queen Mother really get on? This beautifully illustrated book answers these questions and poses many more in its affectionate celebration of the diverse personalities of the House of Windsor.

Scottish gardener and botanist Thomas Blaikie (1751-1838) spent the majority of his life in France, where he designed and planted some of the most famous Parisian gardens: he drew up the original plans for the gardens of the Chateau de Bagatelle and renovated the Parc Monceau. He became a favourite of Marie Antoinette, and served patrons among the highest ranks of the aristocracy in pre-revolutionary France, including the Comte d'Artois and the Duc d'Orleans. After surviving the French Revolution, he received a commission to create gardens for Empress Josephine at her Malmaison country retreat. Blaikie kept this fascinating diary from 1775 until August 1792. More than just an account of his vast gardening knowledge and achievements, the book gives a unique insight into the social history of the revolutionary period in France. It was edited by the critic and journalist Francis Birrell (1889-1935) and first published in 1931.