King George II and Queen Caroline Book

This biography is chock full of lots of research details, some of which I'd never read before even though I've read many a Royal bio. However this book suffers from Ziegler's other books in that it is so hell-bent on adding every single fact that it loses readability along the way. The chapters that come to mind cover World War I, which are so peppered with mimutia of military memos that it feels like it repeats itself over and over without really telling anything new.

However, I did stick with it and enjoyed it overall. Edward was such a small man in many ways, and this book helps bring that out.

One thing I thought was curious is the fact that so much focus is on his own life that the outside influences that shaped his future are often minimalized. Wallis Simpson is the most obvious one. This controlling greedy woman is not fleshed out very much which is odd considering she basically forged his destiny by starting an affair with him. I wonder if a reader who didn't know as much about her backstory would wonder about how she could have such influence over him.

One nice thing that did come out is that his relationship with his mother was much warmer and loving than I had previously thought. She was a strong personality around him that gave him more likeability.

All in all this book helps confirm my opinion that Edward was a weak-minded person who is too easily swayed by influences around him that may or may not have had his best interests at heart. He may have been the most well-trained Prince of Wales in England's history, but that doesn't mean he would have been a good King. I can't help but feel that England dodged a bullet by not having to have him as their monarch for longer than they did.