by PhilipEade (Author)
A revelatory and racy biography of the early life of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. We have grown so used to seeing Prince Philip as a loyal, dutiful and occasionally bad-tempered old man that it is easy to forget what a strange and intriguing life he led when he was younger. 'Young Prince Philip' tells the story of the first, hugely intriguing, half of his life. In this fast-paced and highly entertaining biography, Philip Eade will focus on those aspects of the Prince's early life that are most compelling: his father's dramatic flight from revolutionary Greece; the subsequent madness of his deaf mother and prolonged absences of his feckless father; his school days in Nazi Germany; his relationship with his four sisters, all married to Germans, one to an officer in the SS; his rather breezy courtship and marriage to the most eligible girl in the world; and his alleged infidelities and membership of raffish circles during the 1950s and '60s. Written with great verve, 'Young Prince Philip' will be less reverential in tone than the traditional royal biography but no less meticulously researched and authoritative.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Publisher: HarperPress
Published: 29 Mar 2012
ISBN 10: 0007305397
ISBN 13: 9780007305391
Praise for Young Prince Philip:
`An amazing story of an incredible life. I literally couldn't put it down' Victoria Hislop, Easy Living
`Sure footed and sparkling ... I finished with an admiration I had not expected for this brave, brusque, imaginative oddball' Ferdinand Mount, Wall Street Journal
`Given what a rackety childhood Prince Philip had, it's astonishing that he hasn't spent half his life in therapy' Lynn Barber, Sunday Times
`Not a forelock-tugging royal biography ... Eade casts a clear eye over his subject's first thirty years, fleshing out with intelligence and sympathy the man whose gaffes have entertained the nation' Frances Wilson, Times Literary Supplement
`His transition from bumptious baby to universally trusted head boy at Gordonstoun, from plucky seaman to breezy Royal escort, home maker and instinctive moderniser makes fascinating reading ... carefully researched, warm-hearted and unjudgmental' Andrew Barrow, Evening Standard
Highly readable ... This engaging book deserves to take its place among the first rank of modern royal biographies Daily Mail
`Perhaps this should be regarded as a sighting shot, staking a claim for the official biography ... on the basis of this excellent book one can say it would be a task that Eade was singularly well qualified to undertake' Philip Ziegler, Spectator
`Eade's staunchly unhagiographic book is well spiced with ... royal titbits, and enlivened by a lemony tartness in the author's tone ... Eade's account is as thoughtful and unbiased an explanation as we are likely to get of the contentious, sensitive, grouchy old martinet' Miranda Seymour, Guardian
Philip Eade read History at Bristol University. After a year in Spain and a brief career as a criminal barrister, he took up journalism and has since written for a range of publications including Euromoney, Marie Claire and the Daily Telegraph. His first book, Sylvia, Queen of the Headhunters was published in 2007 to widespread critical acclaim.