Christmas With The Queen by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb

My review

5/5 stars

Old friends Olive and Jack find themselves reunited at Sandringham Palace years after their last meeting. They are both there in different capacities to support the Queen in her first Christmas on the throne, and have to navigate redefining their relationship in the face of loss, secrecy and very little actual time together.

I found this book to be charming on so many levels. The dual point of view worked particularly well on audiobook (though Jack's American accent was a bit questionable), with two narrators doing multiple voices for the many characters and doing a wonderful job of portraying each one individually.

I loved how the story centred around the Queen's Christmasses but she was never a focal point of the story. Her and Phillip were there, but just enough to make Olive and Jack's roles at the palace feel believable. Olive and Jack as characters were beautifully written - flawed, loveable and utterly endearing, both as individuals and together.

The way the narrative spans several years, and gives a poignant look at how everyday life can involve so many complications, twists and turns, was brilliantly captured by the two authors. I found myself immersed in the world they had built as I listened.

This was a wonderful festive read that made me feel cosy, nostalgic and pensive. Recommend to anyone who likes a dash of actual history in their stories.

Book blurb

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father's Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve with the times, and the queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change.

As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, old friends--Jack Devereux and Olive Carter--are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC, leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, but even a chance encounter with the queen doesn't go as planned and Olive wonders if she will ever be taken seriously.

Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Lacking in purpose and direction, Jack has abandoned his dream to have his own restaurant, but his talents are soon noticed and while he might not believe in himself, others do, and a chance encounter with an old friend helps to reignite the spark of his passion and ambition.

As Jack and Olive's paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases, they grow ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret that threatens to destroy everything.

Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen's first televised Christmas speech, there is one final gift for the Christmas season to deliver...

More...

You can buy the book here now. It was published by HarperCollins.

For more on the author, you can head to their websites (Hazel / Heather), follow them on Instagram (Hazel / Heather), or check out their Goodreads pages (Hazel / Heather).