Julia P. Gelardi’s Born to Rule (Photo: The Court Jeweller. Do not reproduce.)

It’s time for the inaugural discussion post for The Court Jeweller Book Club, everybody! Many of you have been reading along with our June 2018 selection, Julia P. Gelardi’s Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria, over the course of the last month, and today we’re going to chat about our thoughts on the book.

Julia P. Gelardi’s Born to Rule (Photo: The Court Jeweller. Do not reproduce.)

Gelardi’s book is a biography of five of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters — Maud of Wales, Sophie of Prussia, Alix of Hesse, Marie of Edinburgh, and Ena of Battenberg — who married monarchs. It’s ambitious project, attempting to cover the lives of numerous people spanning an entire century. The book has both successes and faults, and I’d encourage you to comment on both aspects of the book that you enjoyed and those you’d have done differently.

Queen Maud of Norway, Queen Sophie of the Hellenes, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Queen Marie of Romania, and Queen Ena of Spain (Grand Ladies Site)

To help kick things off, here’s a series of questions to inspire some thoughts for discussion:

• The book traces the story of five of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters, all of whom married kings. Which woman’s story did you find most compelling?

• In each chapter, Gelardi hops from story to story, tracking the lives of the princesses in a roughly chronological way. How did the structure affect the way you experienced the book?

• Although the book is called Born to Rule, these women were royal consorts, not sovereigns. Which of the five women do you think would have made the best monarch herself?

• One surprising aspect of the book may have been the royal romances that didn’t lead to the altar — for example, the fact that King George V of the United Kingdom wanted to marry the future Queen Marie of Romania. Do you think they would have had a successful marriage?

• Do you think this extended royal family could have (or should have) done more to try to save the lives of Nicholas, Alexandra, and their children?

• Which of the five women made the most lasting impact on her adopted home country?

• What lessons do you think modern royals should learn from the lives of these five royal women?

I’ve written reviews of books about royalty, history, and jewelry here at The Court Jeweller for years, and today, I’m launching a much-requested new feature: The Court Jeweller Book Club!

The active, engaged commenting community is one of my favorite parts about writing the blog, and I’m excited to get all of you more involved with my royal reading! Each month, I’ll be selecting a new book for us to read and discuss here on the blog. New book club picks will be announced at the beginning of each month, and a discussion post dedicated to the book will go up at the end of the month — so you’ll have just about four weeks to enjoy each book club pick before we discuss it here together.

Many of the books that I have queued up for future TCJ Book Club picks are new releases, but for our inaugural June 2018 selection, I’ve reached for a book from my shelf: Julia P. Gelardi’s Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria. Our in-depth discussion of the book will take place on June 28th.

The book is a biography of five of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters — Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Marie of Romania, Ena of Spain, Maud of Norway, and Sophie of Greece — all of whom married monarchs. All five women are also frequently featured and discussed here on the blog, so I know many of you will enjoy learning about their lives — and if you’ve already read Born to Rule, I know you’ll have as much fun as I will delving into the stories once more.

Gelardi’s book was published in 2007, so it is available in multiple formats, including a paperback version and a Kindle edition. If you purchase the book through the Amazon links in this post, I receive a small commission, which I use toward the purchase of future books to review and share with all of you. (Don’t forget to check for used copies through Amazon as well!)