The Queen's Houses Hardcover – April 1, 2015

The book was not really what I expected. The author went into great detail about how the royal residences came into being. I was more interested in the current stories and photographs. Having visited Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle (alas, as a tourist, NOT as a guest) it was fun to see the rooms that I had visited. Especially interesting were the photographs and stories of the royal gardens. For Anglophiles like myself, this is one for your home library.

I thoroughly enjoy reading this book ! There was so much information i should probably read it again ! It was very well organized to make it fairly easy to follow the lines of succession . I really liked the pictures , Even though they were very small . I kept a magnifying glass nearby at all times, and used it in almost every illustration. I look forward to my next trip to England as I will have a better understanding of all that I see.

Very interesting book on the history of the houses lived in by the royal family in England and Scotland. If you like architecture and history you will enjoy this book.

Just started reading (only 4% in), and already am disappointed to find some illustrations don't display in Kindle app on my ipad 2. Should've known better than to buy ebook edition when I want to see photos. I'll bet this works fine as a hard cover "coffee table" book, but I have grown increasingly fond of e editions. Kindle app is clearly superior to Nook, iBooks, and others I have tried, but they have not resolved the issue with pictures. The text does promise to be enjoyable. I remember Alan Titchmarsh from tv going back to Ground Force, and I fancy I can hear his voice as I read. Will update review when I finish book.

A wonderful in-depth look into all the queen's houses. Not only is it well-written, it is full of pictures as well.it's wonderful to have such a in-depth insight into all the queen's houses!

I remember fondly Alan's gardening shows, so I was already prejudiced. I'm finding the book really interesting, full of juicy details; but I'm kind of a detail freak anyway.

I'm interested in architecture and in the splendor that was the English country house, so I thought this book would be perfect. Unfortunately, it barely nods in the direction of the house. Instead, it's filled with pictures of the kings who owned and used the house. One example: the author describes a unique six-hundred-year-old hammer-beam ceiling that is still in existence as one of the wonders of the castle, and accompanies the text with a picture of Henry the VIII, whose picture has to be one of the most frequently reproduced of all British monarchs, but none of the ceiling. What was the point? I was really looking forward to this book and am very unhappy with the actuality of it. I gave it two stars instead of one because there are a few good parts, such as an aerial view of Windsor castle that enabled me to finally make sense of its great mass.

Interesting reading, history and dates aided the timeline. Paintings and photos put faces to the names and places. An easy read too.

The book was well worth a read. At the moment I am reading 'leisurely' books only and this fits in well. My apologies to Alan Titchmarsh! However he obviously knows his subject and I, as someone who is fascinated with the royals,although not a royalist, it was a good read. There were numerous illustrations but these do not show up too well on kindle.

This beautiful picture book, with surprisingly good text by the famous television gardener Alan Titchmarsh (Ground Force) turned out to be a hundred times better than I was expecting. Beautiful photographs of the grounds (mostly) and interiors of all the Queen's residences: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham House, Balmoral Castle, and Holyroodhouse.

I wanted to give it 2 stars out of 5 in fact, as there are so many historical inaccuracies in the book. Granted they are minor ones. If you knew the history of the British Monarchy you would notice without me giving examples here. Mistakes over names, periods of time etc. Some are irritating, some are passable. The pictures however, are very nice.

This is a really lovely book to give as a gift. It is written from an unusual angle and can be picked up at random to read during limited time slots, or more leisurely. It is excellent value for money and I am so pleased that someone suggested that I buy it with the money she gave me as a Christmas gift.

He writes a good tale, lots of interesting facts and gossip as well as defining that many of these buildings might be open to the public, but underlining the fact they are also very personal homes of Her Majesty. Am enjoying it.