Looking for a good read? Here is a recommendation. I have an unusual approach to reviewing books. I review books I feel merit a review. Each review is an opportunity to recommend a book. If I do not think a book is worth reading, I find another book to review. You do not have to agree with everything every author has written (I do not), but the fiction I review is entertaining (and often thought-provoking) and the non-fiction contain ideas worth reading.
Book Review
The Parliamentarian Monarchist
Reviewed by Mark Lardas
October 26, 2025
“Winston and the Windsors: How Churchill Shaped a Royal Dynasty,” by Andrew Morton, Hanover Square Press, October 2025, 400 pages, $32.00 (Hardcover), $15.99 (E-book), $24.90 (Audiobook).
Winston Churchill may be British’s greatest Prime Minister, among its greatest advocate of the Parliamentary system. He resolutely remained a commoner despite several offers of peerage. Yet Clementine Churchill, Winston Churchill’s wife said her husband “was the last believer in the Divine Right of Kings.”
“Winston and the Windsors: How Churchill Shaped a Royal Dynasty,” by Andrew Morton shows how intertwined the destinies of Winston Churchill and the House of Windsorwere throughout his lifetime. It shows how the Royal Family shaped his early life and how he changed their destiny in his later life.
Morton reveals the close relationship between Winston Churchill and the Royal Family. Albert Edward, eldest son of Queen Victoria and later Edward VII of the United Kingdom, was a close friend of Randolf Churchill, Winston Churchill’s father. Queen Victoria would probably have termed them cronies and disapproved. After Randolf’s early death Edward remained close to Lord Randolf’s widow, Jennie Churchill.
Morton shows how Edward served as a father surrogate to Winston Churchill, helping young Churchill during his early career. He assisted Churchill’s political career launch, and remained fond of Churchill, even as Churchill’s radical Liberal Party politics drove a wedge between the rest of the Royal Family and Churchill.
Royal relationships were frostier after Edward’s 1910 death. Edward’s wife, Alexandra, blamed Churchill in part for Edward’s death. George V, for whom Churchill was an acquaintance, initially mistrusted him. Morton shows how the two began working together. Churchill helped defend George from a bigamy accusation. Later Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty. The relationship was strained at times, but remained cordial. In 19414 the Royal Family changed the family name to Windsor.
More interesting are Morton’s description of Churchill’s relations with George V’s children, especially Edward and Albert (who reigned as George VI). Churchill taught the future Edward VIII public speaking and guided Edward’s early career. Churchill quixotically sacrificed his own career defending Edward after Edward sought to marry Wallis Simpson.
Afterwards, while Churchill remained friends with Edward, he transferred his loyalty to George VI, working to protect the House of Windsor’s image, running roughshod over Edward when necessary to do so. Morton shows the partnership forged between George and Churchill during World War II and how Churchill advised crown princess and queen Elizabeth.
“Winston and the Windsors” is fascinating. It offers a rare look at the relationship between Churchill and Britain’s ruling family, showing how he shaped it for the better.
Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City. His website is marklardas.com.