The Covert Queen
by Debby Montague
Weirs Times Book Reviewer
The Windsor Knot by JS Bennett, William Morrow, 2021
“People assumed she didn’t read – God knows why, she probably read more papers in a month than most people in a lifetime, and she was fond of a good spy story.“
I’m a fan of Queen Elizabeth II. What a Queen! What a woman! My mom talked to me about the Queen when I was a kid and I assume my fascination with the Queen was born of those conversations. The Queen and my mom were both born in 1926, both participated in the war effort during the 1940’s, and though far, far apart in wealth and status I think they possessed some comparable principles. I thought it was cool that my mom and the Queen of England had phenomena in common, so I have always been open to a good book featuring Queen Elizabeth, both biographies and fiction. Primed by the Queen’s recent Platinum Jubilee celebration, when I came across SJ Bennett’s The Windsor Knot I ordered it on the spot.
The Windsor Knot begins with the Queen in residence at Windsor Castle trying for a little rest and relaxation during the preparations for her ninetieth birthday celebration in June 2016. Enjoying the slower pace at Windsor Castle Her Majesty hosts a “dine and sleep” but the following morning, to her horror, a Russian pianist with whom she had dined and danced is found dead in his guest room. The local police and MI 5 are called on to investigate putting the Royal Household in an uproar. The Queen, dismayed that her loyal servants are suspects, decides to discreetly take matters into her own hands. This is not the first time the Queen has made her own inquiry or subtly steered the official investigators in the right direction. As one of the Queen’s former Assistant Private Secretaries says, “The Queen solves mysteries. She solved the first one when she was twelve or thirteen, so the story goes. On her own. She sees things other people don’t see – often because they’re all looking at her.“
SJ Bennett’s writing is delightful. Her characters are well depicted, and she injects the public Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with a touch of intimacy by giving the reader a view of them in private. Before you are too many pages in you will know that the Queen’s Private Secretary, Sir Simon Holcroft, works strictly by the book; that he devotes himself to the Queen and would spare her any unpleasantness. Rozie Oshodi, Assistant Private Secretary, newcomer to the Royal Household, also dedicated to the Queen, is both proactive and enterprising when it comes to certain clandestine chores she undertakes for the Queen.
Windsor Castle, the Queen’s favorite residence, immense and majestic to the tourist becomes intimate and welcoming when described by Bennett. For instance, Bennett offers a peek into the Queen’s private sitting room where the Queen might relax with television after a long day of investitures and reveals Her Majesty making a quick visit to her private chapel for a quiet interlude. She also gives us sketches of the Queen scolding the corgis and riding her beloved horses, things that make the reader feel like they are getting a backstage look into the Queen’s life at Windsor Castle.
Fine writing, great characters, grand locations, and a good mystery – SJ Bennet’s The Windsor Knot has it all. So, if you, like the Queen, enjoy a good book and if you are a mystery fan, The Windsor Knot will fit the bill.
Another novel featuring The Queen – The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (Faber & Faber, 2007) – a lovely, must-read for bibliophiles.
