Hugo Vickers Books in Order

Drawing on hundreds of interviews, Vickers examines Vivien Leigh's life and seeks a more convincing picture of the actress behind her public image. The biography reassesses a complex and controversial figure through the recollections of those who knew her.

Vickers explores Greta Garbo's relationships with photographer Cecil Beaton and writer Mercedes de Acosta. Their intertwined lives reveal the private demands and elusive intimacy behind the screen star's enduring reputation for mystery and seclusion.

Hugo Vickers examines royal orders of chivalry, the ceremonies surrounding them, and the people who received their honors. Anecdotes and photographs trace their history while considering how successive monarchs, including Elizabeth II, shaped and used these distinctions.

Drawing on private papers and personal recollections, Vickers reconstructs a story of love and obsession within an upper-class English circle. The relationships at its center form a mystery whose consequences extend beyond the people immediately involved.

Private photographs recovered from the Windsors' Paris home illuminate the couple's lives before and after Edward VIII's abdication. Family snapshots and formal portraits trace their contrasting backgrounds, courtship, and decades of marriage in exile.

This biography follows Princess Alice, Prince Philip's mother, through royal marriage, war, exile, and psychiatric confinement. Vickers examines her recovery and the extraordinary personal life often obscured by her place in the British royal family.

Vickers follows the Queen Mother's life from childhood through marriage, wartime duties, and widowhood. Her story spans a century of social change and examines her enduring influence within a royal family repeatedly tested by public and private crises.

Vickers traces the history of St George’s Chapel at Windsor, examining its architecture, royal tombs, and place in national ceremonies. Photographs and artwork accompany an account of the chapel’s connections to royal weddings, funerals, and the Order of the Garter.

Focusing on the Windsors' later exile, Vickers reassesses the marriage and Wallis Simpson's final years. Unpublished papers and personal accounts support his investigation of the control exercised over the widowed duchess as her health declined.

This illustrated guide explores the working stables and state carriages of Buckingham Palace’s Royal Mews. Historical background and a tour behind the scenes explain the coaches, harnesses, and liveries used in royal weddings, parliamentary ceremonies, and other state occasions.

Vickers traces preparations for Elizabeth II's coronation and the competing interests behind the ceremony. Political negotiations, royal expectations, invitations, and the dispute over televising the service reveal the complexity behind a celebrated public occasion.

Hugo Vickers examines the first three seasons of The Crown episode by episode, separating historical events from invented scenes and characterizations. His commentary considers how dramatic choices can shape viewers’ understanding of the royal family and its history.

Vickers reconstructs the life of Gladys Deacon, who dazzled European society before marrying the Duke of Marlborough. Her celebrated beauty and intellect contrast with the isolation of her final years, prompting an investigation into her enigmatic life.

Vickers shares diaries from the years he spent researching Cecil Beaton's biography. Encounters with royalty, artists, actors, and Beaton's friends and enemies reveal both a vanished social world and the biographer's changing place within it.

The Duke of Kent recalls his upbringing, military service, royal duties, and family relationships in conversations with Vickers. Memories from relatives and private photographs broaden this account of a lifetime spent close to major events in royal history.

This biography follows Clarissa Eden from bohemian and intellectual circles into political life as the wife of Anthony Eden. Private papers and diaries illuminate her friendships, sharp wit, and experiences during the crisis over Suez.

Vickers examines Elizabeth II's life and reign through archival research, personal observations, and conversations with people who knew her. The biography explores the private woman alongside the public responsibilities that defined her long service as monarch.