by SJ Bennett
There are many parts of the Palace that I’ve made up, but where I can be accurate in my description, I have been. I still remember walking across that famous forecourt many years ago to my job interview for the role that Rozie has in the books. I was interviewed in the room I have given to Sir Simon, and I remember the blast curtains at the windows and the solid antique furniture. And also, that everyone I met that day was unexpectedly kind and unstuffy, and that I came away really wanting to work with them. Obviously it wasn’t entirely mutual as I didn’t get the job!
One part I haven’t made up at all is the gardens, where the Queen takes the corgi and dorgis for a walk to consider the ‘three-dog problem’. In that chapter, the Queen takes the route that I took myself when I visited for research, a few months before lockdown, thank goodness, past the kissing plane trees, the rose garden and the tennis court, the recycling section (even Buckingham Palace has to worry about the bins) and the lovely lake – which Prince Albert once fell into while ice skating on it, and had to be rescued by Queen Victoria.
The forty acres of grounds are full of unusual trees that have been chosen by or given to the royal family over the years. Fun fact: those near the edge of the lawn have to be pruned so that a six-foot man in a top hat won’t risk having it knocked off by a branch at a garden party. The Queen is such a fan of trees and their positive effect on the environment that she has made planting more of them a highlight of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022.
That initiative is called The Queen’s Green Canopy and you can join in. Go to https://queensgreencanopy.org/ and you’ll get instructions for individuals or groups on how to plant a healthy tree and add it to a map, creating a legacy for future generations. There will also be a network of seventy ancient woodlands across the United Kingdom, to celebrate seventy years of her reign. One of the reasons I enjoy writing about my royal subject is that she is mindful of the past, but always thinking ahead. The Queen’s Green Canopy captures that.
In book three of the series, I’ll be writing more about the Queen and the countryside, but that’s for another day. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy her London adventures and her musings in that forty-acre garden, with murder on her mind and the dogs at her heels.
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I get some of my research ideas and updates on what’s happening at the royal residences from the Royal Collection Trust. I recommend their website, www.rct.uk, if you want to explore some more. They have everything from 360-degree views of some of the rooms to the royal recipe for scones. You can access some of the links from my website too: www.sjbennettbooks.com.
Don’t miss the first mystery in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series!
The morning after a dinner party at Windsor Castle, eighty-nine-year-old Queen Elizabeth is shocked to discover that one of her guests has been found murdered in his room, with a rope around his neck.
When the police begin to suspect her loyal servants, Her Majesty knows they are looking in the wrong place. For the Queen has been living an extraordinary double life ever since her coronation. Away from the public eye, she has a brilliant knack for solving crimes.
With her household's happiness on the line, her secret must not get out. Can the Queen and her trusted secretary Rozie catch the killer, without getting caught themselves?
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First published in the UK in 2021 by Zaffre
This ebook edition published in 2021 by
ZAFFRE
An imprint of Bonnier Books UK
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Copyright © S. J. Bennett
Cover design by Nick Stearn
Jacket illustration © Iker Ayestaran
The moral right of S. J. Bennett to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-83877-485-1
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-83877-482-0
This book was typeset by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd
This ebook was created by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd
Zaffre is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK
www.bonnierbooks.co.uk