The Royal Windsor Secret

Content warnings: war, death of a friend, death of a parental figure

Cleo Davenport leaves Cairo for Europe, hoping to become a jewelry designer in the early 1900s.

Cleo Davenport was raised at Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo, where they call her "princess." The name stems from rumors that the girl left on the doorstep was the Prince of Wales' daughter. When her adoptive mother sends Cleo to England with her aunt, Cleo's world is shaken as she leaves Cairo for Paris, London, and Scotland. Cleo wonders about her heritage and begins a quest to track down her birth mother.

When the prince becomes King Edward VIII, Cleo is presented before him like all other wealthy women coming of age in England. Cleo is not a typical debutante; she dreams of designing jewelry for the legendary Cartier. She begins studying formally in France and meets with a Cartier designer as much as she can.

When a World War threatens, Cleo puts her dreams on hold and volunteers to help however she can. When she ends up in Portugal serving the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, she finally confronts the man she thinks is her father.

Filled with the twists and turns of life in the early twentieth century, The Royal Windsor Secret is more about an intelligent, driven woman born into a time when women were limited in their choices more than a dirty little royal secret.

Recommended for fans of historical women's fiction.

Christine Wells is a former lawyer living in Australia.

Publisher: William Morrow

Length: 352 pages

Release Date: September 12, 2023

Representation: Egyptian side characters, immigrant side characters, orphan

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.