Marion Crawford was the beloved governess to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Image credit: Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
“I’ve been obsessed with her for years. But I didn’t feel like I had the experience to write a fictional account of her story. Until now,” says Verne, 64. The epidemic helped. “I refer to this as the liberation of my own closure. It has given me the opportunity to read a huge pile of royal history in the twentieth century, and it is my own passion.”
“Because, really, you can’t make it up. And I think Crawley – as she was nicknamed – got a crude deal.”
Her husband, George Bothley, signed a contract on her behalf with American magazine publishers Bruce and Beatrice Gould, owners of Ladies’ Home Journal. Crowe, perhaps naively, agreed to write her book, The Little Princesses, believing that the Queen Mother (as she had become) had blessed her with the project.
I got $85,000 for the manuscript, a small fortune in 1950.
Vern explains, “I was accused of selling, and banished to the outer darkness. Well, I just bought a copy of the book on eBay and it’s so charming.”
Britton’s challenge was to take the known facts and then weave them into a work of fiction. Image credit: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
“Although I have since found out that his editing by the Goulds included contrived conversations that would clearly have upset the royal family.”
The irony is that Crowe thought she was helping the Queen Mother.
After the war, anti-British sentiment began to gain traction in America because the King and Queen did not travel to the United States to thank the Americans for sending their children to help Britain win the war.
“Golds somehow made their way to speak to the Foreign Office where they suggested that perhaps someone – the King and Queen – could share some innocuous behind-the-scenes tales at Buckingham Palace, a nice PR exercise to bring the British royals closer to the UK,” says Verne. American public.”
It was soon made clear that the King and Queen could not be seen as the source of these stories, but over time, the name Marion Crawford came up.
Someone from the United States was then sent to record Crowe’s ideas which ended up in book form and as occasional articles in the Ladies’ Home Journal. The palace responded with horror.
Having immersed yourself in the story of Crovey, how do you view Vern today?
“She had a kind heart and was full of goodwill. She was an excellent governess, and an intelligent woman who was very interested in educating young princesses about the wider world.”
Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret and Marion Crawford (Photo: Bettmann/GettyImages)
Against that, Verne says, she was apparently easily manipulated — by her opportunistic husband (a man who loves to drink) and masked Golds. “I let them convince her that the Queen Mother was smiling at the book project.
“By the time I found out otherwise, it was too late. Crawley had been completely removed from the list of royal Christmas cards.
“I think she deserved better than that. Nothing was done so maliciously beforehand.”
Verne’s challenge was to take known facts and then weave them into a work of fiction. This, of course, involves creating private conversations.
Was she comfortable with that? “Well, except for the Queen, none of the people in the book are alive anymore.
“But I had the Crave book as a guide, even if some of the items were tampered with, as well as the diaries of Tommy Lascelles, private secretary to George VI and then to the current Queen.”
Verne Britton’s two daughters read “Good Servant.” (Photo: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
Has anyone close to Vern read “A Good Servant”? “Yes, both of my girls.” Grace, 25, is the daughter of her first husband, TV CEO Clive Jones. She has just bought a house near her mother in Cornwall and works in a restaurant outside of Padstow.
She loved the book, as did Winnie, who turned 21 in August, from Verne’s second marriage to TV chef Phil Vickery.
“She is within reach. But I can sense she will soon be ready to fly to the nest.”
The older twin brothers of Grace, Jack and Harry, are 28 and work away from home. “But they don’t like me talking about it in print.”
No grandchildren yet “although I’m raising my grandmother’s bosom,” says Verne. But Grace has a dog. “He is now closest to a grandson.”
After the book was published, she currently does not have any television work on hold.
“But I’m waiting to hear from Channel 5 if they’d like another series of Watercolor Challenge. I love working on TV but I’ve had 30 years of live TV so I’ve probably run out of fuel.”
In the meantime, she has a contract to write three more books.
Verne Britton doesn’t have grandchildren yet, but she’s ‘growing her grandmother’s bosom’ (Photo: John Furness/WireImage)
“For the next novel, I will have to re-visit my novels in the Corniche.
“There are characters out there that still need to be picked. People come to me asking what happened to Queenie, for example. Now Crawley is put to bed, and my mind is filled with old cast.”
Crowe also gave her an appetite for imagining the story of another very notable person in her day.
“It’s not there anymore which will make it easier.” She will not, of course, reveal her identity. “Suppose it was a woman who accompanied many of us throughout our childhood.”
Verne Britton has nine novels set in Cornwall, all of which are 10 bestsellers Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Verne has made her career plans clear. What are her personal ambitions?
“I want to find happiness in living the life I want to live. I no longer have to answer to anyone else even though you never stop being a mother.”
After twenty years together, Vern and Phil decide to go their separate ways on January 20. Their joint statement at the time said they decided to “follow different paths.”
so what happened? “There comes a point where the kids are out of your hands and you look at each other and wonder where you’re going from here.”
The Good Servant by Verne Britton is published on Thursday Image credit: John Phillips/Getty Images
In this case, Verne remained in Cornwall while Phil traveled to the converted farm they shared in Buckinghamshire.
“But he won’t stop being Winnie’s dad. The dynamics still run smoothly and warm.”
“Ten years ago, I didn’t expect it to end like this even though we gradually realized we were out of the way.”
“But we didn’t hit a brick wall. Suddenly, we both said out loud what we were feeling—and that was it. He lives 300 miles away, and as far as I know, he’s never met anyone new. I, I don’t even look.”
“And there is no queue of suitors at the door which I find incredibly liberating.”
“The world has opened up again. I can’t wait to do more travel.
“I am a free agent, which is great, although it can be a double-edged sword. I miss the opportunity to talk about an issue, whatever it is, with the person closest to you, just to get their position so I talk to cats who usually have the answer.”
“But I am very fortunate to have a group of close girlfriends that I can open up to.
“When I’m 70 – five years from now – I’d like to go on a cruise around the world on my own.
Verne Britton has a contract to write three more books (Photo: Neil Mukford/Alex Huckle/GC Images)
The Cornwall Girls reached number one and stayed there for three or four weeks.
“Let’s see what happens to the good servant,” Verne says.
The Good Servant Posted by Fern Britton (Harper Collins) on Thursday
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