"The Little Princesses. The Story of the Queen's Childhood by Her Nanny" by Marion Crawford, published by Harcourt, Brace, and Company, New York, First American Edition, first printing, 1950. Harcourt's statement "First Edition" is present on the copyright page, no other printings listed; illustrated with photographs.

Hard boards, original maroon cloth with gilt crown and lettering on spine and front board [a little wear -mostly spine ends, some spine fade]; 5.1/2" x 8.1/2"; illustrated endpapers; 314 pages; many illustrations, very good/ fine condition.

When "The Little Princesses" was first published in 1950 it caused a furor we cannot imagine today. It has been called the original "nanny diaries" because it was the first account of life with the Royals ever published. As a result of this touching intimate account of the childhood of the Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, Crawfie was demonized by the press. The Queen Mother, who had been a great friend and who had, Crawfie maintained, given her permission to write the account, never spoke to her again.

In the early thirties, the Duke and Duchess of York were looking for someone to educate their daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, then five- and two-years-old. They already had a nanny---a family retainer who had looked after their mother when she was a child---but it was time to add someone younger and livelier to the household. They hired Marion Crawford, a twenty-four-year-old from Scotland who was promptly dubbed "Crawfie" by the young Elizabeth and who would stay with the family for sixteen years. Beginning at the quiet family home in Piccadilly and ending with the birth of Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in 1948, Crawfie tells how she brought the princesses up to be "Royal," while attempting to show them a bit of the ordinary world of underground trains, Girl Guides, and swimming lessons.

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