- Theo Aronson
Theodore Ian Wilson Aronson (
November 13 1929 -May 13 2003 ), was a royal biographer with an easy manner which enabled him to meet and earn the trust of his subjects.Taking six months leave, he made a hitch-hiking pilgrimage, visiting Paris to see Napoleon I's tomb; Vienna to visit Zululand to see where the
Prince Imperial had been killed; andSt Helena , whereNapoleon I died. Three drafts of his account of the journey failed to interest English publishers, and it was an American looking for someone to write a history of the Bonapartes who commissioned him. The result, "The Golden Bees " (1965) was deemed "an overnight success".Over 20 books followed, including "
Royal Vendetta " (1966), "The Coburgs of Belgium " (1969); "The Fall of the Third Napoleon " (1970); "The Kaisers " (1971); "Queen Victoria and the Bonapartes " (1972); the very successful "" (1973); "Victoria and Disraeli " (1977), and "Crowns in Conflict " (1986).Later he switched to works looking at more recent, and more racy, aspects of the Royal Family in Britain, in titles such as "
The Royal Family at War " (1992), an account of the family during the 1939-45 conflict; and "Prince Eddy and the Homosexual Underground " (1994), aboutEdward VII 's eldest sonAlbert Victor, Duke of Clarence . His most successful book was "" (1997), an unauthorised work on the first member of the Royal Family to live under the spotlight of the media.Charming, highly intelligent, well versed in his subjects, he became known as a devoted, if sometimes quizzical, admirer of British royalty. His research included interviewing several members of the royal family, including
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (about whom he published a biography shortly after her death in 1981), theQueen Mother , andPrincess Margaret ,cite web |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_200202/ai_n9052906 |title= Honour, duty and divorce |author= Theo Aronson |work=The Spectator |date=16 February 2002 |quote= ] as well as numerous courtiers. All were charmed by the small, dapper man who listened respectfully, had a light touch with flattery, yet was not tediously deferential.He claimed that he gained access because, as a South African from the veld, he came from outside the British class system and therefore was unsophisticated enough simply to ask for an interview. He had an abiding interest in and knowledge of his subjects and their ancestors, and could entertain them with some well-turned anecdotes; one concerned the occasion when the Queen Mother's Daimler almost ran him over as he was carrying an ironing board across Hyde Park.
Some of his best anecdotes were saved for his last book, the autobiographical "
Royal Subjects " (2000), which drew on diaries and notes kept over 35 years. This recorded the daily ritual of the Queen Mother coming downstairs at Clarence House, and reflected on whether her upright posture was dictated by her corsets. He recalled one lunch with Princess Margaret when she smashed a poppadom on her side plate; as he instinctively leapt down to pick up the pieces, he was firmly reminded that this was the butler's job. His success was attributable, above all, to the fact that he had no intention of dragging the Royal Family down to the gutter. He also had the advantage of writing amusing, accessible prose which encouraged royal personages to read him.In his last years, he was increasingly sought after by television producers, and made regular contributions to documentaries on the subject until within a few months of his death from cancer. He died at
Frome in Somerset.References
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