George and Marina: Duke and Duchess of Kent

For eight brief years, before he was tragically killed in a mysterious air crash during the Second World War, Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V and Queen Mary, and his beautiful wife, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, were the British monarchy’s, indeed, high society’s, most glamorous royal couple; and as golden royal icons they are still remembered. As a young man, voraciously addicted to drugs and sex, with men as much as women, marriage and parenthood for the impetuously wayward playboy prince, with his night-clubbing lifestyle and intimate liaisons, was seen as the only stabilizing influence. Enter the stylish and sophisticated Princess Marina, the cultured, artistic and multilingual youngest daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and his Russian-born wife, Grand Duchess Yelena Vladimirovna. As Duke and Duchess of Kent, George and Marina were the Crown’s most glittering representatives, not least in the aftermath of the Abdication of George’s adored elder brother, the briefly-reigned King Edward VIII; the man with whom he had not only shared both home and high-flying lifestyles, but who had helped cure him of his addiction to morphine and cocaine.On and off duty, the Duke and Duchess lived life to the full, and after George’s untimely death, Marina continued to do so during the twenty-six years of her widowhood. Revisiting his 1988 best-selling biography, George and Marina: Duke and Duchess of Kent, Christopher Warwick, in this largely re-written study, tells their story anew.

Christopher Warwick is a well known and well respected writer, biographer, broadcaster and public speaker. The best-selling, authorised biographer of Princess Margaret and Sir Peter Ustinov, he is frequently asked to take part in television and radio programmes, as well as documentaries, at home in the UK and regularly provides commentary on royal events for CTV, Canada's most watched national television news network, ranging from topical breaking news items to major royal occasions. Events include The Queen's Golden and Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the weddings of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, and the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles, and the ceremonial funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Christopher has written widely for the national press and, as a public speaker, has given talks for, among others, Historic Royal Palaces and Cunard