cover image Royal Children

Royal Children

Ingrid Seward. St. Martin's Press, $22 (280pp) ISBN 978-0-312-10533-4

Seward, editor of England's Majesty magazine, persuasively points out a source of the current well-publicized troubles among his country's royals: the nanny factor. From birth they are brought up not by their parents, but by ``the spinster daughters of policemen and forestry workers.'' Competent and caring as these women may have been, Seward continues, this upbringing, with the nannies' emphasis on public manners and behavior befitting royal icons, stunted the children's emotional development. Interviews with members of the royal family and commentary of social observers inform this respectful look at a lifestyle that appears to be coming to an end. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to the National Enquirer. (Feb.)