Parliment has just decided that the British Monarchy is obsolete.. next thing she knows, the Queen of England has been kicked
out of Buckingham Palace and moved to one of the roughest housing estates in town, aptly nicknamed 'Hell Close'. along with prince charles, diana (bit of a time warp, this book was published in '93), harry and william, and the queen mum herself, the royals learn what its like to live in a cold, cramped hovel with walls so thin you can hear your friendly
neighbours making whoopee or trying to murder each other. (i dont sound bitter, do i?)
the simple premise of this book is hysterical in itself and sue townsend does not disappoint fans of her adrian mole books. the characters are delightfully self absorbed as they try to worm their way into estate life and culture. which isnt easy when youre cutting up 12th century chinese rugs to fit into your rat
infested sitting room. oh how the neighbours do talk! highlights include prince charles falling in lust with an obese woman always crammed into tight skanky clothes, harry and william losing their grip on grammar and adapting dumber sounding accents to avoid getting beat up, and of course, the queen not having enough money for bus fare.
although i do warn you, the ending is a real groaner, the other 300 something pages of this book are completely worth it.. if youre reading it in your own rat infested sitting room, the neighbours will all be wondering whats gotten you laughing so hard.