PBS is highlighting the British royal family this month. According to the PBS website, "’Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work’ offers a compelling and unique insight into the work of the Queen and the other members of her family through a year that includes over 4,000 official engagements." The library’s book collection about the "royals" is quite extensive—lots of books—some old and some new. Because of this series, many of them are on display this month. Following is a listing of a few of them:

"Her Majesty the Queen" by Hugh Montgomery-Massingbird" is an older book, published in 1985. It is a pictorial odyssey of Queen Elizabeth’s life to the age of 60.

"Royal Sisters: Queen Elizabeth II and Princes Margaret" by Anne Edwards was published in 1990, well before the death of Princess Margaret. This was a sibling relationship like no other, but Margaret always paid her sister true deference.

"Queen Elizabeth II: A Woman Who is Not Amused" by Nicholas Davies was written after the marriage disasters of Queen Elizabeth’s children. It airs much dirty royal laundry, including Prince Philip’s numerous dalliances.

"Diana: Her True Story" by Andrew Morton is the book that blew the lid off the fraud of Diana and Charles’ fairy tale marriage. It was not until after Diana’s death that Andrew Morton revealed how much of the book was based upon Diana’s own words.

"The Prince of Wales: A Biography" by Jonathan Dimbleby, published in 1994, was Charles answer to Morton’s book about Diana. Looking back on all these books, it amazes me that the Windsors could stand to be in the same room with one another.

"The Royals" by Kitty Kelley was published before Diana’s death. Kitty Kelley has a reputation for writing "tell-all", celebrity biographies, and this one does not disappoint. This book really dishes the dirt.

After Diana’s death many, many books were written about her as an unseemly assortment of acquaintances, employees, and friends cashed in on her fame. Last year was the tenth anniversary of her death and another flood of books hit the shelves. Somewhere in the cascade of words the real Diana might be found. Like all of us, she was a mix of good and bad. It seems clear that in the last years of her life, she found her vocation as a spokesperson for the downtrodden and as a dedicated and loving mother to her sons. Her tragedy is what might have been.

Finally, "The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor" by Penny Junor may fit best with the PBS series on the British royal family. Junor covers the Windsors from Diana’s death until 2005. The title comes from a phrase coined by Prince Philip that refers to the monarchy as a family business. Junor considers the survival of the monarchy into the 21^st century. This respectful portrait is in contrast to the tawdry tabloid coverage of the royal family over the past several decades. All these books are available at the Scottsbluff Public Library.

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