A DEBUT novel of British royalty and European history focuses on the untold story of Queen Victoria's eldest daughter.

  • Competition time: Scroll down for a chance to win a copy of the book

A Most English Princess shares the romantic and tragic tale of Victoria, Princess Royal.

Written by award-winning journalist, Clare McHugh, it is billed as the true story of Princess 'Vicky', based on a cache of letters smuggled out of Germany that her son, Kaiser Wilhelm, wanted to destroy forever.

Osborne House, and the Isle of Wight, were the backdrop for Vicky's happiest childhood memories, and when she lived in Germany she longed for a return to the paradise she'd found south of the Solent.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Queen Victoria and her daughter Victoria, Princess Royal (above)

The Family of Crown Prince and Crown Princess Frederick William of Prussia (below)

Isle of Wight County Press:

The earliest memory of her eldest son, Wilhelm, later the Kaiser, was of being swung in a white dinner napkin by his grandfather, Prince Albert, after dinner at Osborne.

The Kaiser often returned to the Isle of Wight for boat races and then to witness his grandmother Queen Victoria's death.

Author Clare said: "My grandmother, Elsie, grew up in Gosport and often saw royal persons setting out for the Island.

"We have one family photo of my great-grandfather driving King Edward VII and his nephew the Kaiser down to the docks — I envy those getting to live on the Isle of Wight!"

Clare was born in London, and grew up in the US. The discovery of an old photo of her great-grandfather, a coachman, driving King Edward VII and his nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II on their way to Osborne House, spurred her interest in how the British and German royal families intertwined.

Transitioning from an accomplished career in journalism to novelist, she undertook extensive and immersive research, including combing through a stash of nearly 4,000 of Vicky’s letters, many to her mother, which were secreted out of Germany shortly before her death in 1901.

A Most English Princess is now available on Amazon at a cost of £10.79 in paperback, with a Kindle version available for £4.99.

Competition time

Clare's giving one lucky County Press reader the chance to win a copy of her new novel.

To enter, answer the question: Vicky was one of Albert and Victoria's nine children — can you name the other eight?

Send your answers to editor@iwcp.co.uk. Closing date: Friday December 4.