Resumen de la obra: La Familia Real en Hell Close

Este libro trata sobre cómo sería la vida de la Familia Real británica si un partido republicano ganara las elecciones. La Reina y su familia se ven obligados a abandonar el Palacio de Buckingham para vivir en un barrio obrero de Londres.

Capítulo 1

Why do you think the Queen didn’t want a Republican government to be elected? Republican ideas say that people would have the control, not the monarchy and there wouldn’t be differences between social classes. A Republican government could take away privileges from the Royal Family, but the Queen didn’t want that.

What did Jack Barker tell the Royal Family about their new homes? Barker said the Royal Family had to live in humble houses with ordinary neighbors and only with the necessary things, because they wouldn’t need big rooms, servants, many clothes and pets. The Royal Family would learn to be an ordinary family. Barker also said that the Queen Mother had to live in a bungalow and the Queen had to care for her without help.

What did Jack Barker do with the Queen’s crown and what do you think this signified? He threw the crown down from the balcony. It signified the end of the monarchy.

Capítulo 2

Describe Beverly y Tony Threadgold. They were married and they were the ex Royal Family’s new neighbors (they lived at number eight). He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. She was blonde and fat and her clothes were too small for her. Both of them were smoking. The first time, they helped the Queen and her family.

List five things the Queen observed in Hell Close. The street smelled bad. Fences were broken. Gardens were full of rubbish. The barrier was guarded. There was only one bed in her new house.

What was the first problem for the Queen, Charles and Diana and how was it solved? They brought their carpets from the palace, but their new house was very small and the carpets were bigger than the floor. Tony Threadgold called a friend of his: Mr. Spiggy, a handyman. He cut the carpets.

Capítulo 3

Why wouldn’t the Queen let Trish into the house? The Queen didn’t open the door for two reasons: the door was stuck and she was still wearing her pajamas.

Why couldn’t the Queen warm the room? She wanted to turn on the heater, but she couldn’t. Her son Charles told her that she had to put a 50 pence coin in the meter to turn on the heater.

Describe how the Queen injured herself and how she got out of her house. The Queen tried to open the food box, but she cut her fingers a little. Prince Charles saw his mother bleeding badly. He helped her climb out through the window, and they went to a hospital.

Capítulo 4

Why did all the women visit Diana and what did this show about the people in Hell Close? Some women came because they wanted an autograph, but in general the neighbors wanted to help her. When Diana started to talk about her past life, they were very surprised; there was too much difference between Diana’s life and the neighbors’ lives.

What things about family life in Hell Close were new for Diana? Diana learned that the neighbors help each other and money is not necessary between them. Diana was worried because it was night and her sons were out, but in Hell Close it was normal for children to play outside at night.

What did Beverly teach the Royal Family? She showed them how to make some tea.

Capítulo 5

How was Philip’s new life affecting him? The Queen was the first to think that the ex Royal Family had to learn how to survive in an ordinary neighborhood. But Philip didn’t want to get used to their new situation. He stayed in pyjamas, lying in bed all day. He said he would stay at home until he died.

Why did Charles get involved in the fight between PC Ludlow and Beverly? Prince Charles saw the policeman catch Beverly and pull her arm. Charles had read that some policemen used their authority in the wrong way, so he went to help her.

What task did Charles ask Diana to do and why didn’t she do it immediately? At the police station, Charles phoned Diana and asked her to call their lawyer. But Diana wanted to watch Casablanca on her new video, so she would call the lawyer when the movie ended.

Capítulo 6

Diana was upset about two things in court. What were they? She had forgotten to phone their lawyer, and she was jealous when she saw Charles helping Beverly sit down.

How was Anne different from the other members of her family? Princess Anne and the Queen were the most adapted members of the ex Royal Family, but there was a difference: at the beginning the Queen learned from others, while Anne did things alone. The Queen learned how to prepare tea because Beverly showed her, but Anne installed a washing machine using only a toolbox and the instructions.

Capítulo 7

Fitzroy promised his mother that he would never go into a betting shop. How did he keep his promise? He organized bets using his mobile phone and he received his money in a bank account.

Why did Fitzroy and the Queen Mother like each other and why were both happy? They liked each other because the Queen Mother needed a person who could place her bets on horse racing, and Fitzroy liked her because she could be a lucky person. They were happy because they won the bet.

Capítulo 8

Why couldn’t the Queen get her Emergency Payment? Because she didn’t bring a bill to prove that she lived in Hell Close.

How did the Queen finally get some money and what did she think made it possible? The Queen was desperate because she needed money, so she took Harris and used him to move the clerk.

Compare the butcher’s attitude to his two customers. When the Queen arrived she had to convince him to let her buy some bones for Harris (she showed him her dog, who had a bad and sad face). He was rude to her. But then a well-dressed man came into the shop, and the butcher was very kind.

Capítulo 9

What did Diana and Charles each want to do with the money they had? Diana said she needed a haircut, but Charles wanted to spend their money on fertilizer for the garden. Charles adapted very well to his new life, but Diana did not, and she was still thinking about herself.

Summarise briefly the problems that Marigold Road Junior School had. The ceiling had many cracks and water came into the school through them. The school had no money, and they could not do anything more because the students’ parents did not have much money either.

Why was Diana feeling sad at the end of the chapter? Diana was sad for two reasons: she felt that Charles had changed, and she remembered that Charles had a trial and could go to prison.

Capítulo 10

Why did Anne enjoy talking to Spiggy? Because he was a nice man who knew nothing about her or the ex Royal Family. She could be herself with him.

Where was Prince Edward and what was he doing? He was in New Zealand with a theatre company (performing a play called Sheep).

Capítulo 11

Why did Trish think that the Threadgolds were unstable? Because Beverly was very nervous and once she tried to attack Trish.

Why did the Queen find life horrible? Because she had no money, Prince Charles could go to prison, her husband Philip was in a mental hospital, her daughter Anne had a relationship with a handyman, and she couldn’t feed Harris.

If Trish had read the letter in her briefcase, what would she have realized? She would have discovered that the Threadgolds were not bad parents and that it was possible they could get their children back.

Capítulo 12

Why was the Queen angry with Charles? Because Charles looked like a poor man with his ponytail; he had to cut his hair and wear better clothes.

Why did Diana think the Royal Family wasn’t emotional? Because nobody asked how she felt after the policemen took Charles to his cell.

Apart from the letter to his mother, what other letters did Charles want to write? He promised the Queen that he would write to her every day. He also had to write to Diana to remind her to water the garden. But prisoners could only send one letter per week.

Capítulo 13

Why was Charles having problems with the other men? Because the Governor of the prison gave him special treatment, knowing that Charles’s mother was the Queen.

How do we know that Sayako was rich? She is the Emperor of Japan’s daughter, she spent a lot of money in the most expensive shop in London, and she was staying at the new Buckingham Palace Hotel (which was probably not a cheap hotel).

Capítulo 14

What decision do you think Charles made when he looked out of his cell window? He thought that if he could get out of the prison, he would escape.

Why did Diana like Fitzroy? Because he was very tall and very well dressed. His fingernails were clean.

Capítulo 15

What did Spiggy do to make the Queen think he was a kind man? The Queen saw how Spiggy was very kind to her daughter Anne. She also thought he was a good man when Spiggy was making a coffin for the Queen Mother and when he made tea for the Queen when she was very sad.

How did the neighbors show their kindness to the Queen on the day of her mother’s funeral? All the neighbors brought food and flowers to the funeral. The Queen did not feel alone when the neighbors hugged her.

What did Charles do when the guard went to the toilet? He called Diana, and she brought him a tracksuit, trainers and some money. Charles escaped to Scotland.

Capítulo 16

What three things made the Queen think that Jack Barker had spent all the money from Japan? The Queen noticed that society had improved, but the changes could have been very expensive. She saw that taxes were lower and the school had a new roof…

Describe how the Queen’s family was in chaos. Philip was in a mental hospital, her son Charles had escaped to Scotland, Edward had disappeared and her mother had died. Anne was with a handyman and Diana was with a black man. And Harris had become wild.

Why did the Queen decide to invite her neighbors and why did she think it might be a «goodbye party»? Because she thought the Prime Minister would resign and that she and her family would probably return to the palace soon.

Capítulo 17

What had Jack Barker done? He sold Great Britain to Japan.

What did Sayako try to do to win the support of the British public and how did this go wrong? She held Harris in her arms to show that she liked animals. But Harris bit her and the Emperor hit the dog.

Epílogo

What is the explanation for the whole story? The Queen had a nightmare.

Resumen de todo

Este libro habla sobre cómo sería la vida de la Familia Real británica si un partido republicano ganara las elecciones. La Reina fue la primera en adaptarse: comprendió que no podían depender de la amabilidad de los vecinos y debían aprender a hacer las tareas de la casa. Charles y Anne también se adaptaron rápidamente, y ambos llegaron a enamorarse de personas ajenas a la realeza. Diana tardó más, pero finalmente aprendió ciertas tareas y se enamoró del hijo de una vecina. Quien peor llevó la situación fue Philip, que dejó de comer y de salir de la cama, por lo que tuvo que ser ingresado en un hospital.

Los vecinos de Hell Close, aunque sin refinamientos, resultaron ser muy buenas personas que se ayudaban sin esperar nada a cambio, y gracias a ellos la Familia Real aprendió a sobrevivir y a ser más afectiva. Respecto a Jack Barker, sus ideas eran buenas: la Monarquía significaba riqueza para pocos y pobreza para muchos. Sin embargo, para conseguir sus metas pidió ayuda económica a Japón, y cuando Gran Bretaña no pudo devolver el dinero, la isla pasó a ser territorio japonés.

Finalmente, todo se reduce a un sueño de la Reina. Pero el libro nos deja con un mal sabor de boca: cuando la Reina despierta en su habitación de palacio y hace sonar una campanilla para que sus sirvientes le traigan el desayuno, ¿acaso no aprendió nada del sueño?