Product Description

In a novel where ancient traditions conflict with reality and the pressures of modern life, a young European princess proves that simplicity, courage, and dignity win the day and forever alter her world.

In blue jeans and a pullover, Princess Christianna is a young woman of her times: born in Europe, educated in America, worried about the future of the world she lives in, responsible beyond her years. Christianna is the only daughter of the Reigning Prince of a European nation that takes its royalty seriously–and her father has ironclad plans for Christianna’s life, a burden that is almost unbearable.

Now, after four years at Berkeley, life in her father’s palace cannot distract Christianna from what she sees outside the kingdom–the suffering of children, the ravages of terrorism and disease. Determined to make a difference in the world, she persuades His Royal Highness, her father, to let her volunteer for the Red Cross in East Africa. And for Christianna, a journey of discovery, change, and awakening begins.

Under a searing East African sun, Christianna plunges into the dusty, bustling life of an international relief camp, finding a passion and a calling among the brave doctors and volunteers. Finally free from the scrutiny of her royal life, Christianna struggles to keep her identity a secret from her new friends and coworkers–even from Parker Williams, the young doctor from Doctors Without Borders who works alongside Christianna and shares her dedication to healing. But as violence approaches and invades the camp, and the pressures of her royal life beckon her home, Christianna’s struggle for freedom takes an extraordinary turn. By a simple twist of fate, in one shocking moment, Christianna’s life is changed forever–in ways she never could have foreseen.

From the splendor of a prince’s palace to the chaos of war-torn nations, Danielle Steel takes us into fascinating new worlds. Filled with unforgettable images and a remarkable cast of characters, H.R.H. is a novel of the conflict between old and new worlds, responsibility versus freedom, and duty versus love.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #341275 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-25
• Released on: 2007-09-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 416 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Poor Christianna, princess of Liechtenstein. Fettered by duty and tradition, her existence is an "achingly boring" slog of ribbon cuttings and state dinners, further straitened by her ever-present retinue of bodyguards and the specter of paparazzi. She longs to do something meaningful with her life; opportunity knocks when she gets a chance to volunteer at a Red Cross AIDS clinic in Africa. Bodyguards in tow, Christianna ministers to the diseased, while colleagues and African peasants alike bask in her royal glow: after all, "she was both grace and gentleness itself." There's even a handsome Doctor Without Borders to fall in love with, but alas! her father forbids her to marry a "commoner." There are further obstacles, and further global adventures. The cast is bland, the incidental shopping perfunctory, the sex tasteful and appropriate. Christianna's cousin Victoria—ditzy and decadent in her jeans and tiara—makes a tantalizing cameo, but Steel (550 million copies sold) spends a great deal of time on the details of Christianna's jet-set activism ("she stayed away from dairy products in Africa"). (Oct. 31)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The latest novel by the prolific Steel follows the fortunes of the young, wealthy, and beautiful Princess Christianna, the cosseted daughter of the prince of a small European nation. Returning to the kingdom after four years spent studying in America (followed everywhere by bodyguards), the princess chafes in her gilded cage and rails against the responsibilities and insignificance of her duty-bound royal life. Determined to make a difference in the world, she successfully petitions her father to be allowed to volunteer for the Red Cross and soon finds herself in East Africa working alongside doctors and other volunteers providing relief services to AIDS victims. Inevitably, in Africa she meets and falls in love with a handsome Harvard-educated doctor and is quite happy for the first time in her life, doing hard but meaningful work and spending time with her soul mate. When violence intrudes upon this idyll, Christianna must return home, where her father promptly quashes the relationship with the commoner. As the two lovers pine for each other from opposite ends of the earth, a series of events is unleashed leaving the princess in charge of her own destiny and ultimately reuniting the pair. Steel's fans will be waiting for this one. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with over 570 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Amazing Grace, Bungalow 2, Sisters, H.R.H., Coming Out, The House, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Danielle Steele
This is another book that I've bought for my sister. I don't read them, I just buy them for her for a Christmas item.

HRH
Princess Christianna of Liechtenstein was a beautiful, but sheltered daughter of a dominate King who was used to getting his own way. After she graduated from college in the United States, she didn't want to return to her country to perform meaningless princess duties as her father wanted. She wanted to make a difference and use her position and education to help others. She got the chance when her father weakened his grip and allowed her to volunteer for the Red Cross in East Africa if she went incognito with body guards. While she was there, she met and fell in love with an American Doctor who was on a brief assignment. None of the volunteers knew she was a Princess, including the doctor, until one day, the secret got out. By then it was too late, the couple was already in love. When he found out, her father forbids her to marry a commoner even though he was a well-educated and handsome physician. Through a series of unforeseen events, Christianna and the doctor did get-together and lived happily ever after. A fairy-tale Danielle Steel novel!

good story... stupid ending
I started reading this book and it was pretty good. I agree that it seems like a child wrote it, especially during "and they made love" part. The ending left me mad. I thought it was stupid to just end it as "he smiled and she smiled and they lived happily ever after".. I was very disappointed in this book.. and it had a lot of stupid parts that I just skimmed throught.. the whole story wasn't bad, it was just kinda stupid in some parts and like I said, the ending.