Rebecca Armitage: The Heir Apparent

Join author, Rebecca Armitage, as she talks about her novel, The Heir Apparent, which was a recent Reese's Bookclub pick.

WHEN: Thursday, 26th February 2026, at Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore.

Please arrive when doors open at 6:45pm for a 7pm start. The event concludes at 8 30pm.

TICKETS: 

Admission + Book: $50.00 (excluding external fees), includes admission for one, a copy of The Heir Apparent (RRP: $34.99), a glass of wine and nibbles upon arrival.

Admission: $25.00 (excluding external fees), includes admission for one and a glass of wine and nibbles upon arrival.

A riveting royal story, now a Reese's Book Club Pick.

About The Heir Apparent:
Lexi Villiers is a 29-year-old Englishwoman doing her medical residency in Hobart, working too hard, worried about her bank balance, and living with friends. It's a good life, and getting even better, because as the dawn is breaking on New Year's Day, Lexi is about to kiss the man she loves for the very first time.

But by midnight, everything will change. Because Lexi is in fact not an ordinary young woman. She is Princess Alexandrina, third in line to the British throne - albeit estranged from the rest of her family and living in voluntary exile on the other side of the world. But following a terrible accident, Lexi - the black sheep of her family and, until this moment, always destined to be the spare - is now the heir apparent, first in line to the throne once her grandmother, the elderly Queen, dies.

Called back to do her duty, she arrives in London to a Palace riven with power plays and media leaks, all the while guarding painful secrets of her own. Palace waters are treacherous, rumours are rife, and selling each other's secrets is a family tradition. And with the Crown just within her grasp, Lexi must choose what bonds she will keep ... and what she is willing to leave behind.

An absolutely delicious, compulsively readable, stylish novel about a young aristocratic woman, who has to choose between duty and her heart - think The Crown meets Taylor Jenkins Reid. 'I loved it. I devoured every page of this glorious novel.' - Holly Ringland

About the Author: Rebecca Armitage

As an ABC journalist, Rebecca Armitage has reported extensively on the royals and became fascinated by Harry and Meghan when they chose to step away from the royal family. She is the digital editor for the ABC's International Desk. She was previously a multiplatform producer with the ABC's Specialist Reporting Team and a producer at 7.30. She lives in Tasmania with her husband.

About Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore

Rated as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic, Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore is an oasis for writers, readers, and coffee lovers. Books overflow from the shelves of their store, featuring a mix of new, second-hand, antiquarian and rare books. Stay a while & enjoy some homemade chai, and amazing coffee, and unearth a book treasure or two. Read more about the bookstore's story here, and about the real Gertrude & Alice here.