Royalty History

The Queen of Great Britain and Ireland for 63 years, Queen Victoria’s life was one of magnificent proportions. Victoria’s childhood was difficult and lonely, but from the time she took the throne aged just 18, she blossomed into a powerful woman, both frivolous and formidable. In her later years, Victoria struggled to find balance between her wish to live a very private life as a widow and her duty to live the very public life of a queen and later empress.

1657. The youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell, 18-year-old Frances is finding her place at England's new centre of power. Following the turmoil of Civil War, a fragile sense of stability has returned to the country. Her father has risen to the unprecedented position of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, and Frances has found herself transported from her humble childhood home to the sumptuous palaces of Hampton Court and Whitehall, where she dreams of romance.

Queen Mary I ruled England and its territories for only five years, from 1553 to 1558, yet she has been remembered for nearly 500 years as Bloody Mary, the Catholic oppressor of a Protestant country. The truth, as usual, is more complicated than the myth. Mary grew up in a era of religious and political turmoil. Mary's life was shaped by her experience of this, and by the twisted family politics of her father, Henry VIII.

Máxima de Holanda escaló hasta el mundo más alto aspirado por todas las mujeres de su entorno y su generación: la realeza europea. Y lo hizo gracias a una ambición y a una tenacidad que la llevaron a convertirse en parte de la Historia.

Inheritance charts the forgotten life of Mary Grosvenor, born in London during the Great Plague of 1665, and the land that she inherited as a baby. This estate would determine the course of her tragic life. Hollis restores this history of child brides, mad heiresses, religious controversy and shady dealing. The drama culminated in a court case that determined not just the state of Mary’s legacy but the future of London itself. Today, Mary’s inheritance is some of the most valuable real estate in the world; and her family, the Dukes of Westminster.

Just what was so terrible about Ivan the Terrible? Most of us are familiar with this infamous nickname, but most fall short of being able to describe how he received such an ominous moniker. Maybe you’ve heard the stories of how Ivan killed his own son, poisoned his wives, and waged war on his neighbors, but these anecdotes are just minor details in the scheme of this man’s complicated life.

As Maureen Quilligan wrote in The New York Times Book Review of The First Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn "was a real victim of the sexual scandals her brilliant daughter escaped, and a subject Ms. Erickson's sensitivity to sexual and political nuance should well serve." Indeed, Carolly Erickson could have chosen no more fascinating and appropriate a subject. Alluring and profoundly enigmatic, Anne Boleyn has eluded the grasp of historians for centuries.

He was Grand Duke Michael, handsome brother of Tsar Nicholas II. She was the beautiful twice-divorced daughter of a Moscow lawyer. Their scandalous love affair and their runaway marriage to Vienna in 1912, trailed by the Tsar's secret police, caused uproar in Russia and was the talk of all Europe.

Curious about how a young princess navigated her path to become a global symbol of strength and stability? Eager to delve into the illustrious reign of one of the world's most iconic monarchs? Ready to explore the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II? A Brief History of Queen Elizabeth II unravels the captivating story of the longest-reigning British monarch. This book isn't just a chronicle of a royal life; it's a journey through the evolution of the monarchy in a world of rapid change.

Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Life and Legacy of Medieval Europe’s Most Famous Queen attempts to provide an unbiased look at Eleanor's life by exploring the achievements and trials of the duchess-queen and deconstructing the “black legends” and other compelling tales that continue to envelop her to this day. You will learn about Eleanor of Aquitaine like never before.

King Charles faces many challenges as he succeeds his mother to the throne. Despite his hard work and genuine concern for the disadvantaged, King Charles III has struggled in the past to overcome his unpopularity. After Diana’s death, his approval rating crashed to 4% and has been only rescued by his marriage to Camilla. In unearthing many secrets and dramas surrounding King Charles, Bower’s book, relies on the testimony from over 120 people employed or welcomed into the inner sanctum.

Europe has had no shortage of military heroes, political geniuses, and towering intellects, but no ruler combined all those traits as successfully as King Frederick II of Prussia, whose feats in battle were matched only by his enlightened rule. Growing up with an ear for music and an eye for art, the prince who would have eschewed the art of war, nevertheless became one of the most adept and brilliant military commanders of the 18th century, helping to expand his kingdom's borders, while modernizing the state within.

The best-selling revisionist biography of one of the great women of the 16th century. Orphaned in infancy, Catherine de Medici was the sole legitimate heiress to the Medici family fortune. Married at 14 to the future Henri II of France, she was constantly humiliated by his influential mistress, Diane de Poitiers. When her husband died as a result of a duelling accident in Paris, Catherine was made queen regent during the short reign of her eldest son (married to Mary Queen of Scots, and like many of her children he died young).

Born in 1729, Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbs was never supposed to come to power. But at age 16, she married the heir to the Russian throne. By 1762, Sophie, known now as Catherine, overthrew her immature and incompetent husband, Peter III, to lead the nation. Catherine became the sole ruler of Russia. This exciting Who Was? title explores how Catherine was able to turn Russia into one of the great powers of Europe by expanding its borders, helping improve its educational system, and advocating for the arts. Her three-decade reign is considered the Golden Age of Russia.

For centuries, royal families have feared the gut-roiling, vomit-inducing agony of a little something added to their food or wine by an enemy. To avoid poison, they depended on tasters, unicorn horns and antidotes tested on condemned prisoners. The Royal Art of Poison is a hugely entertaining work of popular history that traces the use of poison as a political - and cosmetic - tool in the royal courts of Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the Kremlin today.

King George V predicted that his son, Edward VIII, would destroy himself within a year of succeeding to the throne. In December 1936 he was proved right, and the world’s press revealed the king was abandoning his throne to marry Wallis Simpson. A life spent in the shadow of his charismatic elder brother left the new king, George VI, magnificently unprepared for the demands of ruling the kingdom and empire. Drawing on personal accounts from the royal archives, Deborah Cadbury uncovers the very private conflict.

Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still 'la reine mechante', whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: 'let them eat cake'. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a victim of misogyny.

La llegada al trono de Isabel II, cuando aún era una niña, suscitó una guerra civil y abrió el camino para la ruptura liberal con el absolutismo. Reinó bajo la larga sombra de una madre poderosa que la despreciaba, de un marido que la odiaba y de unos partidos liberales que, incapaces de entenderse entre ellos, trataron de manipularla en beneficio propio.

It is generally accepted that Queen Victoria reigned but did not rule. This couldn’t be more wrong. In Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers, Anne Somerset masterfully traces Victoria’s political evolution, from headstrong teenager to seasoned octogenarian. This book demonstrates her passionate involvement in state affairs, and casts fresh light on her relationships with her ten prime ministers.

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are among France's most famous royalty, but for reasons they would have much rather avoided. Coming of age in the wake of the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and his father, Louis XV, Louis XVI initially intended to be one of France's most enlightened Kings. Instead, he was destined to be the only French King ever executed.