English Royalty Biographies

The Emperor Justinian could not decide what to do. His people were rioting. An angry mob poured through the streets, looting, setting fires, and destroying houses and taverns. If they reached the palace, they might kill him. Justinian's trusted advisers pressed him to run to the port and sail away, giving up his throne to save his life. He turned and looked at his wife, the wisest person in the room. What would she, the Empress Theodora, urge him to do?

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Cyrus the Great and learn about a Persian monarch whose impact is still being felt to this day.

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Power and gender theories are applied to the life of Queen Elizabeth I to examine her tactics to maintain internal security within the borders of England and Ireland in the shadow of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, who had succumbed to the actions of misogynistic men.

In this detailed biographical study of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, Helen Cathcart tells an enchanting story of a Yorkshire soldier squire's daughter who grew up to become an admired and popular member of the Royal Family. In this intimate and illuminating account, Cathcart charts the first forty years of the Duchess's life, from her birth during a snowstorm at the family home, Hovingham Hall, and wartime childhood through to schooldays at Castle Howard and early career working in a children's home.

One of the most famous queens in history, Mary Stuart lived in her homeland for just twelve years: as a dauntless child who laughed at her friends' seasickness as they sailed to safety in France and later, on her return as an eighteen-year-old widow to take control of a nation riven with factions, dissent, and religious strife. Brief though her in time Scotland was, her experience profoundly influenced who she was and what happened to her.

Step through these pages into the Tudor world: a dangerous place, where one misstep could cost your life. Through the eyes of Henry VIII's six very different queens, from a brave Spanish princess to a wise English widow, historian Dominic Sandbrook takes us on a thrilling journey through the twists and turns of a dramatic age. For no one is safe from the wheel of fortune: it can take you from a golden throne to the Tower of London.

In this riveting new book, John Laband, pre-eminent historian of the Zulu Kingdom, tackles some of the questions that swirl around the assassination in 1828 of King Shaka, the celebrated founder of the Zulu Kingdom and war leader of legendary brilliance. In his search for answers, Laband turns to the Zulu voice heard through recorded oral testimony and praise-poems, and to the written accounts and reminiscences of the Port Natal trader-hunters and the despatches of Cape officials.

Richard III has gone down in history as one of the most hated and vilified British monarchs of all time. His two-year-long reign as king of England ended in 1485 when he was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth by Henry Tudor, making him the last English king to die on the battlefield. Despite the brevity of his reign, Richard III managed to earn an enduring - albeit unflattering - reputation which lives on to this day. William Shakespeare painted him as a ruthless, hunch-backed usurper, who killed not only his brother but also his two young nephews to get his hands on the crown.

James I of England and VI of Scotland was the first king to rule both countries. He was faced with division between his realms and caught between the religious wars of the Reformation. Spending most of his reign at odds with the religious and parliamentary powers around him, James did little to unite his people. Unable to take a firm stand on critical issues, he spent his life avoiding them.

Mary I, perhaps best known by the moniker Bloody Mary, was England’s first female monarch who ruled in her own right. A fighter from birth, she was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his wife, Catherine of Aragon. Mary would make her way back to her father’s good graces after being cast out by him in favor of his numerous wives and would eventually undo her father’s religious reforms by restoring Roman Catholicism in England. The fourth Tudor to rule England, Mary is remembered for burning around 300 Protestants at the stake on her quest for religious reform.

Charles II of England remains one of the most easily identifiable and best known of England’s monarchs. Deprived of his throne following the execution of his father, he contended with hardship and exile before achieving a peaceful restoration and the beginning of what would be remembered as a colorful period of English history. His reign also led to the creation of the two-party system that would shape English and later British politics for centuries to come.

Charles I is one of the most instantly recognizable of the English monarchs. During his reign, the relationship between king and Parliament changed radically, with revolutionary results. A man of deeply held convictions whose refusal to compromise brought about conflict and civil war, King Charles I almost destroyed the English monarchy forever.

It is nearly impossible for words alone to demonstrate the true beauty of Princess Diana, both inside and out. She was an individual who knew exactly what her life mission was. Shе іntеntіоnаllу аnd аuthеntісаllу lеvеrаgеd hеr роwеr аnd сеlеbrіtу status to not only іnfluеnсе оthеrѕ іn a роѕіtіvе wау but to rеаllу hеlр thе саuѕеѕ that wеrе meaningful tо her.

In the early 1960s, Marie Christine von Reibnitz (who would later become HRH Princess Michael of Kent) lived with her father on his farm in Mozambique. Then just a teenager, Princess Michael was entranced by the African landscape, by the wildlife and by the people she met. It was one of the happiest times of her life, and she recounts that it was an orphaned cheetah cub (called Tess) who played a huge part in making it so.

Few mixtures are as toxic as absolute power and insanity. When nothing stands between a leader's delusion whims and seeing them carried them out, all sorts of bizarre outcomes are possible. Whatever their background, these rulers show that dynastic politics made sure that a rightful heir always got on the throne - despite that heir's mental condition - and that power can destroy a mind worse than any mental illness.

Queen Elizabeth I was one of England's most influential rulers. Hers was an age when the arts, commerce, and trade flourished. It was the epoch of gallantry and great, enduring literature. It was also an age of wars and military conflicts. In the end, Queen Elizabeth I helped change the entire structure of female leadership and would go on to improve upon Henry VIII's successes.

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.

Elizabeth II is within a few years of becoming the longest-reigning British monarch. A personally quiet, modest and dutiful person, she is far better-informed about the lives of her subjects than they often realize. She has known every Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and every American President since Eisenhower. Yet what of the woman behind the crown?

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.