English Royalty History

Harold Lamb's superb story-telling and clear, sharp scholarship are focused on Peter the Great, his gigantic labors to raise Russia in one generation to cultural equality with Europe, and his efforts to mold and shape a sprawling empire. At the end of the Thirty Years War in 1648, the city of Moscow had extended its sway eastward through the Asiatic continent. People began to ask, "Will the city control the continent?" or "Will the continent control the city?" These were crucial questions...questions that continue to bedevil Russians to this day.

Royal biographer Helen Cathcart's fascinatingly intimate account charts Elizabeth's extraordinary life, from her birth and early years growing up in the royal palaces—sleeping in the dungeons of Windsor Castle during the air raids of the Blitz—through to her marriage to Prince Philip in 1947, and their life together as new parents.

In this unusually personal document, Queen Liliʻuokalani paints a detailed picture of life in a royal family—something few such figures ever attempt. She shares important memories from her childhood and chronicles her life on the international stage, beginning with her momentous ascension to the throne and ending with her effective overthrow by American businessmen and politicians who had little interest in maintaining Hawaii’s autonomy.

Loyal sister and friend to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret grew up in the public gaze and was one of the most-discussed women in the world. But what was early life like for the younger sibling of the future monarch? And what role did she carve for herself within the Royal Family?

Years ago, archaeologists excavating near Pompeii unearthed a hoard of Roman treasures, among them a bowl depicting a woman with thick, curly hair and sporting an elephant-scalp headdress. For decades, theories circulated about her identity―until, at last, she was ascertained to be Cleopatra Selene, the only surviving daughter of Roman Triumvir Marc Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII. Using this discovery as her starting point and creating a narrative from mere fragments in the archaeological record, historian Jane Draycott reconstructs the exceptional life of this woman.

In his ambition to provide a male heir to the throne, Henry VIII married six times. Divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, caused England’s break from the Catholic Church in Rome. He went on to divorce Anne of Cleves and behead Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard for infidelities. Jane Seymour died and Catherine Parr survived Henry. Henry VIII’s Wives: History in an Hour will introduce you to these six entirely diverse and captivating personalities and the events that propelled them to their individual fates.

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.

From the palaces of Austria to the mirrored halls of Versailles, Marie Antoinette led a charmed life. She was born into royalty in 1755 and married the future king of France at age 15. By 21, she ascended to the throne and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle of masquerade balls, sky-high wigs, and extravagant food. But her taste for excess ruffled many feathers. The poor people of France blamed Marie Antoinette for their poverty. Her spending helped incite the French Revolution. And after much public outcry, in 1793 she quite literally lost her head because of it.

Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian Era, a period of industrial, cultural, scientific, and political change that was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. But Victoria was raised under close supervision and near isolation until she became Queen of the United Kingdom at the young age of 18. She married her first cousin, Albert, and had nine children who married into families across Europe.

Henry VIII is Britain's most notorious monarch, remembered for his six wives and splitting the church in two for the sake of annulling his first marriage. But few know the full story of his tempestuous reign. This captivating biography chronicles Henry VIII's life and times, from his early childhood at Eltham to his dominant role as one of the leading players on the international stage. It includes his love affairs, military campaigns, the scheming and plotting of his courtiers and the way in which sex and politics were sometimes fatally intertwined with the Tudor Court.

The lives of the Scottish queens, both those who ruled in their own right and the consorts, have largely been neglected in conventional history books. One of the earliest known Scottish queens was none other than the notorious Lady Macbeth. Was she really the wicked woman depicted in Shakespeare's famous play? Was St. Margaret a demure and obedient wife? Rosalind K. Marshall delves into these questions and more in this entertaining, impeccably researched book.

In Princes at War, Deborah Cadbury reveals evidence that the duke and duchess of Windsor colluded with Hitler to take back the British throne from Edward's younger brother, King George VI, should Germany prevail in the War.

Often compared to Catherine the Great or Elizabeth I, Caroline of Ansbach is the great queen Britain forgot it had - a thinker, politician, schemer, patroness and matriarch. This book offers a remarkable portrait of a woman of great political astuteness and ambition, a radical icon of female power. The intellectual superior of her husband, George II, Caroline is credited with bringing the Enlightenment to Britain through her sponsorship of red-hot debates about science, religion, philosophy and the nature of the universe.

Whetshire Fortress, Wessex, A.D. 1171: Since birth Lady Ginevra has been betrothed to Lord Wolfram, second son to the Count of Whetshire. There was never any question as to whom she would marry or who she would be. Life has been mapped out for her and she's going to live happily ever after as a Countess. However, there is one complication to her plans. Her rogue of a future husband isn't taking to their life together with open arms. In fact, he seems to enjoy finding reasons to put the nuptials off.

In 1785, a sensational trial began in Paris that would divide the country and captivate Europe. A leading Catholic cardinal and scion of one of the most distinguished families in France stood accused of forging the queen's signature to obtain the most expensive piece of jewelry in Europe: a 2,800-carat diamond necklace. Where were the diamonds? Was the cardinal innocent? Was, for that matter, the queen?

The story of the worlds best-remembered celebrity couple, set against the political backdrop of their time. Oceans of mythology have grown up around them, all of which Diana Preston explores in her stirring history of the lives and times of a couple whose names more than two millennia later still invoke passion, curiosity, and intrigue.

This is the story of Elizabeth I's inner circle and the crucial human relationships which lay at the heart of her personal and political life. Using a wide range of original sources - including private letters, portraits, verse, drama, and state papers - Susan Doran provides a vivid and often dramatic account of political life in Elizabethan England and the queen at its center.

Although he didn’t create absolutism in France, King Louis XIV seemed to embody the divine right of kings better than anyone had before him. Louis XIV directly correlated his own private good with that of the public good, but not everyone in France had the same sentiment. The resistance from the French nobles and aristocrats that Louis depended on to raise armies gave these nobles increasing autonomy and independence from the king, which would one day come to a head.

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.

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.