English Royalty History

King Edward VI, the only legitimate male heir of King Henry VIII, took his seat on the throne at the age of nine. His life would come to an end when he was only 15 years old, but the mark he would come to leave on England’s history has endured to this day. Edward VI led his country into a new age where the Church of England was no longer tied to the Catholic Church. Putting his efforts into spreading Protestantism throughout all of England, he continued his father’s work of freeing England from the Holy Roman Empire’s grasp.

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.

Alexandra Feodorovna was one of the most tragic figures of the 20th century. Born in the wrong time, giddy with power, married to a man who ruled one-sixth of the world, she was murdered with her family in 1918.

As the heir to the Spanish Empire of his father Charles V, Philip II came into this world with some rather big shoes to fill. Eventually, Philip would prove himself in his own right even though he turned out to be a much different ruler than his father. He won a life or death struggle against a resurgent Ottoman Empire, he consolidated Spanish dominion in the Americas, and he fought to maintain Spanish holdings in Europe. He also used a ruthless Spanish Inquisition in order to keep his subjects in line with his own version of the Catholic faith.

What would Russia look like today if there had never been a Peter the Great? Peter I did so much for Russia, including changing the education system to reach more people, reorganizing the government and the Russian Orthodox Church, and even modernizing the dress and social living standards of the Russian people. Peter grew up in a Russia that was stuck in archaic times, but he recognized the need for change, and when his time came to rule over his country he met the challenge head-on. Peter the Great turned Russia into one of the greatest powers of the world.

Princess Diana had a whirlwind of a life, or in the words of Sir Elton John, she “lived her life like a candle in the wind”. After her marriage to Prince Charles, she became not just a princess but a global icon. Diana could draw crowds by the thousands, but despite her rising popularity, she couldn’t keep her marriage together. Not many have had the kind of life that Princess Diana led, but to be sure, this was no fairy tale with a happy ending. This book tells the tragic story of the life of Princess Diana, from beginning to end.

What do ancient Greek Olympic competitions, Roman gladiatorial games, and modern sports have in common? Was slavery in the USA truly abolished, or did it merely take on another shape and now speaks with a different accent? What can and does the sports industry tell us about ourselves?

Loyal subjects, watch out! Some of history's royal leaders were just as vicious as they were powerful. These kings and queens stole, tortured, and murdered. Listen to this audiobook to discover the gruesome ways these rulers terrorized their enemies, their own people, and even their own blood.

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.

Catherine the Great is one of the most influential rulers in Russian history. Though born in Prussia, she endeavored to gain the throne of Russia and went on to be the longest-ruling empress in Russian history. She ruled as an enlightened despot, promoting the principles of the European Enlightenment as she sought to modernize her beloved country. She reformed the educational system of Russia, creating a national system that utilized modern educational theory in a co-educational setting.