Henry VIII, renowned for his command of power and celebrated for his intellect, presided over one of the most magnificent-and dangerous-courts in Renaissance Europe.
Anyone who has seen The Lion in Winter will remember the vicious, compelling world of the Plantagenets and readers of the romance of Robin Hood will be familiar with the typecasting of Good King Richard, defending Christendom in the Holy Land, and Bad King John who usurps the kingdom in his absence.
History as it should be written Alison Weir, bestselling author of the Six Tudor Queens seriesA groundbreaking and fascinating biography of England's most famous queen, viewed through the women who influenced her life.
Written in 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) purported to chronicle the British monarchy from the arrival of the Trojan Brutus, grandson of Aeneas, through to the seventh century AD when the Anglo-Saxons had taken control of the land.
This traces the initially slow rise of the family from Bourbon in the Massif Central which as a result of tenacity, ambition and good marriages came to win the crowns first of France, then Spain and finally Naples and Sicily.
'The warrant of maid of honour to the Queen induces me to think that Your Majesty has some regard for me, since it gives me the means of seeing you oftener .
Nearly eighty women have sat on the throne of England, either as queen regnant or queen consort and the voices of all of them survive through their own writings and those of their contemporaries.
'I know there are but few steps between the prisons and graves of princes' Charles IThe experience of exile and captivity, usually in war, was not uncommon for medieval kings and princes.
By the author of the top 10 bestseller The Duchess, this is the Prince Harry you've never read about before - this is the story behind the tabloid stories.
THE DUKE is the biography of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, a celebrity in his own right and yet an enigma still, even after 60 years in the public eye.
'Bright, breezy and unpretentious' Guardian'A loving and faithful portrait of Almina and her world' Countryfile magazine* * * * * *The story of the real Downton Abbey, told by Lady Fiona Carnarvon, chatelaine of Highclere Castle where the phenomentally successful TV series was filmed.
Prince William has emerged as the people's prince, surfacing from a lifetime of scrutiny and speculation as a discerning and charming young man, determined to serve the nation he loves.
*With a foreword by former BBC Royal Correspondent Jennie Bond*The touching and ground-breaking story of the Queen's childhood as told by her nanny, revealing the royal family's life before The Crown.
The tragic true story behind the forthcoming film My Duchess starring Joan Collins and Isabella Rossellini'Hugely entertaining' - Telegraph'A page turner' - Times Literary Supplement'Definitively brilliant' - Evening StandardWallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, died in Paris on 24 April 1986, just weeks short of her ninetieth birthday.
The young George III was a poignant figure, humdrum on the surface yet turbulent beneath: hiding his own passions, he tried hard to be a father to his siblings and his nation.
'Expertly researched, zestfully written, acutely intelligent in its historical judgements, this masterly biography finally does justice to a forgotten Tudor princess' John GuySometime heir to the English throne, courtier in danger of losing her head, spy-mistress and would-be architect of a united Catholic Britain: Lady Margaret Douglas is the Tudor who survived and triumphed -but at a terrible cost.
In this fascinating piece of historical detective work - the result of several years' research and the interrogation of numerous surviving witnesses - Michael Bloch has penetrated one of the great mysteries of the Second World War: the plot to bring the Duke of Windsor under German power on the eve of the Battle of Britain, a plot which the Duke himself is sometimes said to have given encouragement.
