0
Your cart

Your cart is empty

Browse All Departments
Price
  • R50 - R100 (1)
  • R100 - R250 (161)
  • R250 - R500 (584)
  • R500+ (907)
  • -
Status
Format
Author / Contributor
Publisher

Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Royalty

Edward IV (Penguin Monarchs) - The Summer King (Paperback): A. J Pollard Edward IV (Penguin Monarchs) - The Summer King (Paperback)
A. J Pollard 1
R224 R202 Discovery Miles 2 020 Save R22 (10%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

'Edward was a man of considerable charm, who perhaps relied too much upon that charm to keep tensions within his entourage at bay' In 1461 Edward earl of March, a handsome, charismatic eighteen-year old, usurped the English throne during the first and most fierce of the Wars of the Roses. The years that followed witnessed a period that has been described as a golden age. Yet, argues A. J. Pollard, Edward was a man of limited vision, who squandered his talents and failed to secure his own dynasty.

Shah of Shahs (Paperback, 1st Vintage International Ed): Ryszard Kapuscinski Shah of Shahs (Paperback, 1st Vintage International Ed)
Ryszard Kapuscinski
R401 Discovery Miles 4 010 Ships in 18 - 22 working days

In Shah of Shahs Kapuscinski brings a mythographer's perspective and a novelist's virtuosity to bear on the overthrow of the last Shah of Iran, one of the most infamous of the United States' client-dictators, who resolved to transform his country into "a second America in a generation," only to be toppled virtually overnight. From his vantage point at the break-up of the old regime, Kapuscinski gives us a compelling history of conspiracy, repression, fanatacism, and revolution.Translated from the Polish by William R. Brand and Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand.

Behind Palace Walls - Life in the Service of a Saudi Princess (Paperback): Cay Garcia Behind Palace Walls - Life in the Service of a Saudi Princess (Paperback)
Cay Garcia
R283 Discovery Miles 2 830 Ships in 4 - 6 working days

Cay Garcia was given only a few hours to pack up her belongings, say goodbye to dear friends and leave Riyadh for good.

She had dared confront a young Saudi princess – her employer – about her ruthless and cruel treatment of staff, particularly Filipino women.

Cay reveals the inner workings of a holy city for which no tourist visa exists. She shares the intrigues of the expat community and exposes the nasty underbelly of the extravagant lives of Saudi Arabian royalty.

The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II (Paperback): Karen Dolby The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II (Paperback)
Karen Dolby
R496 Discovery Miles 4 960 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
Desert Royal (Paperback, New ed): Jean Sasson Desert Royal (Paperback, New ed)
Jean Sasson
R257 R233 Discovery Miles 2 330 Save R24 (9%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

Readers of Princess Sultana's extraordinary autobiography, Princess, were gripped by her powerful indictment of women's lives within the royal family of Saudi Arabia. In Desert Royal she continues her story at a period of crisis in her life when she reveals her shameful secret - especially so in a Muslim country where alcohol is forbidden - that she has a drinking problem. The forced marriage of her niece to a cruel and depraved older man, and her discovery of the harem of sex slaves kept by another cousin, makes her more determined than ever to defend the rights of women in her country. Her cause is given an extra sense of urgency against the backdrop of increased dissent against the Al Sa'uds, and the looming spectre of Islamic Fundamentalism.

The Wise King - A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance (Hardcover): Simon Doubleday The Wise King - A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance (Hardcover)
Simon Doubleday
R717 R640 Discovery Miles 6 400 Save R77 (11%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

If I had been present at the Creation," the thirteenth-century Spanish philosopher-king Alfonso X is said to have stated, Many faults in the universe would have been avoided." Known as El Sabio , the Wise," Alfonso was renowned by friends and enemies alike for his sparkling intellect and extraordinary cultural achievements. In The Wise King , celebrated historian Simon R. Doubleday traces the story of the king's life and times, leading us deep into his emotional world and showing how his intense admiration for Spain's rich Islamic culture paved the way for the European Renaissance. In 1252, when Alfonso replaced his more militaristic father on the throne of Castile and Leon, the battle to reconquer Muslim territory on the Iberian Peninsula was raging fiercely. But even as he led his Christian soldiers onto the battlefield, Alfonso was seduced by the glories of Muslim Spain. His engagement with the Arabic-speaking culture of the South shaped his pursuit of astronomy, for which he was famed for centuries, and his profoundly humane vision of the world, which Dante, Petrarch, and later Italian humanists would inherit. A composer of lyric verses, and patron of works on board games, hunting, and the properties of stones, Alfonso is best known today for his Cantigas de Santa Maria (Songs of Holy Mary), which offer a remarkable window onto his world. His ongoing struggles as a king and as a man were distilled,in art, music, literature, and architecture,into something sublime that speaks to us powerfully across the centuries. An intimate biography of the Spanish ruler in whom two cultures converged, The Wise King introduces readers to a Renaissance man before his time, whose creative energy in the face of personal turmoil and existential threats to his kingdom would transform the course of Western history.

A Royal Life (Hardcover): HRH The Duke of Kent, Hugo Vickers A Royal Life (Hardcover)
HRH The Duke of Kent, Hugo Vickers
R208 Discovery Miles 2 080 Ships in 15 - 30 working days

'A pleasure to read... a timely reminder of the need for service' Telegraph HRH The Duke of Kent has been at the heart of the British Royal Family throughout his life. As a working member of the Royal Family, he has supported his cousin, The Queen, representing her at home and abroad. His royal duties began when, in 1952, at the age of sixteen, he walked in the procession behind King George VI's coffin, later paying homage to The Queen at her Coronation in 1953. Since then he has witnessed and participated in key Royal occasions. He represented The Queen at independence ceremonies from the age of twenty-five, he was riding with her when blanks were fired at Trooping the Colour in 1981, he was the oldest soldier on parade at Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in November 2020 and he was alongside The Queen at her official birthday celebrations in June 2021 as Colonel of the Scots Guards. No member of the Royal Family has spoken extensively of the modern reign and their part in it before. A Royal Life is a unique account based on a series of conversations between the Duke and acclaimed Royal historian Hugo Vickers. It covers some of the most important moments and experiences of the Duke's life, from his upbringing at his family home Coppins in Buckinghamshire, his twenty-one years of army life, his royal tours and events, through to his work for over 140 different organisations, including presenting the trophies at Wimbledon for more than 50 years. Here too are recollections of family members including his mother, Princess Marina, his grandmother, Queen Mary, his cousin, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his uncle, King George VI. The Duke is a keen photographer and the book contains never before seen photographs from his private collection. Other members of the Royal Family contribute their memories, including his wife, the Duchess of Kent, the Duke's siblings, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael of Kent, his son, the Earl of St Andrews, his daughter, Lady Helen Taylor as well as his cousins, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Archduchess Helen of Austria and her brother, Hans Veit Toerring. A Royal Life is an unprecedented, insightful and remarkable slice of Royal history.

Footprints and Papa's Legacy (Paperback): Agnes Nyenopoh Dagbe Footprints and Papa's Legacy (Paperback)
Agnes Nyenopoh Dagbe
R561 R515 Discovery Miles 5 150 Save R46 (8%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days
King Alfred the Great (Hardcover, New): Alfred P. Smyth King Alfred the Great (Hardcover, New)
Alfred P. Smyth
R6,229 Discovery Miles 62 290 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

  • The first major study of King Alfred since Plummer's in 1902

  • Presents a radical new interpretation of Alfred, based on previously unavailable evidence

    Warrior, law-giver, and scholar, Alfred the Great is celebrated as one of Britain's most successful and heroic kings. In this, the first biography for almost one hundred years, Professor Smyth explores the life of this remarkable man. His conclusion is controversial; he argues that Asser's Life of Alfred, hitherto the most important source of our knowledge about the king, is a late medieval forgery. This revelation has profound implications for our understanding of the whole of Anglo-Saxon history.

  • The Mythology of Richard III (Paperback): John Ashdown-Hill The Mythology of Richard III (Paperback)
    John Ashdown-Hill
    R323 R295 Discovery Miles 2 950 Save R28 (9%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

    Richard III. The name will conjure an image for any reader: Shakespeare's hunchback tyrant who killed his own nephews or a long-denigrated, misunderstood king. This one man's character and actions have divided historians and the controversy has always kept interest in Richard alive. However, curiosity surrounding his life and death has reached unprecedented heights in the aftermath of the discovery of his skeleton under a Leicester car park. The myths that have always swirled around Richard III have risen and multiplied and it is time to set the record straight. John Ashdown-Hill, whose research was instrumental in the discovery of Richard III's remains, explores and unravels the web of myths in this fascinating book.

    Cleopatra - The Queen Who Challenged Rome and Conquered Eternity (The Mystery Was Killing a Group One by One) (Paperback):... Cleopatra - The Queen Who Challenged Rome and Conquered Eternity (The Mystery Was Killing a Group One by One) (Paperback)
    Carol Joseph
    R437 R404 Discovery Miles 4 040 Save R33 (8%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days
    The Perfect King - The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation (Paperback): Ian Mortimer The Perfect King - The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation (Paperback)
    Ian Mortimer
    R436 R397 Discovery Miles 3 970 Save R39 (9%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

    King for fifty years (1327--77), Edward III changed the face of England.
    He ordered his uncle to be beheaded; he usurped his father's throne; he started a war which lasted for more than a hundred years, and taxed his people more than any other previous king. Yet for centuries, Edward III was celebrated as the most brilliant king England had ever had.
    In this first full study of the man, Ian Mortimer shows how Edward personally provided the impetus for much of the drama of his reign. Edward overcame the tyranny of his guardians at the age of seventeen and then set about developing a new form of awe-inspiring chivalric kingship. Under him the feudal kingdom of England became a highly organized, sophisticated nation, capable of raising large revenues and, without question, the most important military nation in Europe. Yet under his rule England also experienced its longest period of domestic peace in the Middle Ages, giving rise to a massive increase in the nation's wealth through the wool trade, with huge consequences for society, art and architecture. It is to Edward that England owes its system of parliamentary representation, local justice system and the English language as "the tongue of the nation."
    As the King who re-made England and forged a nation out of war, Edward III emerges as the father of the English nation.

    AEthelred - The Unready (Paperback): Levi Roach AEthelred - The Unready (Paperback)
    Levi Roach
    R569 Discovery Miles 5 690 Ships in 9 - 17 working days

    An imaginative reassessment of AEthelred "the Unready," one of medieval England's most maligned kings and a major Anglo-Saxon figure The Anglo-Saxon king AEthelred "the Unready" (978-1016) has long been considered to be inscrutable, irrational, and poorly advised. Infamous for his domestic and international failures, AEthelred was unable to fend off successive Viking raids, leading to the notorious St. Brice's Day Massacre in 1002, during which Danes in England were slaughtered on his orders. Though AEthelred's posthumous standing is dominated by his unsuccessful military leadership, his seemingly blind trust in disloyal associates, and his harsh treatment of political opponents, Roach suggests that AEthelred has been wrongly maligned. Drawing on extensive research, Roach argues that AEthelred was driven by pious concerns about sin, society, and the anticipated apocalypse. His strategies, in this light, were to honor God and find redemption. Chronologically charting AEthelred's life, Roach presents a more accessible character than previously available, illuminating his place in England and Europe at the turn of the first millennium.

    Elizabeth - The No 1 Sunday Times bestseller from the writer who knew her and her family for over fifty years (Paperback):... Elizabeth - The No 1 Sunday Times bestseller from the writer who knew her and her family for over fifty years (Paperback)
    Gyles Brandreth
    R440 R406 Discovery Miles 4 060 Save R34 (8%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

    A personal account of the life and character of Britain's longest-reigning monarch __________ This intimate, personal biography of Queen Elizabeth II tells the story of her remarkable life, reign and times, from a perspective unlike any other. Gyles Brandreth writes the Queen's tale candidly with grace and sensitivity from the view of someone who met her, talked with her and kept a record of those conversations. Brandreth knew the Queen's husband well and knows the new King and Queen Consort. Told with authority, a refreshing dose of humour and moving honesty from a totally unique viewpoint, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait is the must-have biography of the longest-serving monarch in English history, of a woman who represented not only her people but stood as an emblem of fortitude and resilience worldwide throughout her long life. Elizabeth II - what was she really like? What made her the person she was? By GYLES BRANDRETH: 'The writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals.' Libby Purves, THE TIMES __________

    A Royal Duty - The poignant and remarkable untold story of the Princess of Wales (Paperback, 2nd ed): Paul Burrell A Royal Duty - The poignant and remarkable untold story of the Princess of Wales (Paperback, 2nd ed)
    Paul Burrell 2
    R430 R390 Discovery Miles 3 900 Save R40 (9%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

    The untold story behind one of the most sensational chapters in the history of the House of Windsor. Paul Burrell fought to clear his own name. Now he reveals new truths about Princess Diana - and presents for the first time as faithful an account of her thoughts as we can ever hope to read. He was the favourite footman who formed a unique relationship with the Queen. He was the butler who the Princess of Wales called 'my rock' and 'the only man I can trust'. He was accused of theft, then acquitted following the historic intervention of the monarch. He was the Princess' most intimate confidante - and is the only person able to separate the myth from the truth of the Diana years. Now at last Paul Burrell cuts through the gossip and the lies and takes us closer to the complex heart of the Royal family then ever before.

    Elizabeth I and Her Circle (Hardcover): Susan Doran Elizabeth I and Her Circle (Hardcover)
    Susan Doran
    R745 Discovery Miles 7 450 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

    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 centre, offering a deeper insight into Elizabeth's emotional and political conduct - and challenging many of the popular myths that have grown up around her. It is a story replete with fascinating questions. What was the true nature of Elizabeth's relationship with her father, Henry VIII, especially after his execution of her mother? How close was she to her half-brother Edward VI - and were relations with her half-sister Mary really as poisonous as is popularly assumed? And what of her relationship with her Stewart cousins, most famously with Mary Queen of Scots, executed on Elizabeth's orders in 1587, but also with Mary's son James VI of Scotland, later to succeed Elizabeth as her chosen successor? Elizabeth's relations with her family were crucial, but just as crucial were her relations with her courtiers and her councillors. Here again, the story raises a host of fascinating questions. Was the queen really sexually jealous of her maids of honour? Did physically attractive male favourties dominate her court? What does her long and intimate relationship with the Earl of Leicester reveal about her character, personality, and attitude to marriage? What can the fall of Essex tell us about Elizabeth's political management in the final years of her reign? And what was the true nature of her personal and political relationship with influential and long-serving councillors such as the Cecils and Sir Francis Walsingham? And how did courtiers and councillors deal with their demanding royal mistress?

    Nicholas and Alexandra (Paperback, 1st Ballantine ed): Robert K. Massie Nicholas and Alexandra (Paperback, 1st Ballantine ed)
    Robert K. Massie
    R567 R516 Discovery Miles 5 160 Save R51 (9%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

    More than a quarter of a century after it was first published in hardcover comes a never-before-issued trade paperback edition of the classic Nicholas and Alexandra. Featuring a new introduction by its Pulitzer Prize -- winning author, this powerful work sweeps us back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story of the Romanovs' lives: Nicholas's political naivete, Alexandra's obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin, and little Alexis's brave struggle with hemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Robert K. Massie unfolds a powerful drama of passion and history -- the story of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble. . . .

    Right On Time To Spill - The Inside Story Of Prince Harry (Paperback): Prudent Reads Right On Time To Spill - The Inside Story Of Prince Harry (Paperback)
    Prudent Reads
    R326 Discovery Miles 3 260 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
    Royalty That Values All - A Force for Civility. the Autobiography of Hrh King Dr. Clyde Rivers (Paperback): Clyde Rivers Royalty That Values All - A Force for Civility. the Autobiography of Hrh King Dr. Clyde Rivers (Paperback)
    Clyde Rivers; Psalm Ebube
    R719 Discovery Miles 7 190 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
    Princess Diana in Psychoanalysis - My Psychotherapy Sessions with Diana: Princess of Wales (Paperback): Paul Dawson Princess Diana in Psychoanalysis - My Psychotherapy Sessions with Diana: Princess of Wales (Paperback)
    Paul Dawson
    R537 Discovery Miles 5 370 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
    Royal Funeral - The Amazing Things You Should Know about the Death and Burial of Queen Elizabeth II (Paperback): David K Gibbs Royal Funeral - The Amazing Things You Should Know about the Death and Burial of Queen Elizabeth II (Paperback)
    David K Gibbs
    R377 Discovery Miles 3 770 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
    Margaret of York - The Diabolical Duchess (Paperback, 2nd Revised edition): Christine Weightman Margaret of York - The Diabolical Duchess (Paperback, 2nd Revised edition)
    Christine Weightman
    R369 R334 Discovery Miles 3 340 Save R35 (9%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

    The amazing life of Margaret of York, the woman who tried to overthrow the Tudors. Reared in a dangerous and unpredictable world Margaret of York, sister of Richard III, would become the standard bearer of the House of York and 'the menace of the Tudors'. This alluring and resourceful woman was Henry VII's 'diabolical duchess'. Safe across the Channel in modern-day Belgium and supported by the Emperor she sent Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck with thousands of troops to England to avenge the destruction of her brother and of the House of York. Both rebellions shook the new Tudor dynasty to the core. As the duchess and wife of the wealthiest ruler in Western Europe, Margaret was at the centre of a glittering court and became the patron of William Caxton. It was at her command that he printed the first book in English. Her marriage to Charles, the dour, war-mad Duke of Burgundy, had been the talk of Europe. John Paston, who was among the awestruck guests, reported in the famous Paston Letters that there had been nothing like it since King Arthur's court. Yet within a decade Charles was dead, his corpse frozen on the battlefield and within another decade her own family had been destroyed in England. Childless and in a foreign land Margaret showed the same energetic and cautious spirit as her great-grand-niece Elizabeth I, surviving riots, rebellions and plots. In spite of all her efforts, the Tudors were still on the throne but Margaret, unlike the Yorkist kings, was a great survivor. Includes 47 illustrations.

    Elizabeth's Rivals - The Tumultuous Life of the Countess of Leicester (Paperback): Nicola Tallis Elizabeth's Rivals - The Tumultuous Life of the Countess of Leicester (Paperback)
    Nicola Tallis
    R735 Discovery Miles 7 350 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
    Marie Antoinette and the Downfall of Royalty (Paperback): Imbert de Saint-Amand Marie Antoinette and the Downfall of Royalty (Paperback)
    Imbert de Saint-Amand; Translated by Elizabeth Gilbert Martin
    R527 Discovery Miles 5 270 Ships in 18 - 22 working days
    King and Emperor - A New Life of Charlemagne (Paperback): Janet L. Nelson King and Emperor - A New Life of Charlemagne (Paperback)
    Janet L. Nelson
    R496 R453 Discovery Miles 4 530 Save R43 (9%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

    A DAILY TELEGRAPH AND BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 'A remarkable book: the dramatic story of a truly extraordinary man ... brilliant' Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves A major new biography of one of the most extraordinary of all rulers, and the father of present-day Europe Charles, King of the Franks, is one of the most remarkable figures ever to rule a European super-state. That is why he is so often called 'Charles the Great': by the French 'Charlemagne', and by the Germans 'Karl der Grosse'. His strength of character was felt to be remarkable from early in his long reign. Warfare and accident, vermin and weather have destroyed much of the evidence for his rule in the twelve centuries since his death, but a remarkable amount still survives. Janet L. Nelson's wonderful new book brings together everything we know about Charlemagne and sifts through the evidence to come as close as we can to understanding the man and his motives. Nelson has an extraordinary knowledge of the sources and much of the book is a sort of detective story, prying into and interpreting fascinating material and often obdurate scraps, from prayerbooks to skeletons, gossip to artwork. Above all, Charles' legacy lies in his deeds and their continuing resonance, as he shaped duchies and counties, rebuilt and founded towns and monasteries, and consciously set himself up not just as King of the Franks, but as the new 'Emperor governing the Roman Empire'. His successors - in some ways to the present day - have struggled to interpret, misinterpret, copy or subvert Charlemagne's legacy. Nelson gets us as close as we can ever hope to come to the real figure, as understood in his own time.

    Free Delivery
    Pinterest Twitter Facebook Google+
    You may like...
    History of Friedrich II of Prussia…
    Thomas Carlyle Paperback R644 Discovery Miles 6 440
    Life of Mary Queen of Scots
    Henry Glassford Bell Paperback R570 Discovery Miles 5 700
    Spying And The Crown - The Secret…
    Richard J. Aldrich, Rory Cormac Paperback R358 Discovery Miles 3 580
    War Of The Windsors - The Inside Story…
    Nigel Cawthorne Hardcover R582 R523 Discovery Miles 5 230
    History of Friedtrich Ii. of Prussia…
    Thomas Carlyle Paperback R604 Discovery Miles 6 040
    The History of England
    Jane Austen Paperback R139 Discovery Miles 1 390
    Memoirs of the Court of King James the…
    Lucy Aikin Paperback R608 Discovery Miles 6 080
    Spare
    Prince Harry The Duke Of Sussex Paperback R295 R263 Discovery Miles 2 630
    The Diamond Queen - Elizabeth II: The…
    Andrew Marr Paperback R285 R258 Discovery Miles 2 580
    Marie Antoinette
    Hilaire Belloc Paperback R746 Discovery Miles 7 460

     

    Partners