Jane Parker, later Viscountess Rochford, was the sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn and was executed alongside Katherine Howard, yet she has remained in the shadows throughout the years, surrounded by more myths than facts. She is often portrayed as a malicious woman who was jealous of her husband's relationship with his sister, but the evidence does not support that. So why is she portrayed as such? It may be the ambiguous nature of her dealings with Henry VIII's fifth queen, Katherine Howard, that have influenced our view of her, but her real story deserves to be told in full. Jane Parker: The Downfall of Two Tudor Queens? is the next instalment in an exciting new historical true crime series from Chronos Books.

The remarkable life of Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret who was also a Maid of Honour at the Queen's Coronation. Anne Glenconner reveals the real events behind The Crown as well as her own life of drama, tragedy and courage, with the wonderful wit and extraordinary resilience which define her.

Anne Glenconner has been close to the Royal Family since childhood. Eldest child of the 5th Earl of Leicester, she was, as a daughter, described as 'the greatest disappointment' by her family as she was unable to inherit. Her childhood home Holkham Hall is one of the grandest estates in England. Bordering Sandringham the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were frequent playmates.

From Maid of Honour at the Queen's Coronation to Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret, Lady Glenconner is a unique witness to royal history, as well as an extraordinary survivor of a generation of aristocratic women trapped without inheritance and burdened with social expectations.

She married the charismatic but highly volatile Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who became the owner of Mustique. Together they turned the island into a paradise for the rich and famous, including Mick Jagger and David Bowie, and it became a favourite retreat for Princess Margaret.

But beneath the glitz and glamour there has also lurked tragedy. On Lord Glenconner's death in 2010 he left his fortune to a former employee. And of their five children, two grown-up sons died, while a third son had to be nursed back from a coma by Anne, after having suffered a near fatal accident.

Anne Glenconner writes with extraordinary wit, generosity and courage and she exposes what life was like in her gilded cage, revealing the role of her great friendship with Princess Margaret, and the freedom she can now finally enjoy in later life.

'Fascinating' The Times 'Tantalising . . . Low's conclusion is a valuable one.' The Telegraph The gripping account of how the Royal family really operates from the man who has spent years studying them in his role as Royal correspondent for The Times. Valentine Low asks the important questions: who really runs the show and, as Charles III begins his reign, what will happen next? Throughout history, the British monarchy has relied on its courtiers - the trusted advisers in the King or Queen's inner circle - to ensure its survival as a family, an ancient institution, and a pillar of the constitution. Today, as ever, a vast team of people hidden from view steers the royal family's path between public duty and private life. Queen Elizabeth II, after a remarkable 70 years of service, saw the final seasons of her reign without her husband Philip to guide her. Meanwhile, newly ascended Charles seeks to define what his future as King, and that of his court, will be. The question of who is entrusted to guide the royals has never been more vital, and yet the task those courtiers face has never been more challenging. With a cloud hanging over Prince Andrew as well as Harry and Meghan's departure from royal life, the complex relationship between modern courtiers and royal principals has been exposed to global scrutiny. As the new Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate - equipped with a very 21st century approach to press and public relations - now hold the responsibility of making an ancient institution relevant for the decades to come. Courtiers reveals an ever-changing system of complex characters, shifting values and ideas over what the future of the institution should be. This is the story of how the monarchy really works, at a pivotal moment in its history.

A riveting saga of deceit, scandal, sex, greed and power

I've traveled all over the world. I've stayed in the best hotels and eaten in the best restaurants. But that isn't me. I'm a simple man. I have simple tastes and I live in a simple house.

But people who knew of my past life still want to know . . . what's it like? What's it like to work for the richest family on earth, the Royal Family of Brunei?

"Well they have money and they spend it," I answer them. I tire of the subject. I know once they get a taste of the story, the questions will keep coming.

"No," they answer. "That's not what I mean. What's it like to travel with the Royal Family? What are they like?"

How can I answer that?

What are they like? They are one of the last true monarchies here on earth. They still rule with a word and with a wave of their hand, no different than they did centuries ago. I worked for a true monarchy, which could have been taken straight out of the movie, "The King and I."

There is not enough time in a day or even a week to tell them all there is to tell.

Yet this story is true. It is no movie nor is it a fairy tale.

I lived it.

For a simple man like me who lives in a simple house, to become a slave of the highest order and to have lived in their world is still surreal.

I see you interrupting me, "A slave you say. There are no longer any slaves."

I scoff at you. I was indeed a slave. What do you call a person who has no life other than what the prince or princess gives them as their daily morsel. What do you call a man who does not sleep but maybe three hours a night waiting by the phone for orders or instructions for twelve years on end? Shall I tell those who ask that the work almost killed me several times over? Shall I tell them that I was indeed a slave who lost his wife because of years of neglecting her and who did not get to see his own children grow up?

Shall I tell them of the deceit, lies, and backstabbing which were the normal part of my everyday existence. Shall I tell them that maybe only one out of ten thousand men could have done my job because of the miracles that they expected me to perform?

No slaves indeed

Welcome to my life.

Queen Victoria's son, Prince Leopold, died from haemophilia, but no member of the royal family before his generation had suffered from the condition. Medically, there are only two possibilities: either one of Victoria's parents had a 1 in 50,000 random mutation, or Victoria was the illegitimate child of a haemophiliac man. However the haemophilia gene arose, it had a profound effect on history. Two of Victoria's daughters were silent carriers who passed the disease to the Spanish and Russian royal families. The disease played a role in the origin of the Spanish Civil War; and the tsarina's concern over her only son's haemophilia led to the entry of Rasputin into the royal household, contributing directly to the Russian Revolution. Finally, if Queen Victoria was illegitimate, who should have inherited the British throne? The answer is astonishing.

Buckingham Palace's greatest fear came true when the FBI arrested Prince Andrew's friend Jeffrey Epstein on charges of under-age sex trafficking. Not Long after the FBI also arrested Andrew's childhood friend Ghislaine Maxwell on Epstein related charges. The book caused a world-wide sensation in 2020 and investigates the story of the key players and allegations and counter-allegations in this unique, high-stakes royal drama. It provides a gripping and behind-the-scenes insight into the hidden privileges enjoyed by global power brokers, royalty and billionaires and the fraught relationship between Andrew and his older brother, heir to the throne Prince Charles. Transcending the life of one man, it characterises a whole institution-Buckingham Palace, hitherto one of the world's most respected institutions.

As the battle for royal supremacy raged between the houses of Lancaster and York, Margaret Beaufort, who was descended from Edward III and proved to be a critical threat to the Yorkist cause, was forced to give up her son - she would be separated from him for fourteen years. Surrounded by conspiracies in the enemy Yorkist court, Margaret remained steadfast, only just escaping the headman's axe as she plotted to overthrow Richard III and secure her son the throne. Against all odds, in 1485 Henry Tudor was victorious on the battlefield at Bosworth. Margaret's unceasing efforts and royal blood saw her son crowned King Henry VII, and Margaret became the most powerful woman in England. Nicola Tallis unmasks the many myths that have attached themselves to Margaret and reveals the real woman: an independent and vibrant character, who would risk everything to become Queen in all but name.

Unseen behind the throne, two sides of the royal bloodline competed for influence, and egregious family secrets had to be protected. Meanwhile, in public, a succession of family ruptures put the monarchy under unprecedented scrutiny from the world's media. From the turbulent loves of Princess Margaret to the tragic saga of Princess Diana, from the torments of Prince Charles to the arrival of Meghan Markle, tensions gripped the House of Windsor. Through all this, Elizabeth II remained steadfast in her values while many of those around her seemed to lose their moorings. Clive Irving's gripping account casts new light on seventy tempestuous years of British history, exploring how the Queen, uncomfortable with the pace of the social and cultural changes in her nation, and often seeming out of touch, resolutely kept the monarchy stable in a rapidly changing world. With unparalleled insight, Irving examines the pivotal events of the Queen's reign and then steps above them to assess her role in the royal family's Faustian pact with the media. The final irony is, as Irving's carefully measured scrutiny shows, that in the last decades of her reign the Queen endures to become one of the most admired people in the world while remaining one of the least known and understood. She will likely be the last Queen of the United Kingdom.

They're not like us, the royal family. Or are they? We simply don't know and we're all desperate to find out. This A-Z of royalty is the practical miscellany of the royal family that everyone's been waiting for. Did the Queen Mum really give all her clothes to charity? Hundreds of people send Her Majesty boxes of chocolates on her birthday, but what happens to them? Where are the best places to go to see the royal family? Does the Queen hold a driving licence and did she pass a test? What are the correct days and hours when it is permitted to fly a flag above Buckingham Palace? Including fascinating facts on abdication, birthdays, Christmas, dining, equerries, fashion, garden parties, hairdressers, insignia, the Jewel House, Kensington Palace, liveries, maids of honour, nannies, orbs, protection squads, the Queen's piper, racing, Snowdon, tartans, the Union Jack, Queen Victoria, weddings, the X-ray machine at Buckingham Palace, yachts and Meghan Markle, this is an unstoppable, unbeatable little guide to our great monarchy.

The author of Powers and Thrones and presenter of Netflix's Secrets of Great British Castles offers a vivid account of the events that inspired Game of Thrones and Shakespeare's Henry IV and Richard III Discover the real history behind The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, the PBS Great Performance series of Shakespeare's plays, starring Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sofie Okenedo and Hugh Bonneville. The crown of England changed hands five times over the course of the fifteenth century, as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. In this riveting follow-up to The Plantagenets, celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest-reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains of history were thrown together in these turbulent times, from Joan of Arc and Henry V, whose victory at Agincourt marked the high point of the medieval monarchy, to Richard III, who murdered his own nephews in a desperate bid to secure his stolen crown. This was a period when headstrong queens and consorts seized power and bent men to their will. With vivid descriptions of the battles of Towton and Bosworth, where the last Plantagenet king was slain, this dramatic narrative history revels in bedlam and intrigue. It also offers a long-overdue corrective to Tudor propaganda, dismantling their self-serving account of what they called the Wars of the Roses. "If you're a fan of Game of Thrones or The Tudors then Dan Jones' swashbucklingly entertaining slice of medieval history will be right up your alley... Every bit as entertaining and readable as his previous blockbuster The Plantagenets." - Daily Express

Twice a princess, twice exiled, Neslishah Sultan had an eventful life. When she was born in Istanbul in 1921, cannons were fired in the four corners of the Ottoman Empire, commemorative coins were issued in her name, and her birth was recorded in the official register of the palace. After all, she was an imperial princess and the granddaughter of Sultan Vahiddedin. But she was the last member of the imperial family to be accorded such honors: in 1922 Vahiddedin was deposed and exiled, replaced as caliph-but not as sultan-by his brother (and Neslishah's other grandfather) Abdulmecid; in 1924 Abdulmecid was also removed from office, and the entire imperial family, including three-year-old Neslishah, was sent into exile. Sixteen years later on her marriage to Prince Abdel Moneim, the son of the last khedive of Egypt, she became a princess of the Egyptian royal family. And when in 1952 her husband was appointed regent for Egypt's infant king, she took her place at the peak of Egyptian society as the country's first lady, until the abolition of the monarchy the following year. Exile followed once more, this time from Egypt, after the royal couple faced charges of treason. Eventually Neslishah was allowed to return to the city of her birth, where she died at the age of 91 in 2012. Based on original documents and extensive personal interviews, this account of one woman's extraordinary life is also the story of the end of two powerful dynasties thirty years apart.

Edward IV, (1442-1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death on 9 April 1483. In a turbulent world marred by civil war, Edward, 4th Duke of York-with good title to the throne-overthrew the corrupt government of the weak and feeble-minded Henry VI, setting the foundation stones for a strong and prosperous England. He was an able and successful king who rescued England from the misery of war and created her with a firm, judicious and popular government. Like his grandson, Henry VIII, he was tall and handsome as a young man. Also like his grandson he was pleasure-loving, and in his later years he was increasingly arbitrary and avaricious. Notwithstanding this, he proved capable of creating a successful and highly personal monarchy which in many ways set the scene for the Tudor monarchs who ruled throughout the sixteenth century through the bloodline of his eldest daughter, Elizabeth. Cora L. Scofield's two volumes are a magisterial record of this reign. Although other biographies have appeared, none have replaced this solid work of scholarship.In his authoritative and best-selling biography of Edward IV in 1975, Professor Charles Ross said '. ..my attempt ...has necessarily involved some foreshortening, and for details one must still refer to Miss C. L. Scofield's elaborate ...account of Yorkist foreign policy.'

In 1936, the British monarchy faced the greatest threats to its survival in the modern era--the crisis of abdication and the menace of Nazism. The fate of the country rested in the hands of George V's sorely unequipped sons: *a stammering King George VI, terrified that the world might discover he was unfit to rule *a dull-witted Prince Henry, who wanted only a quiet life in the army *the too-glamorous Prince George, the Duke of Kent--a reformed hedonist who found new purpose in the RAF and would become the first royal to die in a mysterious plane crash *the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, deemed a Nazi-sympathizer and traitor to his own country--a man who had given it all up for love Princes at War is a riveting portrait of these four very different men miscast by fate, one of whom had to save the monarchy at a moment when kings and princes from across Europe were washing up on England's shores as the old order was overturned. Scandal and conspiracy swirled around the palace and its courtiers, among them dangerous cousins from across Europe's royal families, gold-digging American socialite Wallis Simpson, and the King's Lord Steward, upon whose estate Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess parachuted (seemingly by coincidence) as London burned under the Luftwaffe's tireless raids. Deborah Cadbury draws on new research, personal accounts from the royal archives, and other never-before-revealed sources to create a dazzling sequel to The King's Speech and tell the true and thrilling drama of Great Britain at war and of a staggering transformation for its monarchy.

TWO YOUNG MEN WITH EXPECTATIONS. ONE PREDICTED TO SUCCEED, THE OTHER TO FAIL. Prince Albert Victor, heir presumptive to the British throne, is seen as disastrously inadequate to be king. The grandson of Queen Victoria, he is good-hearted but intensely shy and, some whisper, even slow-witted. By contrast, Jem Stephen is a renowned intellectual, a poet and a golden boy worshipped by all. But a looming curse of mental instability is threatening to take it all away. Appointed as the prince's personal tutor, Jem works to prepare him for the duty to come. A friendship grows between them - one that will allow them to understand and finally accept who they really are, and change both of their lives forever. `A gilded cast of characters parades through this sumptuous tale. A clever mixture of history, psychology and sex.' - Alastair Stewart OBE, ITN anchor; `In sculpted, luscious prose Clark tenderly imagines the secret longing of a fated prince and the man who ruled his heart' - Uli Lenart, Attitude magazine; `This novel blends historical facts with a splash of imagination to create a magical portrait of the Queen's great-uncle.' - Hello magazine

The fate of Richard III's nephews, Edward V and Richard of York, who disappeared after his coronation in 1483, remains controversial centuries after Thomas More's history and Shakespeare's play laid the blame on their conniving uncle. Later writers, unconvinced of the king's guilt, have tried (with little success) to portray him as an innocent victim of Tudor propaganda, pointing instead to a number of unlikely culprits, including Henry Tudor and the Duke of Buckingham. This book sifts through the available evidence concerning the fate of the two boys. The author examines the facts, discusses who may or may not have known key information and offers a reasoned solution to the question, What really happened to the two princes?

'Entertaining... Wilson is affectionate without being reverential.' Daisy Goodwin, The Times In this original and vibrant examination of the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II, biographer and novelist A.N. Wilson paints a vivid portrait of 'Lilibet' the woman, and of her reign. He also considers the history of the monarchy, drawing a line that stretches from Queen Victoria to the bloody history of Europe in the twentieth century, examining how and why the Royal Family has survived. In part historical overview, but with a keen eye to the future, Wilson writes with his signature warmth, intelligence and humour, celebrating the life of the Queen and her role as figurehead of Britain and the Commonwealth.

** Now updated to cover Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement. ** Prince Henry of Wales has emerged as the unexpected jewel in the crown of the modern British monarchy. Despite his unruly antics, for which he's made headlines all over the world, Harry has won the nation's admiration and respect through his commitment to helping injured servicemen and women with the Invictus Games and his spearheading of mental health issues. With updated chapters on Harry's flourishing relationship with American actress Meghan Markle, Duncan Larcombe's insightful and highly entertaining biography is the inside story of how a young prince has grown and matured into a respected soldier, charitable fundraiser and national figurehead who still retains his reputation as a heart-throb and lovable rogue.

The prequel to The Crown: the first truly candid portrait of George V and Mary, the Queen's grandparents and creators of the modern monarchy The lasting reputation of George V is for dullness. His biographer Harold Nicolson famously quipped that 'he did nothing at all but kill animals and stick in stamps'. But is that really all there was to King George, a monarch confronted by a series of crises thought to be the most testing faced by any twentieth-century British sovereign? As Tommy Lascelles, one of the most perceptive royal advisers, put it: 'He was dull, beyond dispute -- but my God, his reign never had a dull moment.' Throughout his reign, George V navigated a constitutional crisis, the First World War, the fall of thirteen European monarchies and the rise of Bolshevism. The suffragette Emily Davison threw herself under his horse at the Derby, he refused asylum to his cousin the Tsar Nicholas II and he facilitated the first Labour government. How this supposedly limited man steered the Crown through so many perils is a gripping tale. With unprecedented access to the archives, Jane Ridley has been able to reassess the many myths associated with this dramatic period for the first time. 'Superb . . . a perfectly candid portrait' Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph 'Riveting . . . Never a dull paragraph' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Times

Perfect for fans of The Crown, this captivating biography from a New York Times bestselling author follows Queen Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret as they navigate life in the royal spotlight.

They were the closest of sisters and the best of friends. But when, in a quixotic twist of fate, their uncle Edward Vlll decided to abdicate the throne, the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Forever more Margaret would have to curtsey to the sister she called 'Lillibet.' And bow to her wishes.

Elizabeth would always look upon her younger sister's antics with a kind of stoical amusement, but Margaret's struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system—and her fraught relationship with its expectations—was often a source of tension. Famously, the Queen had to inform Margaret that the Church and government would not countenance her marrying a divorcee, Group Captain Peter Townsend, forcing Margaret to choose between keeping her title and royal allowances or her divorcee lover.

From the idyll of their cloistered early life, through their hidden war-time lives, into the divergent paths they took following their father's death and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne, this book explores their relationship over the years. Andrew Morton's latest biography offers unique insight into these two drastically different sisters—one resigned to duty and responsibility, the other resistant to it—and the lasting impact they have had on the Crown, the royal family, and the ways it adapted to the changing mores of the 20th century.

Princess Diana is seen as the first member of the British royal family to tear up the rulebook, and the Duchess of Cambridge is modernising the monarchy in strides. But before them was another who paved the way. Princess Mary was born in 1897. Despite her Victorian beginnings, she strove to make a princess's life meaningful, using her position to help those less fortunate and defying gender conventions in the process. As the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, she would live to see not only two of her brothers ascend the throne but also her niece Queen Elizabeth II. She was one of the hardest-working members of the royal family, known for her no-nonsense approach and her determination in the face of adversity. During the First World War she came into her own, launching an appeal to furnish every British troop and sailor with a Christmas gift, and training as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital. From her dedication to the war effort, to her role as the family peacemaker during the Abdication Crisis, Mary was the princess who redefined the title for the modern age. In the first biography in decades, Elisabeth Basford offers a fresh appraisal of Mary's full and fascinating life.

The acclaimed biography by Jeffrey Robinson, now revised and updated to coincide with the major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman as Princess Grace.
It was one of the most famous romances of the 20th century--Europe's most eligible bachelor, Prince Rainier of Monaco, and America's most beautiful movie star, the Academy Award-winning actress Grace Kelly, fell in love against the backdrop of the closest thing the modern world has to a magical kingdom, the French Riviera's Principality of Monaco.
Told with affection and humor, and written with the unprecedented cooperation of Prince Rainier III and his children, Prince Albert, Princess Caroline, and Princess Stephanie, Grace of Monaco takes readers beneath the surface glitz and the glamour of Monte Carlo for a never-to-be-forgotten portrait of the House of Grimaldi.