Henry III (1207-72) reigned for 56 years, the longest-serving English monarch until the modern era. Although knighted by William Marshal, he was no warrior king like his uncle Richard the Lionheart. He preferred to feed the poor to making war and would rather spend time with his wife and children than dally with mistresses and lord over roundtables. He sought to replace the dull projection of power imported by his Norman predecessors with a more humane and open-hearted monarchy. But his ambition led him to embark on bold foreign policy initiatives to win back the lands and prestige lost by his father King John. This set him at odds with his increasingly insular barons and clergy, now emboldened by the protections of Magna Carta. In one of the great political duels of history, Henry struggled to retain the power and authority of the crown against radical reformers like Simon de Montfort. He emerged victorious, but at a cost both to the kingdom and his reputation among historians. Yet his long rule also saw extraordinary advancements in politics and the arts, from the rise of the parliamentary state and universities to the great cathedrals of the land, including Henry's own enduring achievement, Westminster Abbey.

This is the first biography of the fateful relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. It was the defining relationship of their lives, and marked the intersection of the great Tudor and Stuart dynasties, a landmark event in British history. Distinguished biographer Jane Dunn reveals an extraordinary story of two queens ruling in one isle, both embodying opposing qualities of character, ideals of womanliness and of divinely ordained kingship. Theirs is a drama of sex and power, recklessness, ambition and political intrigue, with a rivalry that could only be resolved by death. As regent queens in an overwhelmingly masculine world, they were deplored for their femininity, compared unfavourably with each other, and courted by the same men. By placing this dynamic and ever-changing relationship at the centre of the book, Dunn throws new light and meaning on the complexity of their natures. She reveals an Elizabeth revolutionary in her insistence on ruling alone, while Mary is not the romantic victim of history, but a courageous adventurer with a reckless heart. Vengeful against her enemies and the more ruthless of the two, she was untroubled by plotting Elizabeth's murder. Elizabeth, however, was in anguish at having to sanction Mary's death warrant for treason. Working almost exclusively from contemporary letters and writings, she lets them speak to us across more than four hundred years, their voices and responses surprisingly familiar to our own, their characters vivid, by turns touching and terrible.

Kate Middleton is the girl everyone wants to be.

Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton is living a perfect Cinderella fairy tale. She is engaged to Britain's most desirable bachelor--and now she's the future queen of England

Academically gifted and sophisticated beyond her years, this dark-haired beauty possesses the natural poise and impeccable breeding necessary for the wife-to-be of the heir to the throne. She has charmed Prince William and his circle and captivated the entire House of Windsor. Yet there is a history behind her polished veneer that would surprise any royal court observer--an extraordinary, inspiring, and deeply moving tale of an impoverished working-class family that overcame deprivation and adversity to rise to the upper echelons of British society.

Based on exclusive and intimate interviews with Kate's closest friends and relatives, and illustrated throughout with photographs, many published here for the very first time, Claudia Joseph's Kate: The Making of a Princess is a fascinating portrait of the extraordinary young woman who will be queen--and the story of a family's remarkable journey from the mining villages of Durham to an apartment in the royal residence of Clarence House.

This genealogy is a study in the old world as well as the new. Extensive references have been given, countless books have been consulted, nearly all procured from New England Historical and Genealogical Society, and to "Colonial Families," compiled by the New York Historical Society. The author depended on printed records, and when authorities differed, a conclusion was reached by critical comparison and the weighing of evidence. Many family records never printed before have been used. Mrs. Rixford, a noted genealogist and author of several works, including "Three Hundred Colonial Ancestors and War Service," has traced from Cerdic, first of the West Saxon Kings, 495, through Alfred the Great, 849, Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, King Henry I, II and III, King Edward I, II and III, also many other royal lines through Charlemagne, Louis I, Earls of Warren, Dukes of Normandy, Royal House of Portugal, House of Capet, Counts of Anjou, Kings of Jerusalem, and many other royal families too numerous to name. She has also included several Mayflower lines connected to all members of the Vermont Society of Mayflower Descendants, who are direct descendants of these lines. Those with ancestry to the Earls of Warren have been connected up to the royal families. The book also includes the ancestry of Gen. George Washington, the first President of the United States, traced back 1,000 years to the Earl of Orkney Isles, the founder of the Washington family. It also contains the ancestry of Gen. Nathaniel Greene, who ranked next in military fame to George Washington. Other families addressed in this volume include: Aquitaine, Angouleme, Anjoy, Baskerville, Beauchamp, Bray, Bulkeley, Capet, Castille, Cheney, James Chilton, Francis Cooke, Courtenay, Rixford, De Vere, Farleigh-Hungerford, Devereux, Douglas, Drake, Eaton, Ferrers, Fitz-Alan, Flanders, Graves, Greene, Gregory, Hainault, Heydon, Johnson, William Latham, Lawrence (John and Isaac), Lisle, Marshall, Milbourne, Moore, Mowbray, Phelps, Port, Province, Rogers, Russell, Seymour, De Spineto, Smith and Georges, Sir Henry Smith, Stanley, Throckmorton, Tailefer, Vermandois, Warren, Washburn, Washington, Winnington (Wynnington), Gov. Thomas Welles, Whitney, William the Conqueror, Winslow, and Wyne.

'Highly readable and deeply researched' - Andrew Roberts 'Masterful ... brilliantly brings to life one of the most complex characters of modern European history' - Sunday Telegraph 'It is sure to be the standard English-language account for many years. It instructs; it entertains; and it surprises' - Philip Mansel, The Spectator Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, dominated the eighteenth century in the same way that Napoleon dominated the start of the nineteenth. He was a force of nature, a ruthless, brilliant, charismatic military commander, a monarch of exceptional energy and talent, a gifted composer, performer, poet and philosopher, and a discerning patron of artists, architects and writers, most famously Voltaire. From the very start of his reign he was an intensely divisive figure - fascinating even to those who hated him. Tim Blanning's brilliant new biography captures Frederick's vitality, complexity and flawed genius better than any previous writer. He also recreates a remarkable era, the last flowering of the old regime that would be swept away almost immediately after Frederick's death by the French Revolution. Equally at home on the battlefield or in the music room at Frederick's extraordinary miniature palace of Sanssouci, Blanning draws on a lifetime's immersion in the eighteenth century to present him in the round, with new attention paid to his cultural self-fashioning, including his sexuality. Frederick's spectre has hung over Germany ever since, both as inspiration and warning - Blanning at last allows us to understand him in his own time.

It is the tragedy of Queen Mary that today, 450 years after her death, she remains the most hated, least understood monarch in English history--remembered best for burning hundreds of Protestant heretics at the stake. Linda Porter's pioneering new biography cuts through the myths to reveal the truth about the first queen to rule England in her own right. Daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, Mary Tudor was a cultured Renaissance princess who was brought to the throne by an audacious coup. She made a grand marriage to Philip of Spain, but her attempts to revitalize England at home and abroad were cut short by her early death at the age of forty-two. The first popular biography of Mary in thirty years, "The Myth of "Bloody Mary"" offers a fascinating, controversial look at this much-maligned queen.

Edward II's death at Berkeley Castle in 1327, murdered by having a red-hot poker inserted inside him, is one of the most famous and lurid tales in all of English history. But is it true? For five and a half centuries, few people questioned it, but with the discovery in a Montpellier archive of a remarkable document, an alternative narrative has presented itself: that Edward escaped from Berkeley Castle and made his way to Ireland, to the pope in Avignon and through Brabant, Cologne and Milan to an Italian hermitage. Was Edward in fact still alive years after his supposed death? Many influential people among his contemporaries certainly believed that he was, and acted upon that belief. In Long Live the King, medieval historian Kathryn Warner explores in detail Edward's downfall and forced abdication in 1326/27, the role played in it by his wife Isabella of France, the wide variation in chronicle accounts of his murder at Berkeley Castle, and the fascinating possibility that Edward lived on in Italy for many years after his official funeral was held in Gloucester in December 1327.

Tender, moving, heartfelt and warm (and sporadically scandalous and outrageous too), these are the private messages between people in love. Yet they are also correspondence between the rulers of nations. From Henry VIII's lovelorn notes to Anne Boleyn and George IV's impassioned notes to his secret wife, to Queen Victoria's tender letters to Prince Albert and Edward VIII's extraordinary correspondence with Wallis Simpson - these letters depict romantic love from its budding passion to the comfort and understanding of a long union (and occasionally beyond to resentment and recrimination), all set against the background of great affairs of state, wars and the strictures of royal duty. Here is a chance to glimpse behind the pomp and ceremony, the carefully curated images of royal splendour and decorum, to see the passions, hopes, jealousies and loneliness of kings and queens throughout history. By turns tender, moving, heartfelt and warm (and sporadically scandalous and outrageous too), these are the private messages between people in love. Yet they are also correspondence between the rulers of nations, whose actions (and passions) changed the course of history, for good and bad. This morning I received your dear, dear letter of the 21st. How happy do you make me with your love! Oh! my Angel Albert, I am quite enchanted with it! I do not deserve such love! Never, never did I think I could be loved so much. Queen Victoria to Prince Albert (28 November 1839)

An engrossing, unadulterated biography of "Bloody Mary"-elder daughter of Henry VIII, Catholic zealot, and England's first reigning Queen Mary Tudor was the first woman to inherit the throne of England. Reigning through one of Britain's stormiest eras, she earned the nickname "Bloody Mary" for her violent religious persecutions. She was born a princess, the daughter of Henry VIII and the Spanish Katherine of Aragon. Yet in the wake of Henry's break with Rome, Mary, a devout Catholic, was declared illegitimate and was disinherited. She refused to accept her new status or to recognize Henry's new wife, Anne Boleyn, as queen. She faced imprisonment and even death. Mary successfully fought to reclaim her rightful place in the Tudor line, but her coronation would not end her struggles. She flouted fierce opposition in marrying Philip of Spain, sought to restore England to the Catholic faith, and burned hundreds of dissenters at the stake. But beneath her hard exterior was a woman whose private traumas of phantom pregnancies, debilitating illnesses, and unrequited love played out in the public glare of the fickle court. Though often overshadowed by her long-reigning sister, Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor was a complex figure of immense courage, determination, and humanity-and a political pioneer who proved that a woman could rule with all the power of her male predecessors.

Diana The Voice of Change throws a new light on the most famous woman of her time. Discover the truth about Diana s extraordinary life principles. Learn what created her love and the secret keys that focused her destiny. You can use these same keys to focus your own destiny, to help you find the voice of change that resonates with your whole being, and assists you to live your soul s purpose. This is the legacy that Diana wanted to give the women and men of the world! Learn: how Diana achieved freedom from oppression how she became a force of liberation that literally shook the world why she was taken from us to become a force of Divine Inspiration. Although Diana may no longer be in flesh, her spirit lives on communicating to us all. If you've wondered how Diana Princess of Wales developed the courage and power to bring about vast change in her life and that of the Royal Family, you can find out right here. If you would like to discover where Diana's love, hope and radiance came from, those essential qualities that helped to heal the colossal challenges she faced, and then moved her to become the Global Super Star, the information is within Stewart's extraordinary book "DIANA THE VOICE OF CHANGE". If you were startled by Diana's beauty and essence this book will reveal the key principles and empowerments that gave her the ability to express the wonder and awe that you so admired and still hear about - this book could even be an answer to some of your challenges!

Wife, widow, mother, survivor, the story of the last queen of Henry VIII. Catherine Parr was enjoying her freedom after her first two arranged marriages when she caught the attention of the elderly Henry VIII. The most reluctant of all Henry's wives, she offered to become his mistress rather than submit herself to the dangers of becoming Henry's queen. This only increased Henry's enthusiasm for the vibrant, intelligent young widow and Catherine was forced to abandon her handsome lover, Thomas Seymour, for the decrepit king. She quickly made her role as queen a success, providing Henry VIII with a domestic tranquillity that he had not known since the early days of his first marriage. For Henry, Catherine was a satisfactory choice but he never stopped considering a new marriage, much to Catherine's terror. Catherine is remembered as the wife who survived but, without her strength of character it could have been very different. It was a relief for Catherine when Henry finally died and she could secretly marry Thomas Seymour. Left with no role in government affairs in her widowhood, she retired to the country, spending time at her manors at Chelsea and Sudeley. It was here that her heart was broken by her discovery of a love affair between her stepdaughter, the future Elizabeth I, and her husband. She died in childbirth accusing her husband of plotting her death. Traditionally portrayed as a matronly and dutiful figure, Elizabeth Norton's new biography shows another side to Catherine. Her life was indeed one of duty but, throughout, she attempted to escape her destiny and find happiness for herself. Ultimately, Catherine was betrayed and her great love affair with Thomas Seymour turned sour.

"NEW YORK TIMES "BESTSELLER
Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer provides a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty--and some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. In 1485, Henry Tudor, whose claim to the English throne was so weak as to be almost laughable, nevertheless sailed from France with a ragtag army to take the crown from the family that had ruled England for almost four centuries. Fifty years later, his son, Henry VIII, aimed to seize even greater powers--ultimately leaving behind a brutal legacy that would blight the lives of his children and the destiny of his country. Edward VI, a fervent believer in reforming the English church, died before realizing his dream. Mary I, the disgraced daughter of Catherine of Aragon, tried and failed to reestablish the Catholic Church and produce an heir, while Elizabeth I sacrificed all chance of personal happiness in order to survive.
"The Tudors" presents the sinners and saints, the tragedies and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes, of this enthralling era.

Described as 'greedy and grasping, and raised from nothing', the Woodviles have had a bad press. This book investigates the family origins, and explains the rise and fall of the senior branch from 'baron' to gentry, and how, in the early fifteenth century the wheel of fortune turned dramatically in favour of the junior branch in Northamptonshire, who rose to the highest level of society. Sir Richard Woodvile was placed in the service of John, Duke of Bedford at his court in Rouen. When the duke died he then secretly married his widow Jacquetta, and in 1464 their daughter Elizabeth made an extraordinary marriage to the young king, Edward IV. This move attracted criticism at the time and resulted in a period of slander which continues to this day: was the Woodviles 'blackened reputation' the result of a concerted campaign by one man, Richard, Earl of Warwick, who was jealous of the Woodviles and eager to retrieve his position as kingmaker.

James Graham was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier who joined the Covenanters but sided with Charles I as the English Civil War progressed. Through a string of brilliant military victories, Montrose won the civil war in Scotland until it was plain that Charles I's failure in England was so total that nothing could be salvaged. Montrose mesmerised all Europe. His triumphs make him one of the outstanding figures of the era. In the end he was a victim of politics, a fate he gave every sign of welcoming. If he could not prevail as a warrior, he preferred to pay the ultimate price. In his own exuberant writings, both prose and poetry, Montrose expresses an astonishing confidence in his Godgiven role as hero. Hanged and with his body mutilated and cut to pieces in 1650, in 1661 his limbs were brought back from Glasgow, Perth, Stirling and Aberdeen, his head removed from a spike and he was re-buried in Holyrood Abbey. This is the first full biography of this extraordinary man in fifty years.

Here is the tragic, stormy life of Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII and Katherine of Aragon. Her story is a chronicle of courage and faith, betrayal and treachery—set amidst the splendor, pageantry, squalor, and intrigue of sixteenth-century Europe.

The history of Mary Tudor is an improbable blend of triumph, humiliation, heartbreak, and devotion—and Ms. Erickson recounts it all against the turbulent background of European politics, war, and religious strife of the mid-1500s. The result is a rare portrait of the times and of a woman elevated to unprecedented power in a world ruled and defined by men.

A lively, authoritative and revealing portrait of the Queen's life and work through the eyes of those who've known her and worked with her over the last 50 years. Queen Elizabeth is the most experienced figure in British public life. The most famous woman in the world, she is also the most private. The Queen has earned widespread respect and admiration as one of the most remarkable people of our time. How she has always put country and Commonwealth before family and personal happiness is the central theme of this book. Now, in her fiftieth year on the throne, Brian Hoey takes a searching look at the ups and downs of Her Majesty's long reign. He has had unrivalled access to past and present members of the royal staff and household for over twenty years, and has talked to many ex-Heads of State, statesmen, politicians and personal friends of the Queen

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.

The tragic, compelling story of the last Tsar and his family Nicholas & Alexandra is the internationally famous biography from Pulitzer prize-winner Robert Massie. Massie shows conclusively how the personal curse of the young heir's haemophilia, and the decisive influence it brought Rasputin, became fatally linked with the collapse of Imperial Russia. As an engrossing account of one of the century's most dramatic episodes - and an intimate portrait of two people caught at the centre of a maelstrom - Nicholas & Alexandra is unlikely ever to be surpassed. 'The story of the last Tsar has probably never been so powerfully - and so accurately - told' Guardian

'Fresh, gripping and vivid' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Majestically narrated' Dan Jones 'A portrait that chills you to the bone' Leanda de Lisle, The Times A dedicated brother and loyal stalwart to the Yorkist dynasty for most of his early life, Richard's personality was forged in the tribulation of exile and the brutality of combat. An ambitious nobleman and successful general with a loyal following, he could claim to have achieved every ambition in life except one: the crown. By stripping back the legends that surround England's most controversial king and returning to original manuscript evidence, Chris Skidmore's compelling biography reveals Richard III as contemporaries saw him.