Following the dramatic announcement that Richard III's body had been discovered, past controversies have been matched by fresh disputes. Why is Richard III England's most controversial king? The question of his reburial has provoked national debate and protest, taking levels of interest in the medieval king to an unprecedented level. While Richard's life remains able to polarise opinion, the truth probably lies somewhere between the maligned saint and the evil hunchback stereotypes. Why did he seize the throne? Did he murder the Princes in the Tower? Why have the location and details of his reburial sparked a parliamentary debate? This book will act as both an introduction to his life and reign and a commemoration to tie in with his reburial.

Spirited biography and quest to unearth the secrets of Princess Louise -- a royal desperate to escape her inheritance.
The secrets of Queen Victoria's sixth child, Princess Louise, may be destined to remain hidden forever. What was so dangerous about this artistic, tempestuous royal that her life has been documented more by rumour and gossip than hard facts? When Lucinda Hawksley started to investigate, often thwarted by inexplicable secrecy, she discovered a fascinating woman, modern before her time, whose story has been shielded for years from public view.
Louise was a sculptor and painter, friend to the Pre-Raphaelites and a keen member of the Aesthetic movement. The most feisty of the Victorian princesses, she kicked against her mother's controlling nature and remained fiercely loyal to her brothers -- especially the sickly Leopold and the much-maligned Bertie. She sought out other unconventional women, including Josephine Butler and George Eliot, and campaigned for education and health reform and for the rights of women. She battled with her indomitable mother for permission to practice the 'masculine' art of sculpture and go to art college -- and in doing so became the first British princess to attend a public school.
The rumours of Louise's colourful love life persist even today, with hints of love affairs dating as far back as her teenage years, and notable scandals included entanglements with her sculpting tutor Joseph Edgar Boehm and possibly even her sister Princess Beatrice's handsome husband, Liko. True to rebellious form, she refused all royal suitors and became the first member of the royal family to marry a commoner since the sixteenth century.
Spirited and lively, "The Mystery of Princess Louise" is richly packed with arguments, intrigues, scandals and secrets, and is a vivid portrait of a princess desperate to escape her inheritance.

Take a journey into the world of China's most feared Empress. This true story was the first eyewitness account of the Imperial Court written by a Chinese aristocrat for Western readers. It provides an up-close personal view of the notorious Dowager Empress Tzu-hsi in the final years of her reign. Enhanced with rich imagery and additional historical notes, "Two Years in the Forbidden City" is a vivid trip into the grandeur and intrigue of China's last dynasty. * Featuring a new introduction, author biography and afterword by author/editor Noel Fletcher which provides context for this book in modern Chinese history. * Includes interesting historical details and photos about China's infamous Dowager Empress Tzu-hsi (Cixi), the Boxer Rebellion, the Imperial Court, and other people featured in the narrative. * Illustrated with 100+ historical photographs, illustrations, and paintings from the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Learn about the lives and reigns of 48 English monarchs, from the ninth century to the present day, including Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror, Richard the Lion-hearted, Richard III, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell, George III, Victoria, and Elizabeth II. Also includes descriptions of the Houses of Lancaster, York, Tudor, and Stuart.

Henry the Navigator, fifteenth-century Portuguese prince and explorer, is a legendary, almost mythical figure in late medieval history. Considered along with Columbus to be one of the progenitors of modernity, Prince Henry challenged the scientific assumptions of his age and was responsible for liberating Europeans from geographical restraints that had bound them since the Roman Empire's collapse. In this enthralling account of Henry's life-the first biography of "The Navigator" in more than a century-Peter Russell reaps the harvest of a lifelong study of Prince Henry. Making full use of documentary evidence only recently available, Russell reevaluates Henry and his role in Portuguese and European history. Examining the full range of Prince Henry's activities, Russell discusses the explorer's image as an imperialist and as a maritime, mathematical, and navigational pioneer. He considers Henry's voyages of discovery in the African Atlantic, their economic and cultural consequences, and the difficult questions they generated regarding international law and papal jurisdiction. Russell demonstrates the degree to which Henry was motivated by the predictions of his astrologer-an aspect of his career little known until now-and explains how this innovator, though firmly rooted in medieval ways of thinking and behaving, set in motion a current of change that altered European history.

*Includes pictures of Marat and important people, places, and events in his life.
*Includes a detailed analysis of Marat's notorious assassination and his legacy.
*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.
"People, give thanks to the gods Your most redoubtable enemy has fallen beneath the scythe of Fate." - Jean-Paul Marat
A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' French series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of France's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.
King Louis XVI gave the French Revolution a scapegoat. Robespierre gave the French Revolution a leader. And Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793) gave the French Revolution a voice. One of the most memorable and notorious revolutionaries, Marat became one of the Revolution's best known figures through his speeches, writings, and scathing attacks on everyone he perceived as "enemies of the revolution." It's possible that the Jacobins might not have come to power in 1793 without Marat's fiery work championing the lower classes and branding his political foes with the harshest demagoguery. No revolutionary was more passionate, determined and willing to die for the cause.
Marat's work during the French Revolution and his notorious death at the height of it remain the best known details of his life. Indeed, the image of the Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David is one of the most commonly associated with the Revolution. But those facts have obscured what the man himself was really like. A trained scientist who served as a doctor before the Revolution, Marat counted among his acquaintances luminaries like Goethe and Benjamin Franklin. At the same time, Marat was an Enlightened political philosopher who advocated for basic human rights and reforms such as fair trials by jury.
Of course, all of his work took a backseat to his writing as "Friend of the People" at the beginning of the Revolution, setting Marat down his fateful path. Perhaps no revolutionary has a more controversial legacy; Marat has long been praised by those who appreciate his work on behalf of the masses, and reviled by those who point out his violence and the course of the Jacobin-led Reign of Terror. French Legends: The Life and Legacy of Jean-Paul Marat looks at the life and work of one of history's most famous revolutionaries, explaining his role in the French Revolution and analyzing his legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Marat like you never have before, in no time at all.

Richard II, son of the Black Prince, had a dramatic and contentious kingship. At fourteen he faced down the ringleaders of the Peasant Revolt of 1381; only to reach the nadir of his royal authority in 1388 with the Merciless Parliament. Yet in only a decade, his rule was being referred to as 'the tyranny'. This collection of essays by leading historians aims to re-evaluate the frequently biased evidence and create a rounded portrait of this fascinating and much maligned figure.

Eleanor of Castile, the remarkable woman behind England's greatest medieval king, Edward I, has been effectively airbrushed from history; yet she had one of the most fascinating lives of any of England's queens. Her childhood was spent in the centre of the Spanish reconquest and was dominated by her military hero of a father (St Ferdinand) and her prodigiously clever brother (King Alfonso X the Learned). Married at the age of twelve and a mother at thirteen, she gave birth to at least sixteen children, most of whom died young. She was a prisoner for a year amid a civil war in which her husband's life was in acute danger. Devoted to Edward, she accompanied him everywhere. All in all, she was to live for extended periods in five different countries. Eleanor was a highly dynamic, forceful personality who acted as part of Edward's innermost circle of advisers, and successfully accumulated a vast property empire for the English Crown. In cultural terms her influence in architecture and design - and even gardening - can be discerned to this day, while her idealised image still speaks to us from Edward's beautiful memorials to her, the Eleanor crosses. This book reveals her untold story.

This explosive, evidence-based book is the most shocking, revealing, yet factual work written on the 1997 Paris car crash that took the lives of Princess Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed. Diana Inquest: Who Killed Princess Diana? includes evidence showing the assassination of Princess Diana was carried out by the British intelligence agency, MI6, on orders from senior members of the British royal family. Sensational new revelations include documentary and witness evidence which demonstrates that the top three MI6 officers in Paris were replaced by more senior officers in the days immediately prior to the Paris crash. Analysis of testimony from MI6 officers reveals they lied repeatedly during their inquest cross-examinations. There is strong evidence of MI6 involvement in two failed assassination plots against high-profile world leaders in the 18 month period leading up to the successful Diana assassination This book also exposes Rosa Monckton - wife of former newspaper editor, Dominic Lawson - as an MI6 agent who spied on Princess Diana. Who Killed Princess Diana? covers the role of the Queen and senior royals in the deaths. It reveals evidence of a special rescheduled meeting of the royal Way Ahead Group - chaired by the Queen - being held just 39 days before Princess Diana was assassinated. Analysis of the inquest testimony of the private secretaries of the Queen and Prince Philip shows they both lied about the nature and content of Way Ahead Group meetings. This volume - the fifth in the Diana Inquest series - also includes evidence showing that British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, had prior knowledge of the assassination of Princess Diana. The book reveals how the inquest judge, Lord Justice Scott Baker, deliberately prevented his jury from being able to piece together the evidence that could have allowed them to understand the roles played by MI6 and the royal family in the deaths of Diana and Dodi The Diana Inquest series of books is based on forensic analysis of the testimony heard during the 2007-08 inquest, and also on evidence from the British police investigation that was withheld from the inquest jury. A leading UK QC, Michael Mansfield, who served throughout the six months of the London inquest, has stated "I have no doubt that the volumes written by John Morgan] will come to be regarded as the 'Magnum Opus' on the crash ... that resulted in the unlawful killing of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed and the cover-up that followed." Dodi's father, Mohamed Al Fayed has said: "I believe that John Morgan has done more to expose the facts of this case than the police in France and Britain."

12th-century Europe revolves around the remarkable life of Eleanor of Aquitaine - Duchess, Queen of both France and England, and mother of Richard Lionheart and John Lackland. Eleanor and her husbands, Louis VII and Henry II, set the tone for an era. Ain's Song follows Eleanor's story through the eyes of her cousin, Ain of Poitiers. The adventures moves from the taverns, courts and cities of medieval France, England and Italy, from Celtic lore, the construction of great cathedrals, crusades and pilgrimages, to the courts of love and music, poetry and plays of the troubadours and jongleurs. Ain's Song is the winner of the Florida National League of American Pen Women award for best in unpublished fiction. "I love this story. Alice Moerk has captured the mood and tone of the period with credible accuaracy and rousing humour." Dannie Russell, Uganda "I love Ain, a strong, insightful woman." -Rev. Rosemary Backer, Holmes Beach, Florida - ..".a very sense of places and travels." Dr. Elizabeth Waterson, London, Ontario -Alice is also the author of the New Found Souls series of novels.

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.

The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Prussia (Germany);

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)

Edward the Confessor was the son of King Aethelred the Unready of the House of Wessex. The family was exiled to Normandy when the Danish invaded England in 1013 but, with the nation in crisis on the death of King Harthacnut twenty-nine years later, Edward was named King of England, restoring the throne to English rule. Often portrayed as a holy simpleton, Edward was in fact a wily and devious king. For most kings a childless marriage would have been an Achilles' heel, but Edward turned it to his advantage. He cunningly played off his potential rivals and successors, using the prize of the throne as leverage. Though his reign was peaceful, his death would wreak havoc. Bloody wars were waged, two claimants were cut down and William the Conqueror earned his name. Edward's posthumous reputation grew as stories were spread by the monks of his magnificent foundation, Westminster Abbey. The childless king was transformed into a chaste, pious and holy man. Miracles were attributed to him and he was credited with the King's Touch - the ability to cure illnesses by touch alone. In 1161 he was canonised as Saint Edward the Confessor and to this day he remains the patron saint of the royal family.

Louis XIV, the highly-feted "Sun King," was renowned for his political and cultural influence and for raising France to a new level of prominence in seventeenth-century Europe. And yet, as Antonia Fraser keenly describes, he was equally legendary in the domestic sphere. Indeed, a panoply of women -- his wife Anne; mistresses such as Louise de la Valliere, Athenais de Montespan, and the puritanical Madame de Maintenon; and an array of courtesans -- moved in and out of the court. The highly visible presence of these women raises many questions about their position in both Louis XIV's life and in France at large. With careful research and vivid, engaging prose, Fraser makes the multifaceted life of one of the most famous European monarchs accessible and vibrantly current.

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.

Queen Victoria fell in love with the Riviera when she discovered it on her first visit to Menton in 1882 and her enchantment with this 'paradise of nature' endured for almost twenty years. Victoria's visits helped to transform the French Riviera by paving the way for other European royalty, the aristocracy and the very rich, who were to turn it into their pleasure garden. Michael Nelson paints a fascinating portrait of Victoria and her dealings with local people of all classes, statesmen and the constant stream of visiting crown heads. In the process, we see an unexpected side to Victoria: not the imperious, petulant, mourning widow but rather an exuberant girlish old lady thrilled by her surroundings. "Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera" is an absorbing and revealing account that makes an important contribution to both our understanding of Victoria's character and personality and our view of the late Victorian period.

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.