Queen. Mother. Servant. Friend. This is the most intimate portrait of our longest serving monarch, an inspiration to her country: Queen Elizabeth II. Get to know the real Elizabeth in the definitive biography from the bestselling British Royal Family writer 'To have any understanding of the Queen you must first read this book' Amanda Foreman 'Emotional, personal, human, insightful and moving. You will be a better person for reading and learning from this book' 5***** Reader Review 'Extensively researched, fluently written and containing a lot of intriguing information. Much to recommend' Daily Telegraph ________ We knew her as the Queen. But she was so much more. Playing with her children at the Palace, crawling on her stomach to stalk deer, donning yellow Marigolds to wash up after Balmoral cookouts; this was Queen Elizabeth going about her daily life. Performing a duty she cherished. Serving a nation she loved. In this, the first all-round, up-close picture of her remarkable life, readers finally get meet the real Queen. With exclusive access to her personal letters, close friends and associates, this intimate biography is a treasure trove of insights on her public persona and private life. In these pages we have the honour of meeting the leader, strategist, and diplomat; the daughter, wife, mother and grandmother - Elizabeth the Queen. ________ 'A phenomenal biography about a truly incredible leader and human being' 5***** Reader Review

When Philip IV of Spain died in 1665, his heir, Carlos II, was three years old. In addition to this looming dynastic crisis, decades of enormous military commitments had left Spain a virtually bankrupt state with vulnerable frontiers and a depleted army. In Silvia Z. Mitchell's revisionist account, Queen, Mother, and Stateswoman, Queen Regent Mariana of Austria emerges as a towering figure at court and on the international stage, while her key collaborators-the secretaries, ministers, and diplomats who have previously been ignored or undervalued-take their rightful place in history. Mitchell provides a nuanced account of Mariana of Austria's ten-year regency (1665-75) of the global Spanish Empire and examines her subsequent role as queen mother. Drawing from previously unmined primary sources, including Council of State deliberations, diplomatic correspondence, Mariana's and Carlos's letters, royal household papers, manuscripts, and legal documents, Mitchell describes how, over the course of her regency, Mariana led the monarchy out of danger and helped redefine the military and diplomatic blocs of Europe in Spain's favor. She follows Mariana's exile from court and recounts how the dowager queen used her extensive connections and diplomatic experience to move the negotiations for her son's marriage forward, effectively exploiting the process to regain her position. A new narrative of the Spanish Habsburg monarchy in the later seventeenth century, this volume advances our knowledge of women's legitimate political entitlement in the early modern period. It will be welcomed by scholars and students of queenship, women's studies, and early modern Spain.

Robert the Bruce had himself crowned King of Scots at Scone on a frozen March morning in 1306. After years of struggle, Scotland had been reduced to a vassal state by Edward I of England and its people lived in poverty. On the day he seized the crown Bruce renewed the fight for Scotland's freedom, and let forth a battle cry that would echo through the centuries. Using contemporary accounts, Ronald McNair Scott tells the story of Scotland's legendary leader, and one of Europe's most remarkable medieval kings. It is a story with episodes as romantic as those of King Arthur, but also one which belongs in the annals of Scottish History, and has shaped a nation.