Royalty

Alfred the Great's daughter defied all expectations of a well-bred Saxon princess. The first Saxon woman ever to rule a kingdom, Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, led her army in battle against Viking invaders. She further broke with convention by...

This gossipy account of Louis XIV is a clear and fascinating historical biography from Nancy Mitford. ...

Of Queen Victoria's four sons, the eldest married a Danish princess, one a Russian Grand Duchess, and the other two princesses of German royal houses. The first to join the family of the Grandmama of Europe' was Alexandra, eldest daughter of the prince...

THE ROYALLY BRILLIANT THIRD BOOK IN THE HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN INVESTIGATES MYSTERY SERIES.____________________December 2016 - A severed hand is found washed up on a beach next to the Queen's estate at Sandringham.Elizabeth has become quite accustomed to...

A bold new analysis of one of history's most misrepresented women. History has lied. Anne Boleyn has been sold to us as a dark figure, a scheming seductress who bewitched Henry VIII into divorcing his queen and his church in an unprecedented...

Edward I-one of the outstanding monarchs of the English Middle Ages-pioneered legal and parliamentary change in England, conquered Wales, and came close to conquering Scotland. A major player in European diplomacy and war, he acted as peacemaker during...

''An astonishing account...' --- The Daily Mail '... an extraordinary new portrait of the former King, his recollections and feelings'. --- The Telegraph'Tippett has made a remarkable archival discovery...the most consequential book to appear on Edward...

Historians and broadcasters Peter Snow and Ann Macmillan tell the real stories of the most powerful men and women in British history.From Alfred the Great to Charles III, Kings & Queens explores the lives, loves, triumphs and disasters of a monarchy that...

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...

Featuring tales of murder, adultery, beheadings, civil war, usurpation and madness, Divorced, Beheaded, Died... takes you on a gallop through the history of all of England's kings and queens, plus some of the less well-known Scots and Welsh rulers.From...

Following a youth of poverty and bitter exile after his father's execution, the ousted king first challenged, then made his magnificent escape from, Cromwell's troops before he was eventually restored to his throne in triumph in 1660.Spanning his life...

We are honoured to announce the re-release of the first ever Pitkin title, published by Mr Pitkin in 1947 to celebrate the magical wedding day of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. It was a day of colourful...

Since 1066 when William the Conqueror (alias William the Bastard) took the throne, English and Scottish kings have sired at least 150 children out of wedlock. Many were acknowledged at court and founded dynasties of their own - several of today's...

Described by Christopher Marlowe as the 'She-Wolf of France', Isabella was one of the most notorious femme fatales in history. According to popular legend, her angry ghost can be glimpsed among church ruins, clutching the beating heart of her murdered...

"AEthelstan was perhaps the most important king of tenth-century England, but we know very little about him, and he has no modern biography. Sarah Foot triumphantly fills this gap, and adds to the richness of our understanding of the period in a way that...

A thrilling new account of the tragic life and troubled times of Henry VI. 'The best life of Henry VI now in print' DAN JONES. 'Vivid, absorbing and richly detailed' HELEN CASTOR. 'A well-crafted moving account of a tragic reign' MICHAEL JONES. ...

'The best account so far of the most notorious woman... Andrew Morton presents a convincing picture of Wallis Simpson's rip-roaring sexual and social adventures and her curious marriage to the Duke of Windsor... His new research adds to our knowledge of...

A gripping family saga and a portrait of a world in turmoilThe Princesses of Hesse were Queen Victoria's grandchildren. After the sudden death of her daughter Alice, Queen Victoria took an obsessive interest in the marriage prospects of the four girls...

A stunning tour de force and a remarkable achievement.- Alison WeirThis is Our Island Story for the modern age. - Charles Spencer'Not just a brilliant compendium of biographies, but the biography of an institution: a marvellous read' - Tom Holland'This...

Read the thrilling, tempestuous story of the 'first' Queen of England. Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, was the first woman to be crowned Queen of England and formally recognised as such by her subjects. Beyond this, however, little is known of...

'To be a medieval king was a job of work ... This was a man who knew how to run a complex organization. He was England's CEO'The youngest of William the Conqueror's sons, Henry I came to unchallenged power only after two of his brothers died in strange...

COMMEMORATE THE HISTORIC CORONATION OF THE NEW KING 'To Charles, being monarch has nothing to do with power - he believes his role is to lead. It is up to others whether they choose to follow.'When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022,...

* * 'Very funny and astute . . . a loathly feast for royal-watchers' Hilary Mantel, New Statesman Books of the Year 2018'Almost every page is a gem'A. N. Wilson, Spectator Christmas Books'A complete delight, conjuring up, with a few sharp strokes of the...

Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort had nine children who despite their very different characters, remained a close-knit family. Inevitably, as they married into European royal families their loyalties were divided and their lives dominated by...

Aidan Dodson's British Royal Tombs covers all the burials of the kings, queens (and lords protector) of England, Scotland and the United Kingdom, from the occupant of the great Sutton Hoo ship burial, to George VI, last Emperor of India, including of...

Bestselling royal historian David Starkey's captivating biography is a radical re-evaluation of Henry VIII, the British monarchy's most enduring icon. Larger than life in every sense, Henry VIII was Britain's most absolute monarch - but he was...

'Leanda de Lisle brings the story of nine days' queen, Lady Jane Grey and her forgotten sisters, the rivals of Elizabeth I, to vivid life in her fascinating biography' Philippa Gregory The dramatic...

Royal women wield a unique, quiet kind of power. They use their clothing choices and their styling preferences to create a visual brand that is at once aspirational and accessible, and to project a sartorial statement that encompasses their values,...

Louis XIV was a man in pursuit of glory. Not content to be the ruler of a world power, he wanted the power to rule the world. And, for a time, he came tantalizingly close. Philip Mansel's King of the World is the most comprehensive and up-to-date...

'The Duchess does indeed seem a remarkable woman . . . this is an engaging book' - Lynn Barber, Daily TelegraphWhen Emma Watkins, the pony-mad daughter of a Welsh farmer, imagined her future, she imagined following in her mother's footsteps to marry a...

From the bestselling author of The Secret Wife and The Manhattan Girls, Another Woman's Husband will be adored by all fans of The Crown. Wallis Simpson is brought enticingly to life in this gripping, moving novel about two women thrust into the...

When Henry VIII died in 1547, he left three highly intelligent children to succeed him in turn, to be followed, if their lines failed, by the descendants of his sister, Mary Tudor.Picking up from the point that The Six Wives of Henry VIII left off,...

Royal expert and TV historian Kate Williams opens the doors to 30 palaces, castles and houses that have been connected with the British royals over the centuries.Well known for her expert insights in the media and on countless royal documentaries, Kate...

Henry VIII, renowned for his command of power and celebrated for his intellect, presided over one of the most magnificent-and dangerous-courts in Renaissance Europe. Never before has a detailed, personal biography of this charismatic monarch been set...

Winner of the Franco-British Society Book Prize 2019'The ultimate biography of the Sun King' Simon Sebag Montefiore Louis XIV dominated his age. He extended France's frontiers into Netherlands and Germany, and established colonies overseas. The...

The Pulitzer prizewinning biography of Peter the Great, the ruler who brought Russia from darkness into light. Against the monumental canvas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe and Russia, Robert K. Massie unfolds the extraordinary story of...

'Writing about Queen Victoria has been one of the most joyous experiences of my life. I have read thousands (literally) of letters never before published, and grown used to her as to a friend. Maddening? Egomaniac? Hysterical? A bad mother? Some have...

Christopher Hibbert's acclaimed biography of Queen Victoria is as impressive and authoritative as the great woman herself. In 1837 an eighteen-year-old girl, raised by a German mother, inherited the throne of the United Kingdom. She was to...

Readers of Princess Sultana's extraordinary biography Princess were gripped by her powerful indictment of women's lives behind the veil within the royal family of Saudi Arabia. They were every bit as fascinated by the sequel, Daughters of Arabia.Here,...

Princess Victoria Melita played a colourful role from her birth in 1876. The second daughter of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, she made a brief and unhappy marriage at the age of 17 to her cousin, Ernest, Grand Duke of Hesse. In the face of strong opposition...