"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 and a pillar of the country. Today, as ever, a carefully selected 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...

In the tradition of Antonia Fraser, David Starkey, and Alison Weir, prize-winning historian Helen Castor delivers a compelling, eye-opening examination of women and power in England, witnessed through the lives of six women who exercised power against all odds-and one who never got the chance. Exploring the narratives of the Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and other "she-wolves," as well as that of the...

"Christianity and European-style monarchy--the cross and the scepter--were introduced to Scandinavia in the tenth century, a development that was to have profound implications for all of Europe. Cross and Scepter is a concise history of the Scandinavian kingdoms from the age of the Vikings to the Reformation, written by Scandinavia's leading medieval historian. Sverre Bagge shows how the rise of the three kingdoms not only changed the face of Scandinavia,...

"The British monarchy has long been a subject of fascination for many people. Television shows and films have been created to tell the history of influential, long-reigning monarchs such as Queen Elizabeth II, and royal weddings are televised worldwide. This engaging look at British history examines past and present monarchs, how marriages such as the one between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle broke tradition, and the controversy over whether or not...

"This book is the first of its kind - a comprehensive history that sets each coronation into its political, social, religious and cultural context. The story is one of constant re-invention as the service has had to respond to all the changes in fortune of the monarchy or the country: everything from legitimising usurpers to reconciling a Catholic rite to the tenets of Protestantism. It even had to be recreated from scratch after the Restoration of...

Join Lucy Worsley on a journey across Europe to visit the incredible locations where royal history was made. From the rule of Henry VIII to the Russian Revolution, learn how royal history is a mixture of facts, exaggeration, manipulation and mythology.