Crown & sceptre : a new history of the British monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II

Summary: "Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England's various kingdoms, forty-one kings and queens have sat on Britain's throne: "shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue's gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs," as Tracy Borman evocatively describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre. Ironically, during very few of these 955 years has the throne's occupant been unambiguously English-the Norman French, the Welsh-born Tudors, the Scottish Stuarts, and the Hanoverians and their German successors to the present day have dominated the throne. Appealing to the intrinsic fascination with British royalty, Borman lifts the veil to reveal the remarkable characters and personalities who have ruled and, since the Glorious Revolution of 1688, have more ceremonially reigned-a crucial distinction explaining the staying power of the monarchy as the royal family has evolved and adapted to the needs and opinions of its people, avoiding the storms of rebellion that brought many of Europe's royals to an abrupt end. Richard III; Henry VIII; Elizabeth I; George III; Victoria; Elizabeth II: their names evoke eras and dramatic events, forming the sweep of British history that Borman recounts. She is equally attuned to the fabric of monarchy: the impact of royal palaces; the way monarchs have been portrayed in art, on coins, in the media; the ceremony and pageantry surrounding the crown. In 2024, Elizabeth II would eclipse France's Louis XIV as the longest reigning monarch in history. Crown & Sceptre is a fitting tribute to her remarkable longevity and that of the magnificent institution she represents"--

Record details

ISBN: 0802159109 : HRD
ISBN: 9780802159106 : HRD
Physical Description: xx, 555 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), genealogical table ; 24 cm.
print
Edition: First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2022.
Copyright: ©2021

Content descriptions

General Note:	"First published in Great Britain in 2021 by Hodder & Stoughton, an Hachette UK company."
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction: the early kings of England -- Part 1. The Normans (1066-1154) : -- William the Conqueror (1066-87) -- William II (1087-1100) -- Henry I (1100-35) ; Matilda and Stephen (1135-54) -- Part 2. The Plantagenets (1154-1399) : -- Henry II (1154-89) -- Richard I (1189-99) -- John (1199-1216) -- Henry III (1216-72) -- Edward I (1272-1307) -- Edward II (1307-27) -- Edward III (1327-77) -- Richard II (1377-99) -- Part 3. Lancaster and York (1399-1485) : -- Henry IV (1399-1413) -- Henry V (1413-22) -- Henry VI (1422-61 and 1470-1) -- Edward IV (1461-70 and 1471-83) -- Edward V (1483) -- Richard III (1483-5) -- Part 4. The Tudors (1485-1603) : -- Henry VII (1485-1509) -- Henry VIII (1509-47) -- Edward VI (1547-53) -- Lady Jane Grey (July 1553) -- Mary I (1553-8) -- Elizabeth I (1558-1603) -- Part 5. The Stuarts (1603-1714) : -- James I (1603-25) -- Charles I (1625-49) -- The interregnum (1649-60) -- Charles II (1660-85) -- James II (1685-8) -- William III and Mary II (1688-1702) -- Anne (1702-14) -- Part 6. The Hanoverians (1714-1910) : -- George I (1714-27) -- George II (1727-60) -- George III (1760-1820) -- George IV (1820-30) -- William IV (1830-7) -- Victoria (1837-1901) -- Edward VII (1901-10) -- Part 7. The Windsors (1910-2021) : -- George V (1910-36) -- Edward VIII (1936) -- George VI (1936-52) -- Elizabeth II (1952-) -- Epilogue.