The British monarchy is at a turning point. Concise and engaging, this
book charts the very beginnings of British reign through to the longest
serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II - and looks forward to the reign of
King Charles III.
Much more than a linear history, this is the intertwined story of
royalty and state, of divisions, invasions, rivalries, death and glory;
the story of nation fates deeply tied with the personal endeavours of
monarchs through the ages. Black expertly weaves together thematic
chapters from the origins of monarchy, medieval times and
sixteenth-century developments, to the crises of the
seventeenth-century, settlement and imperialism, and the challenges of
the modern age. Exploring the House of Wessex, the Norman Conquest,
Henry VIII and the Tudors, Victorianism and key events such as
abdication of Edward VIII, this book is a necessary and comprehensive
guide to the British Monarchy and how it has shaped history - and our
lives today.