English Royalty History

Do you want to learn more about the great military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, but don’t have time to read huge, long biographies? Then let The History Journals take you on an hourly history tour of his life. Regardless of which version of Napoleon is to be believed, evil dictator or inspiring military leader, or perhaps more likely, somewhere between the two, this journal will look at his truly fascinating and eventful life.

There are many versions of Queen Elizabeth I of England; the beautiful young Tudor Queen courted by all the princes of Europe; a fearless virgin warrior in white velvet, rousing her troops on the battlefield; an irascible old woman in a powdered wig, surrounded by fawning young men. A formidable woman, Elizabeth I ruled alone at a time when Europe was a hotbed of conflict, dominated by empire-seeking Kings with opposing religious beliefs.

Since his death in the year 1547, King Henry VIII has been celebrated as a chivalrous pioneer and reviled as a brutal tyrant, but he has never been ignored. Henry was responsible for the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church, the ramifications of which reverberated through subsequent centuries of European history. Domestically, Henry revolutionized the English Constitution, elevating his own status to that of a God.

Dating back to the fifth century, the legend of King Arthur, his Queen Guinevere, and the Knights of the Round Table is an integral part of British national mythology. From its beginning as a few lines of Latin text written in a sixth-century monk’s hand, Arthurian legend has blossomed over the years into a unique universe built on the real foundations of Britain’s Dark Ages and the principles of ancient chivalry.

Elizabeth II is within a few years of becoming the longest-reigning British monarch. A personally quiet, modest and dutiful person, she is far better-informed about the lives of her subjects than they often realize. She has known every Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and every American President since Eisenhower. Yet what of the woman behind the crown?

Now a Major Motion Picture starring Dame Judi Dench from director Stephen Frears. History’s most unlikely friendship—this is the astonishing story of Queen Victoria and her dearest companion, the young Indian Munshi Abdul Karim. In the twilight years of her reign, after the devastating...

During an age of heightened religious conflict, Catherine de' Medici lived her life at the center of sixteenth-century European and French politics. Catherine de' Medici: The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen is Mary Hollingsworth's evocative, authoritative biography of the most extraordinary woman of the sixteenth-century.

This book is about our family, a family who had no idea who they were in history. What we discovered, through genealogy, was a family whose bloodline is one of the most royal in Europe, from a Roman Senator to an Episcopal Bishop, to eight kings. Our family thought they were fishermen, from the lowlands of Scotland. This book is the story of our discovery, a shocking and magnificent discovery.

In this unusually personal document, Queen Liliʻuokalani paints a detailed picture of life in a royal family—something few such figures ever attempt. She shares important memories from her childhood and chronicles her life on the international stage, beginning with her momentous ascension to the throne and ending with her effective overthrow by American businessmen and politicians who had little interest in maintaining Hawaii’s autonomy.

A remarkably fresh and engaging account of Britain’s long-reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, who ascended to the throne at 18, in 1837, and died in 1901. Lytton Strachey captures her essential spirit in concise and elegant prose, with an eye and an ear keenly attuned to human nature, and its foibles. Written only 20 years after her death, this biography exemplifies the emergence of modern thought from the Victorian Era.

When Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558, England was the laughing stock of Europe. Economic, political, and religious calamities were numerous, and Elizabeth endured constant criticism. But by the end of her 45-year reign, England was one of the world's mightiest nations. Axelrod uses the legendary Queen's life as a model for modern leadership, and a powerful example of how one person can make an extraordinary difference. Elizabeth I CEO is an indispensable guide for today's business managers and leaders. It is also an inspiring listen for those taking their first steps up the corporate ladder, or those who simply love history. Nelson Runger's narration gives a renewed energy to Elizabeth's lessons, which are as relevant today as they were four centuries ago.

Escape to the past with this third-in-series, local history, and memoir-biography. Margaret Bramford presents the life and times and true accounts from Upton-Upon-Severn, Worcestershire (UK), as recollected by Upton folk themselves, looking back over the last century. Enjoy this treasure trove of observations and anecdotes, a fascinating insight into the local characters' lives and the social history of a river town in Worcestershire, England, including Florence Bramford, who served and traveled the world on royal tours for 30 years as a ladies' maid to two Queen Elizabeths.

In a world thrown into chaos by the rise of the Pope's authoritarian regime, Rurork stands not just as a city, but as a grim prison of despair, a testament to the regime's iron grip. Axel, a resilient and determined soul, finds himself trapped within this bastion of cruelty, where every day is a test of spirit. As Axel befriends fellow prisoners, they unearth secrets that hint at a larger resistance movement, drawing lines between those who collaborate with the regime and those who dare to oppose.

Although he didn’t create absolutism in France, King Louis XIV seemed to embody the divine right of kings better than anyone had before him. Louis XIV directly correlated his own private good with that of the public good, but not everyone in France had the same sentiment. The resistance from the French nobles and aristocrats that Louis depended on to raise armies gave these nobles increasing autonomy and independence from the king, which would one day come to a head.

Florence Bramford was a ladies' maid to the ladies-in-waiting of two Queen Elizabeths from 1939 to 1974. Think real-life The Queen, Downton Abbey, or Upstairs Downstairs...inside the British Royal Family from the servant's perspective half a century ago. Margaret Bramford presents the life of her aunt, told in her own words. Florence had a Victorian childhood and Edwardian adolescence. She was privileged to reside in many royal residences with her ladies-in-waiting and joined many royal tours around the world.

Henry VII was not destined to be the well-known (or perhaps better described as infamous) king that his son was after him, but his place in history remains important. With his victory over Richard III in 1485, Henry brought England out of the Middle Ages and ushered it into the modern era. His reign ended decades of bloody civil wars and provided the wealth and stability necessary for commerce and art to thrive in England. When Henry’s son, Henry VIII, ascended the throne in 1509, it marked England’s first uncontested transfer of power in almost 90 years.

Henry VIII is Britain's most notorious monarch, remembered for his six wives and splitting the church in two for the sake of annulling his first marriage. But few know the full story of his tempestuous reign. This captivating biography chronicles Henry VIII's life and times, from his early childhood at Eltham to his dominant role as one of the leading players on the international stage. It includes his love affairs, military campaigns, the scheming and plotting of his courtiers and the way in which sex and politics were sometimes fatally intertwined with the Tudor Court.

Harold Lamb's superb story-telling and clear, sharp scholarship are focused on Peter the Great, his gigantic labors to raise Russia in one generation to cultural equality with Europe, and his efforts to mold and shape a sprawling empire. At the end of the Thirty Years War in 1648, the city of Moscow had extended its sway eastward through the Asiatic continent. People began to ask, "Will the city control the continent?" or "Will the continent control the city?" These were crucial questions...questions that continue to bedevil Russians to this day.

The history of women in medieval Wales before the English conquest of 1282 is one largely shrouded in mystery. This misfortune touches even the most well-known royal woman of the time, Joan of England, the wife of Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd. This first-ever account of Siwan, as she was known to the Welsh, interweaves the details of her life and relationships with a gendered re-assessment of Anglo-Welsh politics by highlighting her involvement in affairs, discussing events in which she may well have been involved but have gone unrecorded and her deployment of royal female agency.

At the end of the ninth century, a large part of what is now England was controlled by the Vikings. In the early 900s, Edward led a great fight against the Viking armies, assisted by the English rulers of Mercia: Lord Æthelred and his wife Æthelflæd, who was also Edward's sister. Known to history as the Lady of the Mercians, she earned a reputation as a capable general who was feared by her enemies. In this authoritative biography, Tim Clarkson tells her remarkable life story from childhood to her vital role in saving England from the Vikings.