| Who invented the 'House of Windsor' as a royal name? Who founded Westminster Abbey? Which king had twenty five illegitimate children? David Hilliam answers all these questions and many more. Here is a continuous history of the English monarchy, showing how the nine dynasties rose and fell. This book covers all of the kings and queens, from Egbert, crowned in 802 and considered the first king of England, to Queen Elizabeth II - as well as recording the extraordinary lives of their queens, mistresses and bastard children. It also examines what happened to each monarch's remains, as well as relating many more unusual incidents of royal history that rarely appear in the text books. Read of the saintly Edward the Confessor, who is believed to have refused to consummate his marriage; William the Conqueror, bastard son of Robert the Devil, who tricked Hatold into makin a solemn oath; Richard the Lionheart, killed by an arrow, and the cruel fate that befell the archer who caused the death; Henry VIII, given to beheading those who displease him; the 'little gentleman in black velvet', who caused the death of William II; Queen Victoria's strange servant, the 'Munshi'; Queen Emma, who endured a trial by ordeal; and Anne Boleyn, widely suspected of being a witch. A complete list of the monarchs' reigns and a genealogical table showing the royal descent down thirty seven generations from Egbert to Elizabeth II add to the volume's reference value. This new edition has been full revised and updates and contains even more bastards and unknown facts than ever before. Contents:
Preface
1. The Distant Past: Romans to Saxons
2. Nine Dynasties of English Monarchy
3. Kings and Reigning Queens of England
4. Queens and Consorts
5. Royal Bones
6. Royal Mistresses and Bastards
Appendix: The Succession of the English Monarchy
Further Reading
Index |
