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43 Articles

Welcome to issue 17

The history of the British monarchy is filled with dynastic disputes; from the ambitions of the Anglo-Saxons to the plots of the Plantagenets and beyond, it’s a catalogue of bloody family feuds. But while these houses took up arms against one another, the two granddaughters of Henry VII sought more subtle means of causing injury. Taking up their pens, Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots waged a war of words, ink as their weapon of choice. Head to page 14 to find out how this queenly battle sent one to an early grave. After Mary’s abdication in 1567, her one-year-old son ascended the Scottish throne as James VI. Brought up a devout, God-fearing Protestant and superstitious beyond reason, he turned his mind to weeding out witches across his land.…

Welcome
to
issue 17

Harry Cunningham Harry returns this issue to explore how Wilhelm II’s childhood trauma turned him against Britain for life • Turn to p34 to see why Wilhelm hated the Brits Aleksandar Pavolvić Discover how a teenage Matthias Corvinus went from prisoner to king of Hungary with Aleksandar • Meet Hungary’s most celebrated king on p64 Derek Wilson Regular contributor and historian Derek returns this issue to uncover the brutal reality of James VI of Scotland’s obsessive witch hunts • Turn to p24 to discover the occult obsession Jon Wright Tudor historian and academic Jon explores the bitter relationship between Elizabeth I and her disgraced cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots • Discover the queens’ fatal rivalry on p14 Alison Mercer This issue, History of Royals speaks to Alison Mercer to find…

BILL APPROVED TO ALLOW JAPANESE EMPEROR TO ABDICATE

A recently passed law has opened up the possibility for Emperor Akihito of Japan to abdicate the throne. Previously illegal under Japanese law, the 83-year-old Emperor has been vocal about his concerns for his ability to continue with his public duties following several health scares that include undergoing heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer. Emperor Akihito will be the first Emperor to abdicate the Chrysanthemum throne for over 200 years since Emperor Kokaku’s abdication in 1817. No official date has been agreed upon for the abdication, though it’s assumed that it will happen at the end of 2018 or the start of 2019 in order to mark three decades of his reign. Upon the Emperor’s official abdication, Crown Prince Naruhito will take the throne – but this succession throws…

BILL APPROVED TO ALLOW JAPANESE EMPEROR TO ABDICATE

Upcoming events

Power & Portraiture: Painting at the Court of Elizabeth I 7 June – 29 October 2017, Wednesday – Sunday www.waddesdon.org.uk In an attempt to explore the Elizabethan trend of power dressing at court, Waddesdon Manor is exhibiting two contemporary panels owned by the Rothschild family, along with loans from the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Collection. Visitors will have the opportunity to see Nicholas Hilliard’s iconic portraits of the queen and her courtiers up close and personal. Curators will also be on hand to explain the scientific detective work that was a significant part of the exhibition. Nelson & Norfolk 29 July – 1 October 2017 www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery is displaying a new exhibition celebrating the life of Horatio Nelson. A…

Upcoming events

UNPRECEDENTED EXHIBITIONS OF THE ART OF CHARLES I AND II

After over a decade of being overshadowed by the intense interest in their Tudor predecessors upon the throne, it looks like the Stuart dynasty are finally getting their moment in the spotlight thanks to two major exhibitions about the rightly celebrated art collections of Charles I and his son, Charles II, which will be opening in London this winter. The exhibitions are the result of a groundbreaking and innovative collaboration between the Royal Collection, which will be hosting ‘Charles II: Art and Power’ at the Queen’s Gallery from 8 December, and the Royal Academy, where ‘Charles I: King and Collector’ will be opening just over a month later on 27 January. Although the success of Charles I’s reign is highly questionable, his position as one of the greatest and most…

UNPRECEDENTED EXHIBITIONS OF THE ART OF CHARLES I AND II

Take a look behind the scenes of the exhibitions

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this unique double event? ‘Charles II: Art and Power’ is one of many major exhibitions at The Queen’s Gallery to look at the collecting and patronage of monarchs and their era. When the RA proposed a Charles I exhibition in partnership with Royal Collection Trust around the same time as the dates we had imagined for the Charles II exhibition, it was immediately clear that there was an exciting possibility of examining the collecting habits of father and son, and to see if there was a particular character to Stuart collecting in general. This is the first time that the Royal Collection has worked so closely with the Royal Academy of Arts – how has that experience been? Can we expect more…

Take a look behind the scenes of the exhibitions

A month in European history July

Stone of Scone returned 3 July 1996 In the light of growing dissatisfaction in Scotland, the British government decided that the Stone of Scone – also known as the Coronation Stone – should be kept in Scotland while not in use. The last time the Stone was used was at the Queen’s coronation in 1953. On 30 November 1996, it was handed over to Edinburgh Castle in an official ceremony, and it currently rests in the Crown Room along with the crown jewels of Scotland. The Mary Rose sinks 19 July 1545 As the Battle of the Solent begins, the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s recently rebuilt flagship, suddenly and unexpectedly sinks. Of the 400 crew aboard, fewer than 35 people survived. Only one contemporary account of the ship’s sinking exists,…

A month in European history July

OWN A PIECE OF HISTORY

A scaled-down version of one of the most significant historical artefacts has become available for the public to purchase. The Bayeux Tapestry, assumed to have been made by a team of English nuns in the 1070s, was likely commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, the half-brother of William the Conqueror, to commemorate the Norman invasion of England. Depicting the Battle of Hastings and the events leading up to it, the tapestry was first mentioned in a 15th century inventory of Bayeux Cathedral, and it remarkably survived both the Huguenot sack of the cathedral in 1562 and the later French Revolution, where it was used as a military-wagon covering. It was later rescued and restored under Napoleon Bonaparte. This remarkable reproduction of the Bayeux Tapestry is presented at 60 per cent…

OWN A PIECE OF HISTORY

A Queens’ Feud

In the parliament of 1586, Job Throckmorton, the MP for Warwick, launched a bilious attack on Mary Stuart. She was, he bellowed, “such a creature whom no Christian eye can behold with patience, whose villainy hath stained the earth and infected the air, the breath of whose malice towards the Church of God and the Lord’s anointed, our dread sovereign, hath in a loathsome kind of savour fumed up to the heavens.” Destroying Mary would be “one of the fairest riddances that ever the Church of God had” and Throckmorton called upon his fellow MPs to “be all joint suitors to her Majesty that Jezebel may live no longer.” He was confident that no one would dare “stain his mouth in defence of [Mary],” and he was right. Mary, Parliament…

Elizabeth’s Suitors

Philip II of Spain proposed to Elizabeth less than two months after the death of Mary Tudor, his wife and Elizabeth’s sister. The potential strategic advantages of the match were significant, but Philip’s desire to save England from Protestantism’s resurgence did little to impress the queen or her advisers. Philip’s proposal was flatly rejected, but he still hoped to see a Habsburg take Elizabeth’s hand. The suit of the suggested alternative, Charles, Archduke of Austria, gained some traction for a short while, but had fizzled out by 1560. In the same period, the courtship of Erik XIV of Sweden (via his representative Duke John of Finland) appears to have gained some supporters but came to nothing. If Elizabeth ever loved a man it was Robert Dudley, but two mighty obstacles…

Elizabeth’s Suitors

Mary and Elizabeth in culture

Portrayals of the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth, in both high art and popular culture, have rarely been overly concerned with historical accuracy. The two women never met in person, which is a nuisance for anyone interested in a dramatic storyline, so encounters have routinely been concocted. It happens in Schiller’s play Maria Stuart, and twice in the 1971 film Mary, Queen of Scots, starring Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth and Vanessa Redgrave in the title role. Martha Graham’s 1985 dance piece Episodes saw the two queens strive to resolve their differences over a game of tennis but most of the fictitious meetings have tended towards the more passionate end of the spectrum. In Donizetti’s opera Maria Stuarda, insults are hurled with abandon and on one occasion this had regrettable results.…

Mary and Elizabeth in culture

James VI and the witches

James VI of Scotland b.1566-d.1625 1567-1625 Son of Mary, Queen of Scots and her second husband, Lord Darnley, James became king aged one after his mother was ousted. His reign was characterised by superstition. After the death of Elizabeth I of England, he became king of England in 1603. The fearful abounding at this time in this country, of these detestable slaves of the Devil, the Witches or enchanters, hath moved me (beloved reader) to dispatch in post, this following treatise of mine, not in any way (as I protest) to serve for a show of my learning and ingenuity, but only (moved of conscience) to press thereby, so far as I can, to resolve the doubting hearts of many; both that such assaults of Satan are most certainly practiced,…

James VI and the witches

The king’s idol

James could scarcely avoid being impressed by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601). As well as being famous as one of the leading experimental scientists of the age, he was a colourful extrovert who wore a metal sheath over his nose to cover an old fencing scar, threw lavish parties and kept an elk as an indoor pet. Brahe had an elaborate research complex, which included a laboratory, an observatory, a library and a workshop for the manufacture of astronomical instruments. He made thousands of observations and calculations about the movement of heavenly bodies, which he believed important principally for the casting of accurate horoscopes. Though at the cutting edge of scientific research, Brahe was wedded to Lutheran beliefs about demonology. James must have been delighted that the opinions of this intellectual celebrity…

The king’s idol

A continent gripped by conspiracy

Kingdom of Scotland Tried: 4,000-6,000 Executed: 1,500 Unlike their neighbours, it wasn’t purely maleficium that concerned the Scottish church and crown, it was the act of sorcery itself. From 1563, witchcraft and consulting with witches were crimes against God and the crown – capital offences and therefore punishable by death. The trials were held in secular courts, but the Kirk was an unstoppable force, often responsible for evidence gathering and the prosecution. With James VI’s feelings on the matter well known and his own literature acting as a guide, judges knew exactly what was expected of them when it came to laying down the law on matters of great goat-headed conspiracy. Kingdom of England Tried: 1,000 Executed: 500 An Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts (1563) made a felony of…

A continent gripped by conspiracy

The witch redeemer

Reginald Scot (c.1538-1599) is one of the many ‘solid’ citizens of independent but quiet demeanour who formed the backbone of Tudor England. He was a landowner with modest estates in Kent, did his stint as a Justice of the Peace and served as an MP for New Romney in the Armada year. He wrote two books, both remarkable for being well-informed and commonsensical. The first (1576) was a manual on hop-growing, but his more original work was The Discoverie Of Witchcraft Wherein The Lewd Dealing Of Witches And Witchmongers Is Notablie Detected (1584). Scot was appalled by the persecution of supposed witches and set out to prove from a variety of authorities, ancient and contemporary, that belief in ‘magic’ was contrary to scripture and reason. As well as denouncing witch…

The witch redeemer

Royal Gallery 1632-34

Commissioned by Charles I to commemorate his father, James VI & I, this ceiling painting by Peter Paul Rubens depicts James’s entry into heaven. Surrounded by cherubs clutching the crown and the orb – symbols of his earthly reign – and the allegorical figures of Victory, Religion and Scriptural Truth, the king gazes up towards the figure of Mercury and the golden laurel wreath. The ceiling is one of a series painted by the Flemish master at the Banqueting House, and this would have been one of the last things King Charles I saw before his execution in January 1649.…

Royal Gallery 1632-34

The trauma of Wilhelm II

Emperor Wilhelm II b.1859-d.1941 1888-1918 Wilhelm’s traumatic childhood left its mark on his disastrous reign. After dismissing his Chancellor, he began an arms race with Britain and led Germany to defeat in WWI before abdicating in disgrace. At the time of his birth on 27 January 1859, the baby who would one day become Kaiser Wilhelm II was supposed to be the man who would unite Germany as it teetered on the cusp of becoming a unified empire, and whose very existence would bring an ever closer union with the other great imperial power of the age: Britain. Instead, he ended up leading his country into its most disastrous war, soured relations between his mother and father’s kingdoms for generations to come and abdicated in disgrace. He left behind a…

The trauma of Wilhelm II

The grandmother of Europe

Queen Victoria and her grandson were kindred spirits – both were characteristically stubborn and uncompromising, with Wilhelm the son of Victoria’s eldest daughter and namesake. The fact that he was one day destined to inherit the German throne must also have pleased the queen, reminding her of her husband, Prince Albert, and ensuring that his German roots continued to flourish long after his death in 1861. Wilhelm was also a frequent visitor to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and was said to have particularly loved sailing at Cowes. Indeed, it was because of his many trips to Britain that he first conceived the idea of building up a German navy, which was viewed with increasing alarm and suspicion across the channel. Queen Victoria, however, was aware of her…

The grandmother of Europe

Treating the unusual

The corpse of a hare It was felt that Wilhelm’s arm could be revived through jolting it back to life. At first, it was bathed in cold brine, sea water and malt. When this failed, Vicky went to see the leading surgeon in Berlin, Bernhard von Langenbeck, who suggested so-called animal baths, prescribed when Wilhelm was just six months old. His arm was pushed inside the body of a freshly slaughtered hare for half an hour, as it was hoped that the animal’s “warmth and vigour” might miraculously transfer itself to the arm. It was a horrific treatment, even by 19th century standards, but Vicky – who did not want to go against Lagenbeck’s advice – wrote to Queen Victoria suggesting Wilhelm was barely affected by it: “He is as…

Treating the unusual

Inside the Royal Wardrobe Christina of Sweden

“She also soon came to realise that a queen without a realm is one without any power” A woman in a white satin dress stands before a purple velvet curtain that is hung diagonally against a sunlit seascape and vast sky. Her body is shown in profile, her head in a three-quarters turn towards the viewer. In her right hand she holds a spire, with which she points towards the sea. Her left arm is held akimbo, a gesture normally only seen in portraits of men, most often kings – but then this is not just anybody: it is former Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-89). The portrait was painted in Sweden in 1661, during Christina’s first visit to her homeland after her abdication in 1654. Since then, she had lived…

Inside the Royal Wardrobe Christina of Sweden

Royal House Braganza 1640-1853

The green wyvern The traditional symbol of the House of Braganza, the green wyvern is said to represent one of Portugal’s patron saints, George, who famously defeated a dragon. The symbol is also found on Portugal’s Crown Sceptre. Seven castles The Portuguese Shield at the centre includes a red bordure with seven castles. These were added in Afonso III’s reign with claims that they represented the Moorish castles captured by the Portuguese during the Reconquista. It’s more likely Afonso took the design from his Castilian mother’s arms. Five blue esutcheons The five blue shields are said to represent the five Moorish kings defeated by Afonso I of Portugal, with their silver bezants apparently representing Jesus’s five wounds. The crown This version of the crown on the Braganza coat of arms…

Royal House Braganza 1640-1853

To Serve the King

On 2 May 1536, Anne Boleyn was watching a tennis match from the spectators’ gallery in Greenwich Palace when a messenger arrived with orders that she present herself before the Privy Council. Once there, she was told that she was accused of adultery – 15 days later, Henry VIII was supposedly playing a game of tennis when another messenger arrived, this time to inform the king that his wife had been executed. Featuring in the accounts of both of these momentous events is tennis, the sport of kings for hundreds of years. It was a leisure pastime for sovereigns who wanted to work up a sweat from the 13th century to the French Revolution and beyond, and its long history reflects that of the royals who played the game, its…

To Serve the King

Inside a real tennis court

Mind the hazard On one side of the court and at either end are openings known as galleries. Shots that end up in here usually score immediately in the favour of the player who hit it, although under some rules a shot into the gallery lays down a chase. Making a racket Modern real tennis players still use rackets made out of wood, although synthetic strings have replaced sheep gut. Balls have a hard core, nowadays made from cork but formerly from compacted cloth. Players at Hampton Court used balls made from the uniforms confiscated from Napoleonic prisoners of war. Serve the king Serves are always taken from the same end and must hit the sloped roof of the penthouse on the receiver’s side of the net to be a…

Inside a real tennis court

King Charles I British b.1600-d.1649 1625-49 Charles may be considered one of Britain’s worst monarchs, but in terms of royal tennis players he was one of the best. The royal treasury paid out £420 in 1610 to cover tennis equipment and tuition for the then Duke of York, who designed his own tennis outfits. King Henri II French b.1519-d.1559 1547-59 Henry became Dauphin only after his elder brother collapsed and died after a game of tennis, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the sport himself. He was one of the few kings willing to take on the best opponents on a level playing field, something few of his fellow monarchs dared to do. King Henry VIII English b.1491-d.1547 1509-47 The Tudor king misses out on top spot due to…

Rise of the Raven

Matthias Corvinus b.1443-d.1490 1458-90 Matthias I of Hungary aimed to reconstruct and strengthen the state after decades of feudal anarchy and the external threat of invasion. He is most remembered for his extensive library and his concern for justice. The story of the Hungarian ‘golden age’ during the unlikely reign of King Matthias Corvinus begins in a rather murky and dark atmosphere of bloodbath, deceit and untimely deaths. On 16 March 1457, young Matthias was imprisoned in Buda and sentenced to death by the royal council for high treason. Earlier that day, his elder brother Ladislaus was beheaded in St George’s Square. For what it’s worth, tradition remembers that it took the headman four strokes to kill him, while he remained calm and dignified throughout his ordeal, like a true…

Rise of the Raven

The army of mercenaries gradually created by King Matthias actually got its well-known name of ‘Black Army’ only after his death. Its nucleus consisted of Bohemian mercenaries who came to Hungary in the days of disarray and uncertainty over the Hungarian throne, which occurred after King Albert II of Habsburg’s death in 1439, four years after Matthias was even born. Led by Jan Jiskra, they presented a sizable force in the region for nearly a quarter of a century after finally surrendering in 1462. Before Matthias organised them into his own army, he relied on the troops provided by the royal battalions and barons, paid by their lords, as was the habit of the time. But such military doctrine had its weaknesses – for one thing, this meant that the…

Bibliotheca Corviniana

Can you imagine a huge public gathering and bringing a city to a standstill over some books today? That is precisely what had happened in late April 1877 when a train arrived in Budapest that had come from Istanbul carrying 35 15th-century manuscripts. Some of these were the legendary Corvinae, part of a library collected by the ‘Good King Matthias’ and looted from Hungary after the Turkish conquests of 1526. Already in his teenage years, King Matthias started collecting the books that would eventually amount to the legendary Bibliotheca Corviniana, perhaps the largest library of his time. It is believed that at the time only the library at the Vatican surpassed it, but that Corviniana was the home of the most scientific materials. Educated in the Renaissance spirit, Matthias patiently…

Bibliotheca Corviniana

Crossing the line

Queen Anne b.1665-d.1714 1702-14 Queen Anne’s reign saw the Acts of Union in 1707, bringing England and Scotland together under the title of the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was also under Anne that a two-party political system was introduced. The Stuarts certainly had their fair share of scandal and intrigue – perhaps especially when it came to their royal favourites. This was no different for the last of the Stuart monarchs, Queen Anne, who ruled from 1702-14. Her favourite for several decades, Sarah Churchill (née Jennings), rose to prominence through this connection, which raised the fortunes of her loved ones as well. During the course of their friendship, Sarah was seen as a dominant figure in Anne’s life, and their relationship – and the power and wealth Sarah and…

Crossing the line

Marlborough’s victories

After the death of the severely inbred Spanish King Charles II in 1700, a succession crisis erupted resulting in the War of the Spanish Succession, a war that lasted some 13 years. A megalomaniacal Louis XIV lay claim to the massive Spanish territories, and other countries felt compelled to thwart France from further expansion and power. A Grand Alliance was formed against them and John Churchill and Prince Eugene of Savoy successfully teamed up and beat the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Another military success came two years later in the Battle of Ramillies. Their winning combination was rewarded with yet another big victory at Malplaquet in 1709, but this was won at a high cost, for the Allies lost over 20,000 troops. In appreciation for such…

Marlborough’s victories

Passionate letters: Understanding historical context

As with so many figures from history, some recent biographers have leapt upon Anne as a figurehead to promote their own modern-day socio-political agendas, basing their claims for her supposed lesbianism, for example, on the effusive nature of her letters to female recipients. Both York sisters wrote to Frances Apsley. One of Mary’s letters went as follows: “your humble servant to kiss the ground where you go to be your dog in a string your fish in a net your bird in a cage your humble trout” (lack of punctuation as in the original). We might now consider such a style, which both she and her sister employed when writing to other women, to be startlingly gushing and overtly romantic, but to do so would be to disregard the historical…

Passionate letters: Understanding historical context

National Palace of Pena

National Palace of Pena » Year built: 1853 » Time to build: 15 years » Style: Romantic, Neo-Manueline » Location: Sintra, Portugal As Ferdinand II of Portugal so eloquently once said, “Sintra is indeed a magnificent place, not easily compared with other regions, and my beloved Pena is, by my lights, the jewel in Sintra’s crown.” It’s easy to see why Ferdinand was so passionate about Pena Palace, and he wasn’t alone in admiring the castle in the clouds – in 1995, the palace and its surrounding landscape were graced with the title of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, Pena Palace’s humble roots reach back to the 16th century when Manuel I ordered the construction of a monastery. By…

National Palace of Pena

1511 The monastery opens Manuel I’s construction, the Royal Monastery of Our Lady of Pena, is completed. Devoted to Saint Jerome, the king donates the monastery to the Hieronymite Order. 1755 Act of God An earthquake devastates Portugal and the monastery is reduced to rubble. Somehow, the chapel escapes major damage and remains to this day. 1828-34 Civil war blights Portugal After the death of John VI, Portugal is thrust into a succession crisis. Prince Miguel usurps his niece’s throne, but is later forced to abdicate, making way for Maria, who becomes Maria II. 1838 The ruin is bought Having married Maria II two years earlier, King Ferdinand II decides to purchase the monastic ruin with his own money. 1839 Restoration begins Intending to build a family retreat, Ferdinand commissions…

Arthur and the Kings of Britain

Publisher Amberley Books Price £20 Release Out now The prehistoric and Roman eras form Miles Russell’s beat as an archaeologist and author, with his previous books challenging readers to see British life during these times in a new light. His latest release re-examines early manuscripts that document the origins of Britain – but in particular Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regnum Brittaniae (History of the Kings of Britain), a 12th-century epic charting the British rulers from its first days to the 600s. Geoffrey seems to have been derided as a fantasist almost since the first manuscripts were produced, but the sheer scale of the Historia meant that it remained influential for centuries, not least among subsequent monarchs seeking to add a mythic charge to their own reigns. Russell argues here that…

Arthur and the Kings of Britain

If The Kaiser Comes

Publisher Fonthill Price £16.99 Release Out now The extent to which the British anticipated – and actively prepared for – a German invasion during WWI had been a little documented feature of the conflict until Mike Osborne elected to dedicate 192 pages of exhaustive research of the subject in this intriguing book. Beginning with a detailed examination of the many invasions of British soil since 1066, Osborne paints a new and revealing picture of how the nation came to establish the Blue Water principle in 1771, a military approach that placed the bulk of the defensive responsibilities upon the Royal Navy. Charting the growing discontent between Britain and Germany in the lead up to the Great War, Osborne expertly explains how the country came to expect Kaiser Wilhelm II’s navy…

If The Kaiser Comes

The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII

Publisher Amberley Publishing Price £9.99 Release Out now The history of King Henry VIII’s wives and lovers is a tale that has been finely tuned into something shy of a soap opera, with many dramas and books dedicated to the subject. But now, Amy Licence’s The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII delivers a comprehensive and detailed account of the truth behind the women who shared the king’s bed and heart. Through primary sources such as the women’s own letters, Licence follows not just the well-known mistresses, but also the lesser-known women who caught Henry’s eye. However, much of the time the author’s suppositions can’t be proven – although she presents numerous theories about women who may have been on the king’s roster of chamber visits, evidence is…

The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII

The Dublin King

Publisher The History Press Price £9.99 Release Out now Accurately tracing the bloodline of modern kings and queens isn’t quite as beset with uncertainty as it used to be. It’s not as if the heritage of a royal baby is ever going to be questioned today, but with a simple DNA test the parenthood can be revealed. In the late 15th century, however, with a few partisan witnesses to the birth and even fewer who could give true accounts of the conception, contesting birthright was par for the course. A year after Richard III died, a boy who claimed to be Edward, the Earl of Warwick, heir of the duke of Clarence and the sole surviving male of the House of York, did exactly that. Naturally, he was backed by…

The Dublin King

Harold: The King Who Fell at Hastings

Publisher Amberley Publishing Price £9.99 Release Out now Some events in history continue to fascinate through the ages. Sometimes this has more to do with content than import, but with the Battle of Hastings, a subject that the late Anglo-Saxon and Norman expert Peter Rex covered in other volumes, we have a moment in time that has an abundance of both interest and significance. This book takes a considered look at Harold Godwinson – had he succeeded in repelling the invading Normans, the history of the British Isles would naturally have been very different. Rex’s in-depth knowledge of the subject is writ-large in every single line of this book and it can’t be approached too lightly. As a wide cast of characters appears thick and fast throughout the pages, you…

Harold: The King Who Fell at Hastings

Napoleon on War

Publisher Oxford University Press Price £14.99 Released Out now Napoleon Bonaparte bestrode the military world between 1793-1815 like a colossus. Indeed, he gave his name to the period the momentous wars that he fought: ‘Napoleonic’. Under his leadership, France maintained an extensive military presence throughout much of Europe including Italy, the Low Countries, Spain, Switzerland, Croatia and large swathes of what is now Germany and Poland. At its height, Napoleon’s imperial grip encompassed over 70 million subjects and his battlefield victories still ring through the centuries such as Austerlitz, Jena-Auerstedt, Marengo, Ulm and Friedland. The French emperor fought as many battles as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Frederick the Great combined and won almost all of them, making him one of the greatest generals of all time. However, the…

Napoleon on War

Houses of Power

Publisher Bantam Press Price £30 Release Out now Simon Thurley may be an architectural historian, but his research into royal Tudor buildings is much less about the bricks and mortar of structures and more about the stories that played out within their walls. Houses of Power delves into the royal digs of the infamous Tudor dynasty to provide a fascinating insight into the politics and noble personalities of 16th century England and Wales. Starting with the Tower of London, Thurley covers every size and style of dwelling, from marital homes and towering castles to well-known abodes such as Hampton Court. Over 16 chapters he follows a linear timeline, starting from Henry VII and going right through to Elizabeth I. Buildings synonymous with each reign are focused on and, while there’s…

Houses of Power

A Dictionary of Family History

Publisher Pen & Sword Price £14.99 Release Out now This informative and amusing approach to genealogy provides a practical guide for individuals seeking an introduction to the field and those pursuing deeper study. The former deputy editor of Family History Monthly has compiled an encyclopaedic directory of terminology and research methodology to assist in guiding exploration into family history. Jonathan Scott navigates the complexities of genealogy in an easy and engaging style, providing the reader with a wealth of practical knowledge. The information spans from instruction on accessing archived websites to insights on how to tackle complications like facing gaps within consensus and offering advice on tracking down probate records. The author’s understanding of his subject is evident and he has compiled a helpful list of further resources for his…

A Dictionary of Family History

Rasputin – Faith, Power and the Twilight of the Romanovs

Publisher Macmillan Price £25 Release Out now Russia is, as any cartographer will tell you, an undeniably big country. Befittingly, it’s been home to many a big personality over the years, and in Rasputin it produced a figure so compelling that if history hadn’t offered him up of its own volition, someone somewhere would have had to invent him. He’s one of those rarefied figures that one actually has to remind oneself really existed – so much of his persona seems more easily relatable to myth than to fact. This is, of course, at the heart of the challenge for any biographer of Rasputin, and Douglas Smith’s biography, timed to coincide with the centenary of his murder, is no different. First and foremost, it’s a truly massive book and runs…

Rasputin – Faith, Power and the Twilight of the Romanovs

When did you take up jousting and why? I started training in 2011 and rode my first international tournament in 2012. During the autumn of 2009, I was reading a lot about Emperor Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire, who was crazy about jousting and tournaments. I was quite taken with him at the time and, since I had a strong equestrian and re-enactment background, it felt like the next logical step. Historically it’s been a man’s sport and women were spectators – how does it feel being on the other side? I was lucky to be raised by parents who didn’t once say to me, “This is for boys and this is for girls”, so I grew up thinking anything was fair game. Despite my historical background, I…

The Poltimore Tiara

Championed as one of the most glorious jewels to be worn by a royal, the Poltimore Tiara’s regal history is a short one but certainly significant. Favoured by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, it became synonymous with the party princess and her fanciful tastes. Originally created in the 1870s for Lady Poltimore by Garrard – crown jewellers since 1735 – the tiara remained in the family until the mid-20th century. The 4th Baron Poltimore put it up for auction in 1959 and it was quickly snapped up by Princess Margaret for £5,500. However, it is unclear whether she purchased it for herself or if it was a present from the Queen Mother or Queen Elizabeth II for her upcoming nuptials to Anthony Armstrong-Jones. Made of gold and silver and completely…

The Poltimore Tiara

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