The Kings and Queens of England

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It is even recorded that George II died on the toilet, a victim to constipation – well and the stodgy English diet, I assume - or presume. I think I figured most out but in the process of reading about them I was disgusted by much of their behavior and cannot understand why people would want a monarch, even if not absolute.

There were gradual advances toward the establishment and reliance on parliament and a prime minister.This book does not suffer from that flaw; it begins with Alfred the Great, who reigned from 871-899. James was descended from the Tudors through his great-grandmother, Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of Henry VII and wife of James IV of Scotland. I've always found the homosexual antics of James I particularly amusing, especially given he gave his name to the ever popular version of the Bible – or is it just me who sees this as being somewhat amusingly ironic? Though on line reviews of the book are usually favorable one person said this just doesn't work for someone who reads a lot on the subject and they we're right.

Godwinson successfully repelled the invasion by Hardrada, but ultimately lost the throne of England in the Norman conquest of England. As parliament, cabinet, and a prime minister were added over the years, the power of the monarchy declined. It also makes me feel really smart to be able to talk about the accomplishments made by random kings and queens like Edward III (Reign: 1327-1377) or Queen Anne (Reign: 1702-1714). The public rift between William and Harry (with the latter emigrating alongside his wife amid talk of vindictive and racist treatment by family and courtiers, and then selling a tell-all book about it), the festering wound of Prince Andrew’s reputation and the king’s bad-temperedness about his pen all seem to show that royal dignity and probity have disappeared. But then again, just how could you convince someone that it would be a good idea to spend a life doing whatever it is that Charles has been doing, without them being dumb as dog's shit?When Henry died, Stephen travelled to England, and in a coup d'etat had himself crowned instead of Matilda. Mainly it focuses on dates, conflicts (because English royalty lol), marriages, births, along side some very intriguing bits of palace gossip. The conclusion is solid stipulating on the future of the royal family while also offering genealogical charts. The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) saw the throne pass back and forth between the rival houses of Lancaster and York. Dynasties, battles and religious differences are discussed in some detail, but these discussions are pointless without any mention of the societies in which the dynasties quarraled, or the technology used in the battles.

Amusingly, and hardly surprisingly, this became much more conservative as it got closer to the current day. One interpretation of the ambiguous evidence is that when Edward died, Ælfweard was declared king in Wessex and Æthelstan in Mercia. The structure is that of a directory or quick-reference guide while the content is exactly what it claims to be: a listing of English monarchs with brief bios (generally 2-4 pages for each). What this collection of concise portraits of every single English king and queen regnant from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II by various authors lacks in depth, it makes up for in breadth.Readers looking for reference material on the island's Anglo-Saxon days do be aware that they will need to look elsewhere.