Biography & Memoir

'After my death,' George V said of his eldest son and heir, 'the boy will ruin himself within twelve months.'The forecast proved uncannily accurate. Edward VIII came to the throne in January 1936, provoked a constitutional crisis by his determination to...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperback   Edward VI, the only son of Henry VIII, became king at the age of nine and died wholly unexpectedly at the age of fifteen. All around him...

Foremost medieval historian Anne Curry offers a new reinterpretation of Henry V and the battle that defined his kingship: AgincourtHenry V's invasion of France, in August 1415, represented a huge gamble. As heir to the throne, he had been a failure, cast...

On Christmas Day 1066, William, duke of Normandy was crowned in Westminster, the first Norman king of England. It was a disaster: soldiers outside, thinking shouts of acclamation were treachery, torched the surrounding buildings. To later chroniclers, it...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackHenry II (1154-89) through a series of astonishing dynastic coups became the ruler of an enormous European empire. One of the most dynamic,...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackEdward I (1272-1307) is one of the most commanding of all English rulers. He fought in southwest France, in Wales, In Scotland and in northern...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackEdward III ruled England for fifty years. He was a paragon of kingship in the eyes of his contemporaries, the perfect king in those of later...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackThe elder daughter of Henry VIII, Mary I (1553-58) became England's ruler on the unexpected death of her brother Edward VI. Her short reign is one...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackAlthough he styled himself 'His Highness', adopted the court ritual of his royal predecessors, and lived in the former royal palaces of Whitehall...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackWilliam III (1689-1702) & Mary II (1689-94) (Britain's only ever 'joint monarchs') changed the course of the entire country's history, coming...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperback   For a man with such conventional tastes and views, George V had a revolutionary impact. Almost despite himself he marked a decisive break with...

SPECTATOR AND TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2015   The short, action-packed reign of James II (1685-88) is generally seen as one of the most catastrophic in British history. James managed, despite having access to tremendous reserves of good will and...

Known as 'the anarchy', the reign of Stephen (1135-1141) saw England plunged into a civil war that illuminated the fatal flaw in the powerful Norman monarchy, that without clear rules ordering succession, conflict between members of William the...

James's reign marked one of the very rare major breaks in England's monarchy. Already James VI of Scotland and a highly experienced ruler who had established his authority over the Scottish Kirk, he marched south on Elizabeth I's death to become James I...

Richard I's reign is both controversial and seemingly contradictory. One of England's most famous medieval monarchs and a potent symbol of national identity, he barely spent six months on English soil during a ten-year reign and spoke French as his first...

Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible format   In the popular imagination, as in her portraits, Elizabeth I is the image of monarchical power. The Virgin Queen ruled over a Golden Age: the...

Henry III was a medieval king whose long reign continues to have a profound impact on us today. He was on the throne for 56 years and during this time England was transformed from being the private play-thing of a French speaking dynasty into a medieval...

George I was not the most charismatic of the Hanoverian monarchs to have reigned in England but he was probably the most important. He was certainly the luckiest.Born the youngest son of a landless German duke, he was taken by repeated strokes of good...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackHenry VIII's reign transformed the physical and spiritual landscape of England. Magnificent, tyrannical, a strong ruler, a 'pillager of the...

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperback   Richard II (1377-99) came to the throne as a child, following the long, domineering, martial reign of his grandfather Edward III. He suffered...