Queens and Kings: An Unusually Personal History by Lucy Worsley

When it comes to royal history, Lucy Worsley holds all the cards

Lucy Worsley has lived and breathed royal history for more than twenty years. As Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, she worked in some of Britain's most famous royal sites, from Hampton Court to the Tower of London, and even lived in one of them herself. Now she takes us behind closed doors to reveal some of the monarchy's best-kept secrets.

In Queens and Kings, Lucy brings to life the rulers who have shaped Britain over the last thousand years, from Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn to Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II. What emerges is a royal world far stranger, funnier and more surprising than we might think: of intimate love letters, phantom pregnancies, unruly pet monkeys and fatal betrayals. Venturing through haunted staircases and into private bedchambers, she finds the details that make history feel gloriously human.

With her trademark warmth and incisive scholarship, Lucy explores the full splendour, scandal and sorrow of royal life. The result is a wildly engaging history of the monarchy from one of our most beloved historians.

About the Author

Lucy Worsley was Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces for twenty years. She has written acclaimed biographies of Jane Austen and Queen Victoria, while her biography of Agatha Christie was a Sunday Times Number One Bestseller. She presents BBC Radio 4's Lady Killers and her many TV documentaries include Lucy Worsley Investigates and Killing Sherlock.