Kings and Queens: The acclaimed account of 1200 years of the British monarchy - a must-read for anyone with an interest in British history

by Iain Dale

'We all know about Queen Victoria, Edward VIII and Queen Elizabeth II, but how much do we really know about other monarchs? Yes, we know William the Conqueror beat King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. We know George III was mad, but what else do we know about his 60 year long reign? We know Henry VIII famously had six wives, but do we know much more about him, other than he was very fat?'

The British monarchy is one of the oldest in the world - dating so far back that even its origins are the subject of debate. Was William the Conqueror the first king of England, or was it Alfred the Great? In this third instalment of the series that began with The Prime Ministers and The Presidents, Iain Dale charts this long history of the English and British monarchy, with 64 essays by journalists, historians and politicians on every individual to have sat on the throne, as well as some who didn't.

From Alfred the Great to Charles III, each essay examines the monarch, their role and what they tell us about British history. Why has the British monarchy, unlike so many others, endured? Kings and Queens will attempt to answer this question, and many others, providing valuable insight into British history and how Britain is ruled today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, British Literature, Ebooks, Historical, Essays

568 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 14, 2023

Reviews

[Pinko Palest · Rating 2 out of 5]

as with most Biteback books, there is far too little revisionism, and what you get is the official account with few surprises. It would have been a one star, but some of the medieval stuff is better than one would expect

[Charlotte Patrone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to get an overview of British Monarchs. As each chapter is written by a different person I found there to be a lot of overlap between chapters. Personally I'd have liked to read more about how monarchs handled the challenges of the times (things like the French revolution, or prohibition in America). Some chapters were extremely well written and others less so, but as everyone has different preferences we may disagree on which were the good chapters! It's a long book so I found it best to read a chapter at a time and it helps to remember all of the different but very similar names throughout.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable but slightly uneven compilation of essays, documenting each English/British monarch from Alfred the Great to modern times (with a few disputed monarchs in there - often these kinds of books omit the likes of Lady Jane Grey). It is a well presented book, each "chapter" being devoted to a monarch, and listing a few key facts, such as dates of birth, death, and reign, spouses, children etc. followed by the history of each reign.

My main issue with the book is that from chapter to chapter, the theme, tone and quality can vary, due to the fact that each chapter is written by a different person. Then within that, contributors vary in their vocation; there is a mix of historical/royal journalists, history writers, academics, and oddly, British MPs. Some writers approach their chapters as short biographical summaries, while others come across more like opinion pieces. I would say that by and large, the slightly different approaches do keep the reading experience quite fresh. But there are examples where moving from one chapter to another can feel quite jarring. Case in point, the chapter on Edward I is extremely verbose and inaccessible, whereas the following chapter on Edward II is almost chatty in the way it is written.

Obviously, some monarchs are a lot more remarkable than others, but still, each essay rarely exceeds 10-12 pages in length. Thus, the likes of Henry VIII, Edward III have a lot omitted from their respective chapters out of necessity. But even so, this does not hamper the quality of the book overall. As each chapter is essentially a standalone entity, the book feels very easy to pick up and put down; it was a very pleasant reading experience. Another aspect in which this particular book excels is that it brings the Saxon Kings to life in a way which many other similar books fail to do.

A handful of authors in this collection stand out for their contributions. Dan Jones (writer of the superb Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King) covers Richard I, Leanda de Lisle covers the pivotal reign of Charles I. But special praise to Julia Langdon for her wonderful and moving piece on Elizabeth II - a fitting tribute to the longest reigning monarch of them all.

[Carol-Ann Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have for anyone starting out to learn about Royal history, I especially liked the facts that King's prior to William the Conquerer were included, not something that happens often. It seems sometimes as if England began with him.

Another almost unique point about this book is the chapters are each written by a different author/historian/journalist etc which gives each chapter its own individuality and style.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Essays on every king or queen regnant for the last 1200 years from the early kings to Charles III. The essays are reasonably short no longer than 10 pages but give an insight into the essay writers evaluation of how good/bad said queen or king was. This also includes chapters on Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard.

[Harry Cobbett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the style of these. Get a flavour for each personality who sat on the throne and a high level overview of the greatest hits of the last century of British history. Think because it covers medieval history it sits higher than The Prime Ministers for me.

[Steve Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific read and the best, in my opinion, of the 'trilogy' of potter biographies, the others being The Presidents and The Prime Ministers.

[Gary B Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daleited

Excellent short sections on various monarchs. Lots of new facts and stories that intrigued me. What's next? Popes? Archbishops? England managers?

[Susan Peak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive, engaging, but uneven - inevitable, in a book with essays by academics, MPs, journalists and writers, but occasionally frustrating.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracker

[Jim Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging essays on every English monarch, including a few pseudo-monarchs