Kings and Queens: 1200 Years of English and British Monarchs

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, Essays

568 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 14, 2023

Reviews

[Charlotte Badger · 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.

[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