Royal murder

by Marc Alexander

“And tell sad stories of the death of Kings: How some have deposed, some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping killed, all murdered...”

So wrote Shakespeare in Richard II.

Ignoring violent death by battle or political execution, this book is devoted to personal acts of jealousy and revenge which has stained the Crown with blue blood down the ages.

The subjects range from those murders one may vaguely remember from schooldays without being aware of their backgrounds of intrigue and mystery, to lesser known scandals such as the secret murder of Count von Konigsmarck, the lover of Princess Sophia of Zell, wife of George the First.

Genres: History

221 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder or Maybe Not

This is an interesting and fairly well researched book, but unfortunately some of the referencing is a bit sloppy and sources referred to should be properly referenced and noted in full. This makes it easier to follow up and verify for those of us who are interested in further exploration.

Some newer evidence has come to light since this book was written, especially on the death of Edward ii and the author can only repeat traditional tales of Anglo Saxon horrors but they are interesting nonetheless. The murder or so called murder, is put into the historical context and background which resulted in the ultimate fate of the royal person involved or their alleged victims. As the author points out, a number of so called murders do not have any real evidence to support them, the fate of the Princes in the Tower remains unconfirmed and two of those mentioned here are judicial executions. The Duke of Clarence for example was privately killed after being condemned for treason rather than publicly executed. The jury is out on some of the latter murders but Marc Alexander's highlighting of the deaths under George I and second really does make you wonder what sort of people gave birth to that dysfunctional family.

Some errors crept in such as an event involving King Henry vi in 1415, when he wasn't even born! I would suggest that perhaps a professional editor is needed to weed out what I assume is an editorial error. However, all in all, a good read and the stories are well worth investigating for entertainment alone.

[Jeannette Modesto · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read but if you are not familiar with the genealogy of the British monarchs it helps to print it from the National Archives because it will get very confusing as to who is who as you are reading.

[Paula Corregan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book!

This book gives detailed accounts of royalty as well as nobility who were murdered for reasons of greed or jealousy. If you like European history and reading about true crime , this book is a must read.

[Marilene Yoakim · Rating 5 out of 5]

an interesting look at English history

I learned a lot about English history by reading this book. Although sometimes the abundance of names was confusing, I was still able to follow the drama of centuries of violence and greed

[Bleachedblackcat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great not the worst

Not overly well written and a lot of stuff is either proven rumors or random tangents that take you out of the story. Sad because the subject was interesting to me.

[Bettina Partridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs some closer editing. Covers mostly well known murders with one exception. Provides a few interesting tidbits not well known. Interesting enough that I read it fairly quickly.

[Sekhar N Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read

Except the last episode, I knew the others from my reading of English history - but the details in this book is really fascinating. I enjoyed the book thoroughly.

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book for those interested in British royal history. The backstory the author gives around the murders made some of the strange things (especially the Wars of the Roses) much clearer to me, which was a bonus.