How Fat Was Henry VIII?: And 101 Other Questions on Royal History

by Raymond Lamont-Brown

Most of us know that Queen Victoria ruled over a great Empire, that King John signed the Magna Carta, and that Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings. But this book, for inquisitive visitors to the royal palaces and monarchy buffs everywhere, takes us to the heart of the matter, and tells us what we really want to know about life behind the palace walls: Which monarch had the most eccentricities? Which king invented the handkerchief? Which queen pretended to be invisible? Which king was afraid of witches? Did King Canute harness the waves? Why did Charles II hide in an oak tree? Which king pawned his crown? Did monarchs use contraception? Who was Britain’s first royal motorist? Did Mary Queen of Scots murder her husband?

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, European History, British Literature

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book and then when I was reading it it took forever. Either this book lacks some good editing or the author had no clue what he was talking about. I have already read quite a lot about the English royalty and I caught the author in a couple (quite a lot) of lies/wrong facts or how you want to call them. It makes me wonder about the rest he told me. Also a lot of the questions he asks he never answers. Which is very dissappointing.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of curious questions when considering European royalty - mostly English but other countries have managed to provide some interesting answers for the trivia buff to include in their repertoire.

Did Charles II actually hide in a tree to evade capture by the Commonwealth troops" Yep.
What is the real story behind Queen Victoria and John Brown - he was a very loyal but blunt individual who was not afraid of telling the Queen the truth - as he saw it.
What if Edward VIII had not abdicated especially with the rumors regarding his affiliation with Hitler - it was unlikely that he would be happy about ruling a conquered England.
Various assassination attempts and fatal medical interventions.
Who stole the Crown Jewels and the Scottish Honors (Scotland's Crown "jewels").
Who was the first "King of England" - Egbert of Wessex (ruled 802-839) had been titled as King of the English, and while Alfred the Great was king of England he was never crowned which means the first was his own son, Edward, in 899.

Which monarch had the most illegitimate children - that would be Henry I supposedly with 25 or more followed by the Merry Monarch himself, Charles II, with 16.

Did the House of Windsor leave their Russian cousins to be murdered? It seemed to be more of a case of too little, too late and the planned rescue was discovered by the Red Russians who tightened security around the tsar and his family.

A fun book for the royal fan and the trivia buff. And those that like odd little facts to surprise their friends. Oh, and how 'fat' was Henry VIII. At his death, he was estimated to be 25-30 stone in weight or about 350-420 pounds.

2022-229

[Julie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stuff, but a little dubious on the facts. He restates the disproved claim that Anne Boleyn had a sixth finger. There is absolutely no evidence for this claim which only surfaced after her death. As hated as she was by some factions at court, a deformity like that during that time period would have been brought up. I can't blame him for not thinking that Richard III had a hunched back since this book was written before Richard's skeleton, showing scoliosis, had been found under a carpark.
The false Anne Boleyn claim makes me wonder about his other stories, though.

[Kayla Tornello · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was filled with interesting facts about royal rumors throughout the ages. It was interesting, but the writing was confusing and conflicting at times. It isn't the best-written book in the world, but the short little sections were good for reading when you only have a few spare minutes here and there.

[Beth (biblio.beth) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kinda fun. There were some things that I wasn't interested in, but I feel like that's inevitable in a book that covers such a large portion of history. Worth a read if you're interested, although bear in mind that most of the questions asked aren't actually answered, just guessed at.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

That's a very soft 3. You'd think that this book would be exciting. I've never had a royal affair sound so DULL. It's like stereo instructions.

[Robert Hausladen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting rather than funny

Cover makes it look like comedy, but it's more funny unusual than comedy. Lots of trivia and historical oddities. Good if you like stories.

[Dianna Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book at the end of the London Tower tour two years ago and enjoyed finding out random information about the monarchs of England, Scotland, and Ireland. I wouldn't say it was a page turner, but it was great to read a chapter here and there to enrich my day with useless information. And yes, Henry VIII was morbidly obese - somewhere between 300-425 pounds. I will spare you the gory details of his casket being dropped in the procession and the surrounding mourners being sprayed with infectious juices, but if you like that kind of thing . . . this book might just be the ticket for you.

[Ana TM · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is, at least, a curious book. It is written in a question-answer format and explain some facts about British monarchs. I knew some of the answers because I have taken an English History course this semester, though I have not even heard about others. However, the main problem I had with this books was that sometimes it gave TOO much information. A question that could easily and clearly answered in a few paragraphs becomes messy because of the vast number of names and places they talk about and that you have never heard about. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining reading, though it could have benefited from being a little more concise.

[Annabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting royal trivia to be had here. It's now easier to visualize the family branch that links Queen Victoria, who reigned for almost 64 years, to her great-great granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II, whose reign lasted over 70 years. Elizabeth's father George VI was the son of George V, whose grandmother was Queen Victoria. George VI, whose name was Albert, took over older brother Edward VIII and was a reluctant king. But that abdication and its historical ramifications are still the juiciest tidbits I read in the book.

This is an ideal primer for readers who are interested in British royalty. Spoiler alert: Henry VIII wasn't fat. He was OBESE.

[Rosie Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utter trivia and mindless. Just what I needed as a break from plot filled books. A lovely stroll through the lives of the kinky, noble, crazy, etc. royals. Was James II son a changeling? Was George III a bigamist? What Queen ordered the murder of Edward II? Why does Queen Elizabeth II only have corgis? You can see where this is going.

[Amber Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing...did catch one glaring error. Henry the Eight's brother Arthur was referred to as virginal in one article but having syphilis in another. Jury is out of the reality of either option...other information in the book seemed reasonably correct by my knowledge...

[Mikel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books like this! They're easy to read because you can pick them up and set them down as needed. I recommend it to everyone who enjoys a little (or a lot) of history every now and then.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting but at times, contained too much facts for one to absorb. I enjoyed some of the intimate details and crazy questions answered within the book.

[Dawn Wells · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purchased this book to take a break from serious books. It was great.

[Countess of Frogmere · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but so compact that at times it's difficult to tell which pronoun refers to which person. Some punctuation would have helped, too.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Funny, historical, informative...a perfect casual read.