Right Royal Bastards: The Fruits of Passion

by Peter Beauclerk-Dewar

Since 1066 when William the Conqueror (alias William the Bastard) took the throne, English and Scottish kings have sired at least 150 children out of wedlock. Many were acknowledged at court and founded dynasties of their own - several of today's dukedoms are descended from them. Others were only acknowledged grudgingly or not at all. In the 20th century this trend for Royals to father illegitimate children continued, but the parentage, while highly probable, has not been officially recognised. This book is a new, genuinely fresh approach to British "Kings and Queens", examining their lives and times through the unfamiliar perspective of their illegitimate children. Interviewees include many of their descendants. But beyond personal narratives it also sheds light on the perennially fascinating topic of sexual habits; the links between politics, power and patronage; the class system, scandal and celebrity; and the different expectations we have of men and women.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, British Literature

206 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2007

Reviews

[John Bowis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A serious study by authors who were, respectively, a trustee of the Institute of Heraldic Studies and a researcher at the Royal College of Heralds; one a descendent of Charles II and Nell Gwyn and the other from Charles II and Lucy Walter and their son the Duke of Monmouth. The book covers the years of Edward IV to modern times, occasionally speculative but mostly either acknowledged by the monarch or confirmed by research.
In the acknowledged cases the offspring were given the 'Fitz-' name and often a Dukedom and a position of significance in the army or state. Perhaps the most interesting revelations relate to the current descendants, including Princess Diana and Queen Camilla, who share a blood line from Charles II and his illegitimate son, Charles Lennox the first Duke of Richmond.
A quick read or an occasional dip.

[Desiree M ~*~*~ LiveReadCollect · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narration was great.

Book was okay. It's in a list type format, it goes through Edward IV to the modern day (at least up to 2007).

There were some speculative illegitimate children mentioned, mixed in with the known illegitimate children. I do wish this book made it more clear....or gave reasons why and why not for the children who it wasn't clear if they were illegitimate, I like to read about the various theories as to why historians think a child was the kings and also theories about why they might not be. There wasn't a lot of that in this book.

Overall this was fine, but not necessarily a book I would recommend to someone.

[Candy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay I guess

[Siobhan J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very, very densely written and not a lot of fun to read as a result.

[Shona_reads_in_Devon · Rating 2 out of 5]

*listened on audiobook*

God this was dull! Super well researched, and really informative if you want to know every minute detail about coats of arms and boring things like - she was the wife of the second lord of nowhere twice removed who was closely related to the daughter of the second cousin of the dukes lord of the bedchamber. Very dry. And actually most of them didn't do much very interesting. And as with lots of these books the women are held to a much higher moral code. It's literally a whole book dedicated to men who couldn't keep it in their pants but somehow the women come off worse.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to find out about the lives of the many illegitimate offspring the many monarchs had.