The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy

About this book

The rich pageant of Britains history emerges nowhere more colorfully than in the story of its kings and queens. This spectacular book offers the most authoritative account of the British monarchy ever published for the general reader. With over 400 illustrations--a third of them in color--it traces the crowns full history from Anglo-Saxon times to the present. The authors begin with the rise of recognizable kingdoms in Scotland Wales and England in the fifth century and conclude with a discussion of the crowns constitutional role which emerged in Queen Victorias reign and how this has affected the monarchy of today. Along the way we see how key traditions evolved: the right of succession coronations and marriages oaths of loyalty and military service the granting of lands and titles and the propagation of a powerful image of royalty. Supporting the text and illustrations are sidebars on each of the monarchs and on key general themes color maps an illustrated section on royal residences and tombs a consolidated list of monarchs genealogies annotated lists of further reading and a full index with personal dates.