Download or read book The Heir Apparent written by Jane Ridley and published by Random House. This book was released on 2013-12-03 with total page 611 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND THE BOSTON GLOBE This richly entertaining biography chronicles the eventful life of Queen Victoria’s firstborn son, the quintessential black sheep of Buckingham Palace, who matured into as wise and effective a monarch as Britain has ever seen. Granted unprecedented access to the royal archives, noted scholar Jane Ridley draws on numerous primary sources to paint a vivid portrait of the man and the age to which he gave his name. Born Prince Albert Edward, and known to familiars as “Bertie,” the future King Edward VII had a well-earned reputation for debauchery. A notorious gambler, glutton, and womanizer, he preferred the company of wastrels and courtesans to the dreary life of the Victorian court. His own mother considered him a lazy halfwit, temperamentally unfit to succeed her. When he ascended to the throne in 1901, at age fifty-nine, expectations were low. Yet by the time he died nine years later, he had proven himself a deft diplomat, hardworking head of state, and the architect of Britain’s modern constitutional monarchy. Jane Ridley’s colorful biography rescues the man once derided as “Edward the Caresser” from the clutches of his historical detractors. Excerpts from letters and diaries shed new light on Bertie’s long power struggle with Queen Victoria, illuminating one of the most emotionally fraught mother-son relationships in history. Considerable attention is paid to King Edward’s campaign of personal diplomacy abroad and his valiant efforts to reform the political system at home. Separating truth from legend, Ridley also explores Bertie’s relationships with the women in his life. Their ranks comprised his wife, the stunning Danish princess Alexandra, along with some of the great beauties of the era: the actress Lillie Langtry, longtime “royal mistress” Alice Keppel (the great-grandmother of Camilla Parker Bowles), and Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston. Edward VII waited nearly six decades for his chance to rule, then did so with considerable panache and aplomb. A magnificent life of an unexpectedly impressive king, The Heir Apparent documents the remarkable transformation of a man—and a monarchy—at the dawn of a new century. Praise for The Heir Apparent “If [The Heir Apparent] isn’t the definitive life story of this fascinating figure of British history, then nothing ever will be.”—The Christian Science Monitor “The Heir Apparent is smart, it’s fascinating, it’s sometimes funny, it’s well-documented and it reads like a novel, with Bertie so vivid he nearly leaps from the page, cigars and all.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune “I closed The Heir Apparent with admiration and a kind of wry exhilaration.”—The Wall Street Journal “Ridley is a serious scholar and historian, who keeps Bertie’s flaws and virtues in a fine balance.”—The Boston Globe “Brilliantly entertaining . . . a landmark royal biography.”—The Sunday Telegraph “Superb.”—The New York Times Book Review

Download or read book Edward VII s Children written by John Kiste and published by The History Press. This book was released on 1980-01-01 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra had six children. Of the five who reached maturity, only one, the future King George V, has received much attention from biographers. The eldest son, Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, a backward youth and a subject of scandal, died before he was thirty. The three princesses, Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, the lifelong spinster Victoria, and Maud, Queen of Norway, were never well-known to the British public during their lifetime. In this detailed and fascinating account, John Van der Kiste has drawn upon previously unpublished correspondence from the Royal Archives, Windsor, to reveal for the first time the part this hitherto neglected group of characters played in supporting the royal family and crown during a period of transition from the Victorian age to the uncertain twentieth century.

Download or read book Queen Victoria s Children written by John Van der Kiste and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-10-24 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort had nine children who despite their very different characters, remained a close-knit family. Inevitably, as they married into European royal families their loyalties were divided and their lives dominated by political controversy. This is not only the story of their lives in terms of world impact, but also of their own personal achievements, their individual contributions to public life in Britain and overseas and in their roles as the children of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort.

Download or read book Edward VII written by Catharine Arnold and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Victorian England: We know what that was supposed to mean — all priggish prudery and "we-are-not-amused" harrumphing. Except now we know it wasn't all that . . . [Catharine Arnold’s] new biography focuses — deliciously — on the women who shared the scandalously plentiful sex life of Queen Victoria's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.” —USA Today Edward Prince of Wales, better known as “Bertie,” was the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Charming and dissolute, he was a larger-than-life personality with king-size appetites. A lifelong womanizer, Bertie conducted his countless liaisons against the glittering backdrop of London society, Europe, and the stately homes of England in the second half of the 19th century. Bertie’s lovers were beautiful, spirited, society women who embraced a wide field of occupations. There was Lillie Langtry, the simple Jersey girl who would become an actress and producer; “Daisy” Brooke, Countess of Warwick, the extravagant socialite who embraced socialism and stood for Parliament as a Labour party candidate; bisexual French actress Sarah Bernhardt, celebrated for her decadent appeal and opium habit; and by total contrast the starchy Agnes Keyser, who founded a hospital for army officers. One of Bertie’s most intriguing liaisons was with American heiress Jennie Churchill, unhappy wife of Sir Randolph Churchill and mother of Sir Winston. While the scandals resulting from his affairs—from suicides to divorces—were a blight on the royal family, Bertie would become a surprisingly modern monarch. His major accomplishment was transforming the British monarchy into the modern institution that we know today and ensuring its survival in a period when every other European dynasty collapsed in the wake of WWI.

Download or read book Bertie written by Jane Ridley and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2013 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exciting new approach to biography by an acclaimed historian and biographer: King Edward Vll (Bertie) seen through the eyes of the women in his life. Entertaining and different, this enjoyable study of a flawed yet characterful Prince of Wales wears its scholarship lightly. Edward Vll, who gave his name to the Edwardian Age and died in 1911, was King of England for the final 10 years of his life. He was 59 when at last he came to power. Known as Bertie, and the eldest son of Victoria and Albert, he was bullied by both his parents. His mother, Queen Victoria, the first and most powerful woman in his life, blamed Bertie's scandalous womanising for his father's early demise. Although Bertie was heir to the throne, she refused to give him any proper responsibilities, as a result of which he spent his time eating (his waist measurement was 48 inches and his nickname was 'Edward the Wide'), betting on race-horses and shooting grouse. He was married off to Alexandra of Denmark, who was beautiful but infantile, lavishing her affection on her doggies and pet bunnies. Bertie's numerous mistresses included the society hostess Daisy Brook ('Babbling Brook') and the gorgeous but fragile Lillie Langtry (with whom 'played house' in a specially built hide-away home). The last of the women in his life was the clever and manipulative Alice Keppel. He always placed her at dinner next to his most important guests, because of her grasp of politics, her brilliant conversation and her formidable skills at the Bridge table. When Bertie finally became king, he did a good job, especially in foreign policy. This colourful book gives him due credit, while painting a vivid portrait of the age in all its excess and eccentricity, hypocrisy and heartbreak.

Download or read book Edward VII s Children written by John Van der Kiste and published by The History Press. This book was released on 1980-01-01 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra had six children. Of the five who reached maturity, only one, the future King George V, has received much attention from biographers. The eldest son, Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, a backward youth and a subject of scandal, died before he was thirty. The three princesses, Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, the lifelong spinster Victoria, and Maud, Queen of Norway, were never well-known to the British public during their lifetime. In this detailed and fascinating account, John Van der Kiste has drawn upon previously unpublished correspondence from the Royal Archives, Windsor, to reveal for the first time the part this hitherto neglected group of characters played in supporting the royal family and crown during a period of transition from the Victorian age to the uncertain twentieth century.

Download or read book Alice Keppel and Agnes Keyser written by Raymond Lamont-Brown and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-10-24 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A detailed look at the two women in the life of Edward VII during his last years. Alice Keppel, youngest daughter of a Scottish retired admiral and MP emerged from obscurity in 1898 to become the publicly acknowledged mistress of the portly, fun-loving Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. Agnes Keyser, daughter of a prominent member of the Stock exchange, defied social expectations by not marrying, instead becoming involved in hospital charity work. Her twelve-year relationship with the king was much less in the public eye, but was just as important.

Download or read book The Life of King Edward VII written by J. Castell Hopkins and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2020-07-18 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reproduction of the original: The Life of King Edward VII by J. Castell Hopkins

Download or read book Wallis in Love written by Andrew Morton and published by Michael O'Mara Books. This book was released on 2018-02-13 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Wallis in Love is a vivid, fresh and frankly amazing portrait of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor. Morton draws on interviews, secret letters, diaries and never before seen or heard primary sources.

Download or read book The Children of Henry VIII written by Alison Weir and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2011-09-21 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Fascinating . . . Alison Weir does full justice to the subject.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second wife Anne Boleyn; and his young great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey. In this riveting account Alison Weir paints a unique portrait of these extraordinary rulers, examining their intricate relationships to each other and to history. She traces the tumult that followed Henry's death, from the brief intrigue-filled reigns of the boy king Edward VI and the fragile Lady Jane Grey, to the savagery of "Bloody Mary," and finally the accession of the politically adroit Elizabeth I. As always, Weir offers a fresh perspective on a period that has spawned many of the most enduring myths in English history, combining the best of the historian's and the biographer's art. “Like anthropology, history and biography can demonstrate unfamiliar ways of feeling and being. Alison Weir's sympathetic collective biography, The Children of Henry VIII does just that, reminding us that human nature has changed--and for the better. . . . Weir imparts movement and coherence while re-creating the suspense her characters endured and the suffering they inflicted.”—The New York Times Book Review

Download or read book Mrs Keppel and Her Daughter written by Diana Souhami and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2014-10-14 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alice Keppel, the married lover of Queen Victoria's eldest son and great-grandmother to Camilla Parker-Bowles, was a key figure in Edwardian society. Hers was the acceptable face of adultery. Discretion was her hallmark. It was her art to be the king's mistress and yet to laud the Royal Family and the institution of marriage. Formidable and manipulative, her attentions to the king brought her wealth, power, and status. Her daughter Violet Trefusis had a long tempestuous affair with the author and aristocrat Vita Sackville-West, during which Vita left her husband and two sons to travel abroad with Violet. It was a liaison that threatened the fabric of Violet's social world, and her passion and recalcitrance in pursuit of it pitted her against her mother and society. From memoirs, diaries, and letters, Diana Souhami portrays this fascinating and intense mother/daughter relationship in Mrs. Keppel and Her Daughter. Her story of these women, their lovers, and their lovers' mothers, highlights Edwardian - and contemporary - duplicity and double standards and goes to the heart of questions about sexual freedoms.

Download or read book The Royal Victorians written by Christopher Hibbert and published by Philadelphia : Lippincott. This book was released on 1976 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biography of King Edward VII of England (1841-1910).

Download or read book Battle Royal written by Kirsty McLeod and published by Constable Limited. This book was released on 2000 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the two eldest sons of George V, who became Edward VIII and George VI, showing how they emerged into adulthood scarred by their cold mother and bullying father. One confident and self-indulgent, the other hesitant and insecure, we see them meet and marry Wallis Simpson and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, and lose all vestiges of brotherly love.

Download or read book The King in Love written by Theo Aronson and published by Lume Books. This book was released on 2020-11-12 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An all-embracing account of the loves of that royal womaniser, Edward VII, as Prince of Wales and King. Spanning three decades, the story is set in the extravagant and hypocritical world of late Victorian and Edwardian society.

Download or read book Dearest Mama written by Victoria (Queen of Great Britain) and published by Holt McDougal. This book was released on 1969 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Edward VI written by Chris Skidmore and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2011-07-21 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The struggle for the soul of England after the death of Henry VIII In the death of Henry VIII, the crown passed to his nine-year-old son, Edward. However, real power went to the Protector, Edward's uncle, the Duke of Somerset. The court had been a hotbed of intrigue since the last days of Henry VIII. Without an adult monarch, the stakes were even higher. The first challenger was the duke's own brother: he seduced Henry VIII's former queen, Katherine Parr; having married her, he pursued Princess Elizabeth and later was accused of trying to kidnap the boy king at gunpoint. He was beheaded. Somerset ultimately met the same fate, after a coup d'etat organized by the Duke of Warwick. Chris Skidmore reveals how the countrywide rebellions of 1549 were orchestrated by the plotters at court and were all connected to the (literally) burning issue of religion: Henry VIII had left England in religious limbo. Court intrigue, deceit and treason very nearly plunged the country into civil war. Edward was a precocious child, as his letters in French and Latin demonstrate. He kept a secret diary, written partly in Greek, which few of his courtiers could read. In 1551, at the age of 14, he took part in his first jousting tournament, an essential demonstration of physical prowess in a very physical age. Within a year it is his signature we find at the bottom of the Council minutes, yet in early 1553 he contracted a chest infection and later died, rumours circulating that he might have been poisoned. Mary, Edward's eldest sister, and devoted Catholic, was proclaimed Queen. This is more than just a story of bloodthirsty power struggles, but how the Church moved so far along Protestant lines that Mary would be unable to turn the clock back. It is also the story of a boy born to absolute power, whose own writings and letters offer a compelling picture of a life full of promise, but tragically cut short.

Download or read book Edward VII and His Jewish Court written by Anthony Allfrey and published by . This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: