Behind the Palace Doors
Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery, and Folly from Royal Britain
1 of 1 copy available
Behind the Palace Doors features stories covering every monarch, from randy Henry VIII to reserved Elizabeth II; debunks historical myths; serves up surprising anecdotes; and covers four family trees spanning every royal house, from the Tudors to the Windsors. From the truth behind the supposed madness of King George to Queen Victoria's surprisingly daring taste in sculpture, Behind the Palace Doors ventures beyond the rumors to tell the unvarnished history of Britain's monarchs, highlighting the unique mix of tragedy, comedy, romance, heroism, and incompetence that has made the British throne a seat of such unparalleled fascination.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 22, 2011 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781452622965
- File size: 275719 KB
- Duration: 09:34:24
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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January 17, 2011
Washington Post staffer Farquhar (A Treasury of Royal Scandals) probes 500 years of monarchical mishaps and misdeeds, screaming headlines and gleeful attacks by cartoonists. He uncloaks secrets, schemes, scandals, blood-soaked sheets, public humiliations, intrigues, and adultery. Illustrated with lineage charts and chronologically organized, chapters cover the houses of Tudor, Stuart, Hanover, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Windsor. Farquhar begins with "savage bloodletting" during the reign of Henry VIII, so "monstrously obese" that it took 16 yeoman of the guard to lower his enormous coffin. Bonnie Prince Charlie, attempting to reclaim the British throne for the Stuarts, was defeated at the Battle of Culloden, became a fugitive, and "spen the rest of his life as an embittered paper prince." Suspicions surrounded Ernest, duke of Cumberland, after one of his valets was found with his throat slit. With amusing anecdotes, such as Queen Victoria's coronation ceremony going "wildly awry," Farquhar's style is a breezy pleasure throughout.
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