The Rough Guide to the Royals

by Rough Guides; McConnachie, James

• ISBN13: 9781405390040
• ISBN10: 1405390042
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-16
• Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.

Summary

Britain's royals are the official face of the state and the centre of a worldwide media circus.This entertaining Rough Guide to the Royals explores the paradox of one of the world's oldest monarchies. It casts a quizzical eye over the current royal family, from former Olympic horse rider Anne and industry ambassador Andrew to current favourites William and Kate. It answers such burning questions as what they do, where they get their money from, how fundamentally British are they, and just who is twelfth in the line to the throne? (One-year-old Savannah Phillips is the answer.)It looks at the most extravagant royal ceremonies and the most controversial figures, from Henry VIII to the scandalous Caroline of Brunswick (who was banned from her husband's coronation but turned up anyway). The best and the worst monarchs are reassessed, with investigations into how the likes of alleged nephew-killer and hunchback, Richard III, achieved their villainous reputations.The image of the monarchy is also examined - whether it's in commemorative ceramics, respectful movies such as The King's Speech or more critical fare.

Author Biography

Alice Hunt is a lecturer in English at the University of Southampton and a founder and former publisher at Atlantic books. Her research interests include ideas of queenship from the Tudor period to the present.

James McConnachie was born in London, educated in Oxford, and has written or contributed to numerous Rough Guide travel titles. He is the co-author of the Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories as well as The Book of Love: In Search of the Kamasutra and was nominated for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 2008.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. vi
House of Windsor	p. 1
A British dynasty?	p. 51
Heroes, villains and maverick monarchs	p. 69
Pomp and ceremonies	p. 120
Royal controversies	p. 151
The royals debate	p. 189
Royal representations	p. 217
101 things you never knew about the British monarchy	p. 243
Index	p. 266
Picture credits	p. 272
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