The Kings and Queens of England

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David Williamson's text paints a vivid and sensitive portrait of each monarch, revealing the dramatic events and controversies that surrounded them. Enlivened with anecdotes and complemented by a rich selection of images, comprehensive fact boxes and clear family trees, National Portrait Gallery Kings & Queens will appeal to everyone with an interest in history or the British monarchy.

Eadweard (Edward the Martyr)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007 . Retrieved 17 March 2007. ; "Edward II 'The Martyr' (r. 975–978)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. So many books of this type start with William the Conqueror, when in reality the parade of English kings begins much, much earlier with fifteen men of varying abilities occupying the English throne, beginning with Alfred the Great. The Danish rulers, such as Cnut, were highly influential in the development of what would eventually become England and Britain, and their lives and those of their various family members should not be discounted. They are lively tales - complete with Viking raids, family betrayals and a rich history of Norwegian influences upon the growing country. Charles I (r. 1625–1649)". royal.gov.uk. 30 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018.a b c "Aethelred (the Unready)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2007 . Retrieved 17 March 2007. a b "Stephen and Matilda (r. 1135–1154)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018.

Norris, Herbert (1999). Medieval Costume and Fashion (illustrated, reprinted.). Courier Dover Publications. p. 312. ISBN 978-0-486-40486-8. In the Introduction, Antonia Fraser quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson, saying, "There is no history, only biography," which sums up this book nicely, as it is concerned just with the biographies of the monarchs of England, not with the history around them, and the quote does make a good point that human history is simply made up of biographies of people. But this book is just about the people who worn the British crown from William I to Queen Elizabeth II. Hanley, Catherine (2016). Louis: The French Prince Who Invaded England. Yale University Press. pp.1066, 1208. ISBN 978-0-300-22164-0. Marks, Richard; Payne, Ann; British Museum; British Library, eds. (1978). British heraldry from its origins to c. 1800. British Museum Publications Ltd. ; The Numismatist. American Numismatic Association. 1971. Matilda is not listed as a monarch of England in many genealogies within texts, including Carpenter, David (2003). A Struggle for Mastery. p.533. ; Warren, W.L. (1973). Henry II. Berkeley. p. 176. ISBN 9780520022829. ; and Gillingham, John (1984). The Angevin Empire. p.x. .Eadred (Edred)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2007 . Retrieved 17 March 2007. ; "King Edred". britroyals.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 . Retrieved 17 March 2007. ; "Edred (r. 946–55)". royal.gov.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. Allmand, Christopher (September 2010). "Henry V (1386–1422)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.). Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/12952. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.); "Henry V (r. 1413–1422)". royal.gov.uk. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. ; Fryde 1996, p.41. I loved the section on the Plantagenets, the Tudors are always a favorite, but already knowing so much, I spotted what was glossed over, and then we get to the Stuarts, which somehow gets boring, which it shouldn't be, due to all the death and pomp - but no indication from this book that the monarchy might have been in real trouble there for a minute thanks to Cromwell. Nope, all is fine, and due to Anne I's tragedy of all 17 children dying at birth or shortly before, we get the Georges. Anne (r. 1702–1714)". royal.gov.uk. 30 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018 . Retrieved 16 January 2018. ; "Anne (England)". archontology.org. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007 . Retrieved 25 October 2007. I wanted to read this to see what might be said about those Shakespearian characters from Richard II through to Richard III. I was surprised that Shakespeare seems to have kept quite well to the overall story.