Monarchy:

David Starkey' s magisterial new book Monarchy charts the rise of the British crown from the insurgency of the War of the Roses, through the glory and dangers of the Tudors, to the insolvency of the Stuarts and chaos of the English Civil War, the execution of Charles I, the rule of a commoner who was 'king in all but name', the importing of a German dynasty, and the coming-to-terms with modernity under the wise guidance of another German, Victoria' s Prince Consort Albert. An epilogue brings to story up to the present and asks questions about the future. The crown of England is the oldest surviving political institution in Europe. And yet, throughout this book Starkey emphasises the Crown' s endless capacity to reinvent itself to circumstances and reshape national polity whilst he unmasks the personalities and achievements, the defeats and victories, which lie behind the kings and queens of British history.