The history of Britain is a rich and varied one, a story shaped in so many ways by the wills and desires of its many rulers. In this latest edition of the Book of British Royals you will meet the ambitious warriors, ruthless kings and calculating queens that define British history, exploring the key moments that marked their reigns and the legacies they left behind.
Welcome to ALL ABOUT HISTORY Book of BRITISH ROYALS
All About History Book of British Royals
The birth of the British monarchy • Discover how the union of England and Scotland shaped the line of succession and the modern British monarchy
Treaty of Union • How England and Scotland united to form Great Britain and the British monarchy
Royal coat of arms • How the royal coat of arms represents the United Kingdom of Great Britain and its monarchy
Scottish royal coat of arms
Monarchs of a united Great Britain
1066-1087 William I • From the illegitimate son of a duke to the holder of the English crown, William I conquered detractors, kings and even the odds to become one of Britain’s most memorable rulers
Life in the time of William I
Timeline
The Domesday Book
1087-1100 William II • The ruddy-cheeked king who history remembers as a forcible soldier, a hard-hearted ruler and loathed by his highly-taxed subjects
The curse of the New Forest
Life in the time of William II
1100-1135 Henry I • Despite proclaiming himself king while his brother’s body was still warm, Henry I proved himself a worthy monarch
William Clito: the true heir?
Life in the time of Henry I
1135-1154 King Stephen • King Stephen’s usurpation tore the country apart with a 19-year civil war. But with little gained and Henry I’s succession restored, was it worth it?
Stephen’s early life and family members
Life in the time of King Stephen
1154-1189 Henry II • Fiery yet shrewd, the first of the Plantagenet kings helped rebuild a tattered realm while defying rulers, popes and even his own heirs
The Great Revolt
Life in the time of Henry II
1189-1199 Richard I • Born to royalty but educated in the charnel gutter of war, Richard embodied the religious fanaticism of the time in his quest to claim the fabled Holy Land
Crusaders
Battle of Arsuf • A major battle in the Third Crusade, Arsuf saw Richard and Saladin face off
Muslims
Lionheart’s crusade • The Third Crusade faced challenges even before reaching the Holy Land
Anatomy of a Templar knight • The key kit and weapons carried by the most elite of Christian warriors
Crusading king or bloody murderer? • Historian Douglas Boyd gives his verdict on the Lionheart
Why was Jerusalem so sought after?
1199–1216 King John • Reviled and revered in equal measure, King John I of England remains one of history’s most provocative rulers. But was he as ‘bad’ as his enduring moniker suggests?
The best and worst of British kings and queens
King John’s road to ruin
Magna Carta: The abridged version • Don’t have time to read all 63 clauses of the Magna Carta? Well, worry not because we’ve extracted the main points for you. These easy-to-digest snippets will give you everything you need to know about the ground-breaking charter
1216-1272 Henry III • How a boy king whose reign was plagued by rebellion went on to become one of England’s longest-reigning monarchs
A lost inheritance
Life in the time of Henry III
1272-1307 Edward I • Conqueror of Scotland and Wales and unlikely father of democracy, Edward I was the savage warrior king who laid down the bloody foundations of the United Kingdom
Edward the...