June 1914.The social and political leaders of the greatest Empire in the history of the world gather at Buckingham Palace in the presence of King George V and his wife, Queen Mary.Their glittering, complacent world seems strangely immune from the climacteric of destructive forces that threatens it.In Ireland, Catholics and Protestants prepare to cut each other's throats;in England, Suffragettes and Trade Unionists alike see violence as their only weapon;and in Europe hostile nations, locked into an arms race, talk of the glories of war. For the moment, the fabric holds - a bizarre parallel...