The six children of King George V and Queen Mary all lived to maturity except the youngest, Prince John. The eldest, who was Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, reigned as King Edward VII for less than a year. His infamous romance with Mrs Simpson plunged the country into the abdication crisis and led both of them into a long period of exile. King George VI, who reluctantly and unexpectedly ascended to the throne, was a shy man, handicapped by a speech impediment and a sense of his own inadequacy. However, together with his Consort, Queen Elizabeth, and the Prime Minister, Winston...

Mary (16621694), daughter of James, Duke of York, heir to the English throne, then 15, is said to have wept for a day and a half when she was told she was to marry her cousin, William (16501702), son of William II of Orange (162650), Stadtholder of the Dutch republic, and Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I of England, who was11 years older than her. In November 1677, on William's 27th birthday, they married in a private ceremony at St James's Palace. William was solemn, James gloomy, Mary in tears, and only King Charles appeared cheerful. This dual biography deals with both the life and times...

A compendium of fascinating information about Cornwall past and present, this book contains a plethora of entertaining facts about the county's famous and occasionally infamous men and women, its towns and countryside, history, natural history, literary, artistic and sporting achievements, agriculture, transport, industry and royal visits. A reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage, the secrets and the enduring fascination of the county. A remarkably engaging little book, this is essential reading...

Prince Alfred, who was created Duke of Edinburgh in 1866 and became Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gothain 1893, was the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. A patron of the arts, pioneer philatelist and amateur violinist, he joined the Royal Navy as a boy and rose to become Admiral of the Fleet. At the age of eighteen he was elected King of Greece by overwhelming popular vote in a plebiscite, although political agreements between the Great Powers of Europe prevented him from accepting the vacant crown. The most widely traveled member of his family, he had visited all five continents by the...

Kaiser Friedrich III and his consort Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain, had six children who lived to maturity, the eldest being Kaiser Wilhelm II. The three younger sisters, Victoria, Sophie and Margaret, were particularly supportive of their mother during her widowhood and remained close throughout their lives. Like their parents, they would know much sorrow as adults. Victoria's romance with Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria, was thwarted by Bismarck for political reasons and she married twice, firstly to a minor German prince and secondly to a young Russian adventurer...

2016 Nominee - Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound ResearchA passionate music fan from childhood and much-respected teenage guitarist in his native Birmingham, Jeff Lynne rose through the ranks of various semiprofessional local groups to become front man of the critically acclaimed Idle Race, join the ever-popular Move, and help form the groundbreaking Electric Light Orchestra. After cofounder Roy Wood left in 1972, Lynne turned what had been a struggling fusion of rock and classically inspired music into one of Britain's most...