Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny,and Desire
- Downloads：8340
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-18 11:21:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Leslie Carroll
- ISBN：B0B8BG696T
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Trina Kubicki
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3。5， good snapshot of these marriages but nothing I hadn’t read before。
Kaja Jackowska
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I cannot tell you how many times I have read this book， the physical copy is in tatters。 If you want a fun and easy non-fiction introducion to dynastic history and just enjoy a piece of juicy gossip， i’d recommend this book every day of the week！
Nada Al-Karmi
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This was a delicious book to read。 I already knew about half of the marriages included like Henry VIII's marriages （God that man married a lot）， Edward and Wallis， Henry II and Catherine Medicis， and Charles and Diana。 However， it was still shocking to read about the others like about King George IV and Mrs。 Fitzherbert and Princess Caroline （she was disgusting）。 This was a delicious book to read。 I already knew about half of the marriages included like Henry VIII's marriages （God that man married a lot）， Edward and Wallis， Henry II and Catherine Medicis， and Charles and Diana。 However， it was still shocking to read about the others like about King George IV and Mrs。 Fitzherbert and Princess Caroline （she was disgusting）。 。。。more
Jackie
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DNF @ 40%Firstly， this is not a serious work of historical nonfiction， nor is it trying to be。 As you can probably tell from the subtitle， in Notorious Royal Marriages Leslie Carroll adopts a light-hearted， almost gossipy tone as she discusses the marriages of various European royal couples throughout history。 This might work for you if history is not typically your thing， but you want a quick dose of speculation and rumor about what goes on behind bedroom walls in the relationships of kings and DNF @ 40%Firstly， this is not a serious work of historical nonfiction， nor is it trying to be。 As you can probably tell from the subtitle， in Notorious Royal Marriages Leslie Carroll adopts a light-hearted， almost gossipy tone as she discusses the marriages of various European royal couples throughout history。 This might work for you if history is not typically your thing， but you want a quick dose of speculation and rumor about what goes on behind bedroom walls in the relationships of kings and queens。 It just didn't do it for me。 Very quickly， the type of humor in this history started to grate on me。 Things like "Eleanor of Aquitaine redecorated the palace like a medieval Martha Stewart" or "Edward IV got so fat he more closely resembled Jabba the Hut" fell completely flat for me。 Leslie Carroll also has a weird obsession with emphasizing that a lot of these couples were related， which is like。。。yeah， royals married their cousins， everyone knows this， at the time they did not consider it weird。 And some of these couples were not even that closely related。 Like yeah， Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine were fourth cousins。 That means they shared a great-great-great-grandfather and approximately 0。20% of DNA。 I do not even know who my fourth cousins are， if I even have any。 （Now， don't get me wrong， I am not encouraging you to find and marry your fourth cousin。 I just found that her constant need to emphasize *gasp* THEY WERE MARRIED AND THEY WERE SECOND/THIRD/FOURTH COUSINS！！ THE HORROR！！ got old pretty quickly。 Like yeah， I get it， move on。） Some of the author's attempts at jokes also， in my opinion， felt mean-spirited。 Not that I care about the feelings of a monarch who has been dead for 500 years， but I often found myself cringing， not laughing。 She said things like calling two men with dementia "crackpots" and made a lot of insensitive fat jokes about Henry VIII。 Seriously， out of all the things you could make fun of Henry VIII for you choose his weight？！ Not his fragile male ego？ His temper？ His desperate need for marriage counseling？ Even little comments like calling Jane Seymour a "doormat" felt harsh and unfunny to me。 I made it through a little over 200 pages， but I do not think I had it in me to read 300 more。 This book is right for someone I'm sure， but not for me。 。。。more
Bianca （The Ultimate Fangirl）
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Oh man。 Where do I begin with this journey？ From the first notorious marriages from medieval times to the present， what exactly has changed with the way royals marry？ Quite frankly， the way they amended the rules they set for themselves in the first place。But from what I gathered， marrying for love often leads to something great。 Sure， it doesn't always end happily ever after （*cough* Henry VIII *cough*） but there's something that makes the world shift。 On the other hand， when you force marriage Oh man。 Where do I begin with this journey？ From the first notorious marriages from medieval times to the present， what exactly has changed with the way royals marry？ Quite frankly， the way they amended the rules they set for themselves in the first place。But from what I gathered， marrying for love often leads to something great。 Sure， it doesn't always end happily ever after （*cough* Henry VIII *cough*） but there's something that makes the world shift。 On the other hand， when you force marriage and it's loveless， obviously it doesn't take two brain cells to figure out that things are only going to get worse。Also， by far， the women rule。 Not the men。 。。。more
Ursula Johnson
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Notorious Royal CouplesThis was a fascinating look at a number of royal marriages， most of which did not turn out so well。 Numerous kings from Great Britain are noted， along with a few other European royal houses。 It is interesting to note how Queen Victoria's marriage was an actual love match and she loved Prince Albert so much， she hated being pregnant because it kept her away from him for too long in her opinion。 Charles， Diana and Camilla are included here， and it is also interesting to note Notorious Royal CouplesThis was a fascinating look at a number of royal marriages， most of which did not turn out so well。 Numerous kings from Great Britain are noted， along with a few other European royal houses。 It is interesting to note how Queen Victoria's marriage was an actual love match and she loved Prince Albert so much， she hated being pregnant because it kept her away from him for too long in her opinion。 Charles， Diana and Camilla are included here， and it is also interesting to note that Prince William's marriage to Catherine Middleton was considered notorious。 It ends with the engagement of Harry and Megan and notorious definitely describes that marriage。 The author has written another book about the two of them since this book was published before their wedding and subsequent drama。 Lots of great juicy details are noted and the author's writing style is engaging。 Too bad there was no audio book version。 An entertaining read。 。。。more
M。M。 Strawberry Library & Reviews
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The title pretty much tells you what the book is about， so if you expect juicy shit， you'll find it here。 I will say this， the history here certainly isn't dull or dry， as it focuses on scandal and relationships more than war or politics。 The writing itself is colorful， with creative descriptions （even comparing Eleanor of Aquitaine to Martha Stewart！） so it's easily accessible to people who aren't history buffs。Some of the stories are more entertaining， but others are quite tragic - it's hard t The title pretty much tells you what the book is about， so if you expect juicy shit， you'll find it here。 I will say this， the history here certainly isn't dull or dry， as it focuses on scandal and relationships more than war or politics。 The writing itself is colorful， with creative descriptions （even comparing Eleanor of Aquitaine to Martha Stewart！） so it's easily accessible to people who aren't history buffs。Some of the stories are more entertaining， but others are quite tragic - it's hard to not feel bad for poor Joanna of Castile， who was pretty much taken advantage of by all the men in her life - first her father， then her husband， then her son。 Most of the book focuses on rulers of England/the UK though， and I'd have liked some more diversity。All in all， I found it a pretty entertaining read， and something of a guilty pleasure as some history books can be quite dry。 Not that there's anything wrong with guilty pleasures in moderation ;） All in all， 4。25 out of 5 stars， and more accessible to non-history buffs than the average biography/history book。 。。。more
Alex
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I'm finally done with this book！！！ It only took me 10 months to finish it lol。 To be fair， a big reason for that was because I was not in the mood to read a history text。 Another reason was because a lot of this text is bogged down by unnecessary anecdotes and facts。 Like， did I really need to read pages full of descriptions on Kate's wedding dress or endless details on the royal weddings？ I enjoyed it up to a point， but it just got too lengthy for me。 The author also wrote about the people in t I'm finally done with this book！！！ It only took me 10 months to finish it lol。 To be fair， a big reason for that was because I was not in the mood to read a history text。 Another reason was because a lot of this text is bogged down by unnecessary anecdotes and facts。 Like， did I really need to read pages full of descriptions on Kate's wedding dress or endless details on the royal weddings？ I enjoyed it up to a point， but it just got too lengthy for me。 The author also wrote about the people in this book more like they were characters in a novel rather than actual people， but I guess that is expected in a book with "juicy journey" in the title。 I can't really fault the book for that， though it did make me question the accuracy of the text。 I did like this for the most part， being a huge fan of royalty。 I have a greater respect for royalty now as well as disgust for how poorly women were treated。 。。。more
David Szatkowski
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Leslie Carroll always writes an entertaining and informative read。 Each chapter is a vignette of a particular time， couple， marriage。 Clearly， that means that no chapter is an exhaustive biography， nor does the author try to do 'justice' to each person。 Rather， the reader gets the contours of the relationship and politics of the time。 However， for a casual brush up on history， quite good。 And this book is a great way to decide about whom you wish to read more （and the bibliography will give a re Leslie Carroll always writes an entertaining and informative read。 Each chapter is a vignette of a particular time， couple， marriage。 Clearly， that means that no chapter is an exhaustive biography， nor does the author try to do 'justice' to each person。 Rather， the reader gets the contours of the relationship and politics of the time。 However， for a casual brush up on history， quite good。 And this book is a great way to decide about whom you wish to read more （and the bibliography will give a reader more choices as to further reading）。 。。。more
Aisha Manus
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Interesting information！ However I give it a three because it is so dense of a book it’s almost too much。 I would have like some family trees with each section to keep this crap straight since everyone had the same name。 Also the authors tone at times is quite judgmental and bias， especially towards the end and the more current relationships。 I would recommend this to read over a long time， as in pick a chapter/couple a week and work on it cause it’s dense！
Cathryn Conroy
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The subtitle of this salacious book says it all: "A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty， Destiny， and Desire。" Written by Leslie Carroll， this imminently readable work of nonfiction presents succinct vignettes on 30 European royal couples—from France's Louis VII in the 1100s to England's Prince Harry and Megan Merkle。 And if you thought Charles and Diana's shenanigans were outlandish， they pale in comparison to some of the couples featured here:• Find out which queen divorced her hus The subtitle of this salacious book says it all: "A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty， Destiny， and Desire。" Written by Leslie Carroll， this imminently readable work of nonfiction presents succinct vignettes on 30 European royal couples—from France's Louis VII in the 1100s to England's Prince Harry and Megan Merkle。 And if you thought Charles and Diana's shenanigans were outlandish， they pale in comparison to some of the couples featured here:• Find out which queen divorced her husband because he wouldn't have sex with her—or， at least， as often as she desired。• Find out which queen took the royal temper tantrum to a whole new level by refusing to bathe or change her clothes and insisting on eating her food off the floor。• The wedding reception of Henri II and Catherine de Medici of France was so bawdy and risqué that the terms "debauchery" and "degenerate" barely begin to describe what happened at this absolutely naughty party。• All of King Henry VIII's marriages are included…oh， what juicy tidbits are revealed！• Find out quite explicitly the bedroom issues suffered by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette—and how all of Europe knew about it， too。• Find out which Prince of Wales was a bigamist。 Yes， he was actually married to two women at the same time—for years and years。 • Find out which royal couple endured problems that rival a modern-day soap opera: miscommunication， eating disorders， manic depression， infant death， substance abuse， suicide， frigidity， extramarital affairs， and murder。• Find out lots of salacious details on Charles and Diana， William and Catherine， and Harry and Meghan。 You know…PEOPLE magazine-style。• Find out the one thing in particular that Queen Elizabeth didn't like about Catherine Middleton。• Find out which royal marriage in all of history is considered to be THE most notorious！Bonus: Amid all the pomp and circumstance， you'll learn a LOT of history。 And what a fun way to do it。 。。。more
Amanda Kingston
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"Everyone loves a royal wedding。 Except， perhaps， the bride and groom。" •••I downloaded this the first night of my last trip to Europe when I heard @ricksteveseurope interview the author in a podcast。 It was a fun， delicious read of all of the crazy royal marriages through the centuries。 If you're interested in some royal drama， but don't necessarily want to read all the biographies on all of Henry VIII's wives， this is a good place to start！ "Everyone loves a royal wedding。 Except， perhaps， the bride and groom。" •••I downloaded this the first night of my last trip to Europe when I heard @ricksteveseurope interview the author in a podcast。 It was a fun， delicious read of all of the crazy royal marriages through the centuries。 If you're interested in some royal drama， but don't necessarily want to read all the biographies on all of Henry VIII's wives， this is a good place to start！ 。。。more
Alex Champion
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Fascinating and well-written！
Barbikat60
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I didn’t think that this book was going to be good。 That is why I took so long to finish it。 I was wrong。 Once I started reading this book， I was astonished to learn so much history。 It didn’t get gossipy and irrelevant until the book got into the twentieth century。 I thought I knew European history but this book enlightened me。 If you’re into history， read this book up to the part when Elizabeth Windsor becomes Queen of England。 After that， you might as well read a tabloid。
Melissa Gastorf
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Enjoyable romp through the centuries of royalty with their romances and/or marriages。 Pretty sure that human nature hasn't changed in centuries Enjoyable romp through the centuries of royalty with their romances and/or marriages。 Pretty sure that human nature hasn't changed in centuries 。。。more
Kathy Cooley
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My kind of book-- history light！ Great for this ADD reader， and was a great starting point for finding out more。
Nancy Davison
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This book was a delightful romp through the lives and the bedrooms of royals from many countries。 Obviously the royals are not all as dignified and upright as Queen Elizabeth II。
Sofia
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A fast read that I picked up on account of this year's nuptials between Harry and Meghan。 Lots of interesting facts and tidbits throughout。 Also makes you realize that pretty much everyone is related and so any talk of "blue blood" is stuff and nonsense （Harry and Meghan share a royal ancestor， for example）。 The final two chapters （on William and Catherine， and Harry and Meghan） were probably the weakest of the bunch， but that's because these royal marriages are still in their infancies。 As a re A fast read that I picked up on account of this year's nuptials between Harry and Meghan。 Lots of interesting facts and tidbits throughout。 Also makes you realize that pretty much everyone is related and so any talk of "blue blood" is stuff and nonsense （Harry and Meghan share a royal ancestor， for example）。 The final two chapters （on William and Catherine， and Harry and Meghan） were probably the weakest of the bunch， but that's because these royal marriages are still in their infancies。 As a result， it felt to me like there was a lot of "filler" throughout those sections。 Overall， though， I enjoyed this royal romp of a read。 。。。more
Kristen
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THIS WAS SO GOOD。 If I ever thought being royalty was something to be desired， this really set me straight。 It is not good to be queen。 Poor Mary， Queen of Scots and Juana de Castile。 It's also sad to see how many queens （and sometimes even their husbands） wanted to co-rule and were educated enough to be able to do so， or in some cases， could have been educated to do so but they were prevented or denounced for trying by the rest of the court and/or the public。I also want to know more about Elean THIS WAS SO GOOD。 If I ever thought being royalty was something to be desired， this really set me straight。 It is not good to be queen。 Poor Mary， Queen of Scots and Juana de Castile。 It's also sad to see how many queens （and sometimes even their husbands） wanted to co-rule and were educated enough to be able to do so， or in some cases， could have been educated to do so but they were prevented or denounced for trying by the rest of the court and/or the public。I also want to know more about Eleanor of Aquitaine who seems like such an interesting lady。 How have I never heard of her？ It's interesting to see the similarities in the lives of the last royals of France and Russia and I continue to be sad that they weren't allowed to peacefully go into exile。I must say that I sometimes found the casual tone a bit off-putting and the author seemed to really dislike Jane Seymour for some reason， even though she seemed pretty benign as far as queens go but generally speaking， I really enjoyed this and felt that the author did a good job of balancing both sides of the famous couples。 。。。more
MARY P TRIMBELL
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Casual take on royal marriagesPleasant romp through numerous royal marriages。 The author didn't get all her facts correct， but it was a relaxing read。 There was some repetition but overall it kept my interest。 Casual take on royal marriagesPleasant romp through numerous royal marriages。 The author didn't get all her facts correct， but it was a relaxing read。 There was some repetition but overall it kept my interest。 。。。more
Judy Decaigny
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Gossipy， lightweight & very wordy。
Rose
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I absolutely love history and non fiction， and this was written in very unique and readable style。 I thoroughly enjoyed the ride through centuries of history， without it coming across as juicy or gossipy as one might imagine， given the title。 It's the way they lived， folks。 I absolutely love history and non fiction， and this was written in very unique and readable style。 I thoroughly enjoyed the ride through centuries of history， without it coming across as juicy or gossipy as one might imagine， given the title。 It's the way they lived， folks。 。。。more
barbara g sercu
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InterestingThe early marriages were interesting。 Contemporary ones were repetitious since they're so recent。 Overall quite an interesting read with facts I didn't know。 InterestingThe early marriages were interesting。 Contemporary ones were repetitious since they're so recent。 Overall quite an interesting read with facts I didn't know。 。。。more
Donna
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I enjoyed the discussion of older monarchs from different realms but not so much the dribble about the later royals。 I would have welcomed the addition of bygone rulers who weren’t included and the elimination of the Diana/Charles， William and Harry minutiae， who have as much impact on history as a Disney movie。
Madeline Hornsey
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This was a fun read that catered pretty closely to my interests， but there were some glaring mistakes that I simply couldn't ignore; namely， the author at one point claimed that Lord Guilford Dudley was the son of Edward Seymour， and later claimed that Camilla Parker Bowles divorced Tom Parker Bowles - her son - rather than her actual husband。 These were pretty obvious mistakes that would have been noticed through careful examination but somehow made it into the final edition。 This was a fun read that catered pretty closely to my interests， but there were some glaring mistakes that I simply couldn't ignore; namely， the author at one point claimed that Lord Guilford Dudley was the son of Edward Seymour， and later claimed that Camilla Parker Bowles divorced Tom Parker Bowles - her son - rather than her actual husband。 These were pretty obvious mistakes that would have been noticed through careful examination but somehow made it into the final edition。 。。。more
Susan Dill
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Very interesting and entertaining。 I did need to put it down for a day or two and read something else for bit because all the characters， incestuous relations and cavorting around can get confusing。 I learned some history I was unaware of and enjoyed the read。
AntKathy
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The kindle edition I read was up-to-date to within a few months of Harry and Meghan's wedding。 Very readable non-fiction， with a lot of historical/political information of royal marriages over the past nine centuries or so， as well as scandalous details。 The author did a marvelous job of relating how these royal marriages were brokered， whether or not they were a love match or became a loving marriage， and how the marriages affected history -- in some cases， how some royal marriages are still af The kindle edition I read was up-to-date to within a few months of Harry and Meghan's wedding。 Very readable non-fiction， with a lot of historical/political information of royal marriages over the past nine centuries or so， as well as scandalous details。 The author did a marvelous job of relating how these royal marriages were brokered， whether or not they were a love match or became a loving marriage， and how the marriages affected history -- in some cases， how some royal marriages are still affecting political and historical events in other （non-US， of course） countries。 She also has a knack for entertaining story-telling。 A fun read， and informative as well。 Not at all like a tabloid article。 Very well researched。 Kudos to Carroll for writing a book well， which could have been either boring and dry or comically salacious。 。。。more
Leslie
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This is an enjoyable non fiction recounting of some of the most famous and most infamous royal marriages。 While heavily Brit-centric there are other European royalty scattered through the years。 While of course we get Henry VIII and Edward VIII - maybe the UK should start retiring the names when they get to VII; we also get Charles & Diana， William & Kate and Harry & Megan。 Notable omissions are Fergy & Andy and Bertie （Edward VII） and Alexandra。Some of the stories were certainly new to me and f This is an enjoyable non fiction recounting of some of the most famous and most infamous royal marriages。 While heavily Brit-centric there are other European royalty scattered through the years。 While of course we get Henry VIII and Edward VIII - maybe the UK should start retiring the names when they get to VII; we also get Charles & Diana， William & Kate and Harry & Megan。 Notable omissions are Fergy & Andy and Bertie （Edward VII） and Alexandra。Some of the stories were certainly new to me and fascinating。 I learned about the Catholic church's rules for consanguinity which at some points went as deep as 4th cousins。 I am not even sure I can describe a 4th cousin and while I much have some I have no idea who they are。 Unfortunately I did find some stupid errors that really annoyed me because non-fiction really needs to be correct。Errors The Author identified Michaelmas as June 29 when all of the P&P fan girls KNOW Michaelmas in September 29 The feast in June is Petertide。In a chapter about King Edward VIII the author claims “Shortly after the Great War， George V and his wife had made a friendly pact with Hitler” Shortly after the Great War Hitler wasn't in power I assume the author meant Hindenburg since Hitler didn't take power until 1933。In the chapter about Will & Kate the author states “called Princess Catherine until Prince Charles has passed away and she becomes Princess of Wales。”Which is incorrect， when Queen Elizabeth II dies， Charles will be King and William as the heir apparent will be the Prince of Wales at which time Catherine will be the “Princess of Wales” But overall it is an enjoyable book that fulfills your needs for gossipy history。 。。。more
Small Review
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3。5 full review to come。
Snooty1
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