Crown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy, from Willam the Conqueror to Elizabeth II
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- Create Date：2021-11-14 00:51:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tracy Borman
- ISBN：1529339499
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Summary
Since William the Conqueror， duke of Normandy， crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England's various kingdoms， forty-one kings and queens have sat on Britain's throne: shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue's gallery of weak， lazy， or evil monarchs， as Tracy Borman evocatively describes them in her sparkling chronicle， Crown & Sceptre。 Ironically， during very few of these 955 years has the throne's occupant been unambiguously English--whether Norman French， the Welsh-born Tudors， the Scottish Stuarts， and the Hanoverians and their German successors to the present day。Acknowledging the intrinsic fascination with British royalty， Borman lifts the veil to reveal the remarkable characters and personalities who have ruled and， since the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660， more ceremonially reigned--a crucial distinction explaining the staying power of the monarchy as the royal family has evolved and adapted to the needs and opinions of its people， avoiding the storms of rebellion that brought many of Europe's royals to an abrupt end。 Richard II; Henry VIII; Elizabeth I; George III; Victoria; Elizabeth II: their names evoke eras and the dramatic events Borman recounts。 She is equally attuned to the fabric of monarchy: royal palaces; the way monarchs have been portrayed in art， on coins， in the media; the ceremony and pageantry surrounding the crown。
In 2024， Elizabeth II would eclipse France's Louis XIV as the longest reigning monarch in history。 Crown & Sceptre is a fitting tribute to her remarkable longevity and that of the magnificent institution she represents。
In 2024， Elizabeth II would eclipse France's Louis XIV as the longest reigning monarch in history。 Crown & Sceptre is a fitting tribute to her remarkable longevity and that of the magnificent institution she represents。
Reviews
Caroline Palmer
，
I received an eARC from NetGalley。A well written if not unique piece of scholarship。 It’s yet another book on the British Monarchy meant as more of an introduction to the different monarchs for the general public that is new to English/British history than the presentation of new scholarship for those already familiar or amateur historians with the subject。 David Crowther of the History of England podcast and David Starkey do a much better job of reworking old material to make it interesting to I received an eARC from NetGalley。A well written if not unique piece of scholarship。 It’s yet another book on the British Monarchy meant as more of an introduction to the different monarchs for the general public that is new to English/British history than the presentation of new scholarship for those already familiar or amateur historians with the subject。 David Crowther of the History of England podcast and David Starkey do a much better job of reworking old material to make it interesting to a fan of history。 While I enjoy reading and hearing about English history， a book on one of the lesser researched figures in English history would have been preferable to regurgitating old material。 。。。more
Ashley
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I received this as an ARC from Netgalley。com。First line: The mass of people expect a King or Queen to look and play the part。Summary: A concise but short history of the kings and queens of England。 My Thoughts: This is my first book by Tracy Borman but I have been following her work through podcasts， articles and social media for years。 She is someone I admire because she basically has my dream job。 I really enjoyed this because it helped me understand different parts of English history especial I received this as an ARC from Netgalley。com。First line: The mass of people expect a King or Queen to look and play the part。Summary: A concise but short history of the kings and queens of England。 My Thoughts: This is my first book by Tracy Borman but I have been following her work through podcasts， articles and social media for years。 She is someone I admire because she basically has my dream job。 I really enjoyed this because it helped me understand different parts of English history especially the reasons behind the Hanoverian line in the succession。 Each king or queen was covered in several pages highlighting the main points of their reign。 The writing was easy to read and informative。 I have wanted to pick up several other books by Borman and now I will definitely prioritize them more。FYI: Great for anyone interested in British history。 。。。more
Melisende
，
Again， I am very wary when it comes to books with the title "new" in them as I invariably find nothing new。 And again there was really nothing new here for me。 I am going to preface this review， however， by stating that I read only up to the reign of Anne for beyond that was not really within my purview - therefore whether there was anything "new" or not to be gleaned I will leave in the capable hands of another reader。Borman compartmentalizes the book according to familial term designated for e Again， I am very wary when it comes to books with the title "new" in them as I invariably find nothing new。 And again there was really nothing new here for me。 I am going to preface this review， however， by stating that I read only up to the reign of Anne for beyond that was not really within my purview - therefore whether there was anything "new" or not to be gleaned I will leave in the capable hands of another reader。Borman compartmentalizes the book according to familial term designated for each ruler and their dynasty （ie: Stuarts， Normans， Plantagenets， Tudors， etc）。 As such， it is broken down as follows （making it easier to chose where you want to start）。Each section provides enough detail on and about each monarch and their reign; however， there are the usual tropes associated with a number of monarchs that I would hesitate in recommending it as an unbiased primer for someone starting。 Having said that， there is enough here from which to launch into more detailed or specialised accounts。Now whilst I mentioned that for me there was nothing new in the bulk of the narrative - there were a couple of little nuggets that I would have loved more detail on， as Borman disappointingly does not follow up with any actual source material。 These nuggets are the type of thing that stands out for me - but as no source was / can be provided， it just falls within the realm of whimsical hearsay， and places this book back firmly on the shelf of popularist general history。Still， there are many who will appreciate the condensed accounts of England's monarchs， spanning a period of some nine hundred odd years。 。。。more
kiers
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Arc received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。A very well-researched book about the history of the British monarchy， covering from William the Conqueror to Queen Elizabeth II。 The essays on each monarch were brief and objective， straight to the point and unbiased， though sometimes it looked too much on the bright side of things。 It focuses much on the broader political scopes of their reign， rather than the going-ons of their domestic lives。 Although I did feel that some of the es Arc received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。A very well-researched book about the history of the British monarchy， covering from William the Conqueror to Queen Elizabeth II。 The essays on each monarch were brief and objective， straight to the point and unbiased， though sometimes it looked too much on the bright side of things。 It focuses much on the broader political scopes of their reign， rather than the going-ons of their domestic lives。 Although I did feel that some of the essays were too long or perhaps it may have been because I didn't have much interest in some of the people here。 Admittedly， there were a handful that I skipped。 However， if you wish to have a brief background of the royals for research or a project this will be the book for you。 I definitely learned a few new things from reading this book。 。。。more
Joyce
，
5 starsThis is a wonderful book。 It gives a brief history of all the Kings and Queens since before the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066 all the way through to the present。 It also provides brief vignettes of their consorts （or， in some cases co-rulers）。 It gives a clear and unbiased textual treatment of these individuals。 Some were good， some were bad。 A few were very bad。 I learned new information in this book as well。 For example， I did not realize that King George V was such a good m 5 starsThis is a wonderful book。 It gives a brief history of all the Kings and Queens since before the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066 all the way through to the present。 It also provides brief vignettes of their consorts （or， in some cases co-rulers）。 It gives a clear and unbiased textual treatment of these individuals。 Some were good， some were bad。 A few were very bad。 I learned new information in this book as well。 For example， I did not realize that King George V was such a good man。 I had the opinion that he was uncaring and very stern with his children。 This book is well written in a linear fashion。 It is easy to read and accessible to everyone。 I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in the British monarchy or British history。 Ms。 Borman is a wonderful historian and has done extensive research on her subjects。 I can always count on her to give a clear-headed view of her subject。 I want to thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely great and informative book for me to read， enjoy and review。 The opinions expressed here are solely my own。 。。。more
Rachel
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