Hanover To Windsor

Charles Phillips examines the scandalous life of George IV as the Prince Regent and as king, the long widowhood of Queen Victoria, and the challenges faced by Elizabeth II and the modern House of Windsor.

"Consorts of the British monarchs have sometimes been regarded as dangerously influential on their husbands. Mark Hichens's book surveys the wives of the English kings since the Hanoverian succession. Some played a major role in preserving the monarchy, while others faced a harder road, one being imprisoned for life, another arraigned before the House of Lords, while a third has been described as the most wronged wife in Europe. From George III's imposed-upon wife Charlotte, to Mrs. Simpson, to Elizabeth the Queen Mother." --Publisher's description.

This book examines the lives and tenures of the consorts of the Hanoverian, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Windsor monarchs from 1727 to the present. Some of the consorts examined in this volume—such as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, consort to George VI—are well known while others, including Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, consort to William IV, are more obscure. These innovative and authoritative biographies bring a fresh approach to the consorts of this period, revealing their lasting influence on the monarchy. In addition to covering a period that has seen the development of constitutional monarchy and increased media scrutiny of the whole royal family, this volume also looks to the future of the British monarchy, suggesting ways that future consorts can learn from the example of their predecessors. This volume and its companions reveal the changing nature of British consortship from the Norman Conquest to today.

The genuine love match between Prince William and Kate Middleton has rekindled enthusiasm for the British monarchy. In the past, young princes reluctantly entered into arranged marriages and took mistresses. Perdita Robinson, a famous actress, was enticed from the stage with promises of money to live with the fickle Prince of Wales, who turned her and her child onto the street. Perdita fought back, won a financial settlement and became a pioneer of women's writing. Edward VII's most fascinating mistresses were aristocrats' wives like the multi-talented unconventional Lady Jennie Churchill, mother of Winston, and the headstrong heiress, Daisy, Countess of Warwick, mother of one of Edward's love children. Beautiful Alice Keppel became the love of Edward's life and was the great-grandmother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, yet another royal mistress. Edward's grandson, Edward VIII suffered an attack of mumps that left him physically and mentally immature. He implored Mrs Freda Dudley Ward to elope but she refused. Another mistress, Lady Thelma Furness, star of Hollywood's silent screen, introduced Edward to the domineering Wallis Simpson who insisted the impotent king seek psychiatric help. In order that Wallis could look like a queen the Duke of Windsor lavished her with jewels and forgave her infidelities in this most intriguing of all royal stories.

Covers a wide range of English royal history: from George I, who ascended the throne in 1714, to Queen Victoria, whose death in 1901 closed the Hanoverian chapter in English history. A character study of the six Hanoverian monarchs is included along with the outline of the social, industrial, and political movements that changed their world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.