Prince Of Europe

The Habsburg courtier Charles-Joseph Prince de Ligne seduced and symbolized eighteenth-century Europe. Speaking French, the international language of the day, he travelled between Paris and St Petersburg, charming everyone he met. He stayed with Madame du Barry, dined with Frederick the Great and travelled to the Crimea with Catherine the Great. But Ligne was more than a frivolous charmer. He participated in and recorded some of the most important events and movements of his day: the Enlightenment; the struggle for mastery in Germany; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; the birth of German nationalism; and the wars to liberate Europe from Napoleon. He had surprisingly radical views, believing for example in property rights for women, legal rights for Jews and the redistribution of wealth. He was also a highly respected writer and his books on gardens, his letters from the Crimea and his epigrams are considered minor classics of French literature.

Descended from a long line of doughty warriors and statesmen, William Prince of Orange was born in the Hague during November1650, son of a Dutch father and a Scottish Stuart Princess, eldest daughter of Charles I. Banned at first from succeeding to his hereditary offices by the Act of Seclusion, William's boyhood was rather lonely. His early life was bounded by the Anglo-Dutch naval wars during Cromwell's Protectorate and after the Restoration of Charles II. Acquiring his first military experience during the invasion of Holland by King Louis XIV in 1672, he revealed qualities of heroism and patriotism, refusing to submit to the might of France. He was, above all, a European, having an intimate knowledge of her various peoples. Bryan Bevan, in his new biography of the Prince, discusses William's qualities as a statesman, revealing his many virtues but not silent as to his marked faults. What were his real motives when invading his father-in-law James' kingdom? William III, reigning jointly with Mary II, had an unusual marriage but the deep attachment he felt for her surprised many. However, for the most part, in his private and public life, men friends mattered more to him than female society. William's bravery in battle has never been questioned. but he was never a great soldier. His greatness shone rather in his patience and skill in forging a grand alliance of nations against Louis XIV's ambition to dominate Europe. He was before his time in belief in the balance of power. 207p, 8 b/w pls (Rubicon Press 1997)

THIS BOOK IS A CELEBRATION OF SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST INTRIGUING AND PRECIOUS OBJECTS: THE CROWNS, SCEPTRES, ORBS, JEWELS AND EMBLEMS OF THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF EUROPE.

Wilhelm Von Habsburg wore the uniform of the Austrian officer, the court regalia of a Habsburg archduke, the simple suit of a Parisian exile, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and, every so often, a dress. He could handle a saber, a pistol, a rudder, or a golf club; he handled women by necessity and men for pleasure. He spoke the Italian of his archduchess mother, the German of his archduke father, the English of his British royal friends, the Polish of the country his father wished to rule, and the Ukrainian of the land Wilhelm wished to rule himself. In this exhilarating narrative history, prize-winning historian Timothy D. Snyder offers an indelible portrait of an aristocrat whose life personifies the wrenching upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century, as the rule of empire gave way to the new politics of nationalism. Coming of age during the First World War, Wilhelm repudiated his family to fight alongside Ukrainian peasants in hopes that he would become their king. When this dream collapsed he became, by turns, an ally of German imperialists, a notorious French lover, an angry Austrian monarchist, a calm opponent of Hitler, and a British spy against Stalin. Played out in Europe's glittering capitals and bloody battlefields, in extravagant ski resorts and dank prison cells, The Red Prince captures an extraordinary moment in the history of Europe, in which the old order of the past was giving way to an undefined future-and in which everything, including identity itself, seemed up for grabs.

Recounts the history of present and former ruling families of continental Europe and speculates on the role of monarchy in the future.

One of the most charismatic and enigmatic personalities of the High Middle Ages, Edward the ' Black Prince' commanded an English division at the battle of Crecy when just sixteen years old. But despite his battlefield exploits, romantic reputation and popularity among the people, Edward has become notorious as a proponent of 'scorched earth' campaigns, or chevauchee. These expeditions amounted to little more than the licensed plunder of undefended towns and the murder of non-combatants. The premature death of Edward saw his infant son ascend to the throne and led, eventually, to the fracticidal chaos of the Wars of the Roses and the emergence of the Tudor dynasty. In this startling reappraisal of the prince's life, David Green assesses his actions in their historical context and examines what might have been had Edward the Black Prince become King Edward IV.