The Queen’s age is the most commonly asked question on search engine Ask Jeeves
Aug 292010
A Royal Wedding in Greece
Wedding of Prince Nikolaos and Tatiana Blatnik (photos)
Abdullah Welcomes Abdullah
King of Jordan visits Saudi Arabia (photos)
Royal Athlete of the Week
Princess Stephanie of Monaco’s daughter shows off her diving prowess at the Youth Olympic Games
Challenge From Traditional Leaders
Deposed kings take legal action to reverse ruling
Royal Hopes in Nepal
Monarchy restoration possible with people’s will: Paras
For more royal news, visit the Royalty.nu News page!
Think billion-dollar-earning golfer Tiger Woods is well-paid? Not “when compared with the charioteers of ancient Rome.”
Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed memorials may be about to be removed from Harrods
Not unexpectedly, the memorials’ creator, Mohamed Al Fayed, thinks the statue of his son Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana should remain in the department store, saying, “It is the only memorial to the Princess in this country, if one discounts the misconceived municipal waterworks in Hyde Park.”
Below: A detail of the statue at Harrods. You can see a photo of the full statue here. It’s awfully cheesy, in my opinion, but is Mr. Al Fayed right? Is this better than nothing?
Once again it’s time for a sneak peek at the new royalty books scheduled to be published next month. As always, publication dates are subject to change.
The Royals by the editors of People Magazine. Looks at the “lives, loves, and secrets” of the world’s royals. Revised and updated for 2010.
Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen by Anna Whitelock. Biography that presents England’s Queen Mary I as a complex figure of immense courage and humanity.
Elizabeth’s Women by Tracy Borman. About female friends, rivals, and foes who shaped the life of England’s Queen Elizabeth I.
Queen Anne’s American Kings by Richmond Pugh Bond. In 1710, four Iroquois visited Britain. They were treated as heads of state and met with Queen Anne.
Rival to the Queen by Carrolly Erickson. Novel about the bitter romantic rivalry between Queen Elizabeth I and her cousin Lettice Knollys.
For the King’s Favor by Elizabeth Chadwick. Novel about a mistress of England’s King Henry II.
The Countess and the King by Susan Holloway Scott. Novel about Katherine Sedley, mistress of Britain’s King James I.
I’ll publish the full list of new books on the Royal Books page on September 1.
If I could only read one of the books listed above, I would probably pick “For the King’s Favor” because I like historical fiction and I’ve yet to read anything by the popular Elizabeth Chadwick. Which book would you choose?
Aug 112010
Classy crowned heads of Europe
Below: Queen Sonja and King Harald of Norway at the wedding of Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. (Photo by Photo by Mousse-Nebinger-Orban/ABACAPRESS.COM Photo via Newscom. Photo provided by PicApp.) Look here for more photos (plus news and video) from the Swedish royal wedding.
It was only a matter of time. U.S. first lady Michelle Obama is (1) a woman and (2) famous, so naturally she was first compared to Princess Diana, and is now being compared to — you guessed it — Marie Antoinette.
Let them eat tapas? Mrs Obama faces holiday fury
The right’s comparison of Michelle Obama and Marie Antoinette is more astute than they realize
Is the fad for book covers featuring headless/faceless women finally petering out? By my count, this month there are at least five new royalty books that depict female faces! I especially like the cover of The Red Queen: A Novel by Philippa Gregory.
But this is my favorite royalty book cover for August:
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The Courtiers: Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court at Kensington Palace by Lucy Worsley is an entertaining look at 18th century British royals and the colorful characters who attended them at court.
The publisher sent me a review copy of this book (so far I’ve only read the first two chapters, but I am enjoying it a lot). It’s a beautiful book, with good-quality paper, attractive and readable type, illustrations throughout — and, of course, that appealing front cover, with an image taken from “The Dinner Party,” a painting by Marcellus Laroon the Younger. The back cover has a picture of Kensington Palace. Overall this is a really well-designed book that’s a pleasure to hold and read.
What do you think of this book cover? And are you as glad as I am to see women’s faces reappearing on historical book covers after years of headless women?
The best-selling royalty books (and one DVD) of May and June 2010, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site and its companion blogs:
#1
The Young Victoria. 2008 movie on DVD starring Emily Blunt as Victoria and Rupert Friend as Prince Albert. The movie won an Oscar for costume design.
#2
We Two: Victoria and Albert – Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill. An account of Queen Victoria’s passionate, complicated marriage.
#3
The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt by Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton. A genealogical sourcebook of the Pharaohs.
#4
Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton. Princess Diana secretly helped the author write this biography, which shattered the myth that she led a perfect fairy-tale life.
#5
An Uncommon Woman by Hannah Pakula. Biography of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, who was the wife of German emperor Frederick III and the mother of Wilhelm II.
For more books about royalty, visit the Royal Books page!
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