World of Royalty Blog

The best-selling royalty books of the last two months of 2009, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site and its companion blogs:

World Royal Families by Edward Riley, Sandra Forty, and Judith Millidge. Overview of all monarchies since 1900. Includes photos and family trees.

The Impossible Bourbons: Europe’s Most Ambitious Dynasty by Oliver Thomson. About the family that won the the crowns of France, Spain, Naples and Sicily.

In Destiny’s Hands: Five Tragic Rulers, Children of Maria Theresa by Justin C. Vovk. An imperial mother determined to forge alliances through marriage, and the price her children paid for it.

Hidden Treasures of the Romanovs: Saving the Royal Jewels by William Clarke. Biography of Albert Henry Stopford, an aristocratic English art dealer who rescued Romanov jewels during the Russian Revolution. The gems were destined to adorn the rich and famous. Illustrated.

We Two: Victoria and Albert – Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill. An account of Queen Victoria’s passionate, complicated marriage.

For more books about royalty, visit the Royal Books page!

The best-selling royalty books of the past two months, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site and its companion blogs:

Someday My Prince Will Come: True Adventures of a Wannabe Princess by Jerramy Fine. The author moved to London hoping to meet and marry a member of the British royal family.

World Royal Families by Edward Riley, Sandra Forty, and Judith Millidge. Overview of all monarchies since 1900. Includes photographs and family trees.

Moscow: Splendours of the Romanovs by Brigitte De Montclos, an exhibition catalogue that recreates the magnificence of Russian court life.

The Queen Mother by William Shawcross. The official biography of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, consort of King George VI, mother of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone. Biography of the only female monarch in her time (the 14th century) to rule in her own name.

 
For more books about royalty, visit Royalty.nu’s Royal Books page!

This is a list of best-selling royalty books of July and August. (Yes, I remembered to post it this month!) As always, the list is based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site and its companion blogs.

In the case of a tie, the order of books in the list may be determined by number of new vs. used copies sold and/or the number of total click-throughs each book received.

For more books about royalty, visit Royalty.nu’s Royal Books page!

I don’t know where my brain has been recently. This list was supposed to be posted last month, but somehow I forgot about it.

Well, here it is, finally: a list of the best-selling royalty books of May and June 2009, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site and its companion blogs. (By the way, if you see my brain, please tell it to come home. I miss it.)

The Last Century of Lao Royalty: A Documentary History by Grant Evans. Short essays, excerpts from newspapers and letters, and rare photographs bring to life the role of royalty in the modern story of Laos.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. My favorite book about the much-married English king and his unfortunate wives. It’s fascinating and fun to read.
 

Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy by Paul Ratchnevsky. Draws on Mongol, Chinese, Persian, and European sources to tell the life story of one of history’s greatest conquerors.
 

Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury 1473-1541: Loyalty, Lineage and Leadership by Hazel Pierce. Margaret Pole was the only English woman except Anne Boleyn to hold a peerage in her own right during the 16th century. She was executed by her relative Henry VIII.
 

The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. The lives of Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I, King Edward VI, and Lady Jane Grey.
 

For more books about royalty, visit Royalty.nu’s Royal Books page!

The best-selling royalty books and DVDs of January and February 2009, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site and its companion blogs:

#1

Pauline Bonaparte: Venus of Empire by Flora Fraser. Biography of Napoleon’s favorite sister, who shocked the continent with her love affairs.

#2

The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. The lives of Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I, King Edward VI, and Lady Jane Grey.

#3

A Great and Terrible King by Marc Morris. Biography of English king Edward I, one of the most important rulers of the Middle Ages. (Published in April 2009 and already out of print, but used copies are currently available at Amazon.com)

#4

Mistress of the Monarchy by Alison Weir. Biography of Katherine Swynford, mistress (and eventually wife) of King Edward III’s son John of Gaunt.

#5

The Tudors – The Complete Second Season. DVD of the popular TV series. England’s King Henry VIII takes control of his kingdom, and his tyranny spares no one – not even the women who love him.

For more books about royalty, visit Royalty.nu’s Royal Books page, and see the Royal DVDs page for movies and documentaries about royalty.

Usually the Royalty.nu bestseller list is confined to books, but this time I’ve included two DVDs that proved popular over the past two months.

So here are the best-selling royalty books and DVDs of January and February 2009, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site and its companion blogs:

#1

Harry’s War: The True Story of a Soldier Prince by Robert Jobson. Book about Britain’s Prince Harry and his 10 weeks of military service in Afghanistan.

#2

The Tudors – The Complete Second Season. DVD of the popular TV series. England’s King Henry VIII takes control of his kingdom, and his tyranny spares no one – not even the women who love him.

#3

Mistress of the Monarchy by Alison Weir. Biography of Katherine Swynford, mistress (and eventually wife) of King Edward III’s son John of Gaunt.

#4

The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport. Book about the final 13 days of Russian tsar Nicholas II and his family.

#5

Anne of the Thousand Days / Mary, Queen of Scots. DVD set. Anne of the Thousand Days stars Geneviéve Bujold as Anne Boleyn and Richard Burton as Henry VIII. Mary, Queen of Scots features Vanessa Redgrave as the doomed queen.

***

For more books about royalty, visit Royalty.nu’s Royal Books page, and check out the Royal DVDs page for movies and documentaries about royalty.

 

The best-selling royalty books of the past two months, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site:

#1

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.

#2

The King’s Daughter: A Novel of the First Tudor Queen by Sandra Worth. A forbidden love gives English princess Elizabeth of York the courage to accept her destiny.

#3

Doomed Queens by Kris Waldherr. Royal women who met bad ends, from Cleopatra to Princess Diana.

#4

Faberge’s Eggs by Toby Faber. The extraordinary story of the masterpieces that outlived an empire.

#5

In Triumph’s Wake by Julia P. Gelardi. Three European royal mothers, their tragic daughters, and the price they paid for glory.

For more books about royalty, visit the Royalty.nu Books page!

The best-selling royalty books of the past two months, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu site:

#1

The Gifts of the Magi: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh by Caroline Vaughan. This keepsake book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art tells the story of the Magi and explains the significance of their gifts. Includes 24-karat gold in a glass bottle, and sachets of frankincense and myrrh.

#2

Royal Monastic: Princess Ileana of Romania by Bev. Cooke. Biography of the princess who built the first English-language Eastern Orthodox women’s monastery in the United States.

#3

Royal Jewels: From Charlemagne to the Romanovs edited by Diana Scarisbrick, Christophe Vachaudez, and Jan Walgrave. A celebration of European jewels. Over 300 photographs.

#4

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. A modern girl sets out to find history’s most legendary fiend: Dracula.

#5

Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York; illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. Accident-prone Ruby receives an invitation to tea with the Queen. Will Ruby be ready in time? For children ages 4 to 8.

For more books about royalty, visit the Royalty.nu Books page!

 

The most popular royalty books during the past two months, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu website:

#1

Royal Weddings edited by Friederike Haedecke and Julia Melchior. Photos of the pageantry of royal weddings in such countries as Sweden, Japan, and Spain. The text is in English and German.

#2

The Royal Hellenic Dynasty by Prince Michael of Greece, Mrs. Helen Helmis-Markesinis, and Arturo E. Beéche. Photos of the Greek royal family from their personal collections. Includes a detailed family tree.

#3

The Romanovs: Ruling Russia 1613-1917 by Lindsey Hughes. How the Romanov dynasty shaped Russia for three centuries.

#4

The First Queen of England: The Myth of “Bloody Mary” by Linda Porter. Biography. Mary I was a Latin scholar, a musician, and the most hated monarch in English history.

#5

Royal Affairs by Leslie Carroll. A romp through the extramarital adventures that rocked the British monarchy.

For more books about royalty past and present, visit the Royalty.nu Royal Books page!

The best-selling royalty books of the past two months, based on sales made through the Royalty.nu website:

#1

The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke by Timothy Snyder. Biography of Wilhelm Von Habsburg, who repudiated his family to fight alongside Ukrainian peasants in hopes that he would become their king.

#2

Three Kings in Baghdad: The Tragedy of Iraq’s Monarchy by Gerald de Gaury. The first king of Iraq, Faisal I, was installed by the British in 1921. The monarchy came to a bloody end in 1958 when royal family members were gunned down.

#3

Royal Affairs by Leslie Carroll. A romp through the extramarital adventures that rocked the British monarchy.

#4

Murder of a Medici Princess by Caroline P. Murphy. Biography of Isabella de’ Medici (1542-1576), daughter of Duke Cosimo I, ruler of Florence and Tuscany.

#5

A Year with the Queen by Robert Hardman. What is life like at Buckingham Palace? This book provides an inside look at the world of the British monarch and her family.

For more books about royalty, visit the Royalty.nu Books page!