Royal Marriage Secrets - by John Ashdown-Hill (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

With a new royal baby we witness fundamental changes in the succession laws, but then rules governing the royal weddings and the succession to the throne have always been shifting. So what is marriage and who decides? What special rules govern royal marriage and when did they come into force? How have royal marriages affected history? Were the 'Princes in the Tower' illegitimate? Did Henry VIII really have six wives? Was Queen Victoria 'Mrs Brown'? how were royal consorts chosen in the past? Did some use witchcraft to win the Crown? History has handled debateable royal marriages in various ways, but had the same rules been applied consistently, the order of succession would have been completely different. Here, all controversial English and British royal marriages are reassessed together for the first time to explore how different cases can shed light on one another. Surveying the whole phenomenon of disputed royal marriage, the author offer some intriguing new evidence, while highlighting common features and points of contrast.

Review Quotes

"...great read." --LostPastRemembered

"Fascinating and thorough study." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

John Ashdown-Hill is a historian and a member of the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Genealogists, the Richard III Society, and the Centre Européen d'Etudes Bourguignonnes. He is the author of Eleanor, The Secret Queen, and The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of His DNA.