The Royal Families of Europe - Hardcover

Hindley, Geoffrey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 078670828X ISBN 13: 9780786708284

Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers Inc, 2000

Synopsis

As fascinating as it is informative, this chronicle of Europe's most enduring system of government--monarchy--explores the many colorful and often controversial facets of an institution that has survived revolution, warfare, regicides, national strife, and the occasional sheer incompetence of the head beneath the crown. While it considers monarchical history as well as the tales, intrigues, scandals, and historical gossip that have attached themselves to both the British and continental monarchies, this always engaging volume also speculates upon the future of European monarchy as a vital and viable form of government after the year 2000. The speculation is not idle, for monarchy continues to command the world's attention and to wield significant influence throughout Europe. Of the fifteen members of the European Union, seven are monarchies--among them Spain, whose king saved the country's democracy from a military coup in the 1980s, and Belgium, where the monarchy has proven to be a crucial factor in the survival of a fractured nation. In England four generations of Windsors survive and thrive, and the Dutch royal house, too, enjoys immense popularity. Meanwhile, former monarchs like Constantine II of Greece, Michael II of Romania, and Simeon of Bulgaria retain their titles and loyal followers who refuse to forfeit the hope of their kings' restoration to power. Surveying the sweep of monarchy in Britain and across the regal face of the European continent, The Royal Families of Europe adeptly illuminates an institution that flourishes with possibilities and prospects beyond ceremony, ermine robes, crowns, and scepters.

About this title

Book Description:

An up-to-date and authoritative account of contemporary European royalty

About the Author:

Geoffrey Hindley (1935-2014), educated at Kingswood School, Bath and University College Oxford, is a lecturer and writer. He was three times an invited participant at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University; was visiting associate professor at the University of Florida, Gainesville; and lectured in Europe and America on European culture,
medieval social history and Magna Carta, and the history of music. From 1994 to 2000 he taught English civilization at the University of Le Havre. Right up until his death he was co-president of the Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science of Oxford and London. His many books include The Shaping of Europe,
England in the Age of Caxton, The Book of Magna Carta, A Brief History of the Crusades and A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons.

About this edition

• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers Inc
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 078670828X
• ISBN 13: 9780786708284
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288