Monarchs, Murders & Mistresses: A Calendar of Royal Days

Which ill-prepared monarch was on the English throne at the turn of the last millennium? How many English monarchs have been crowned on St. George’s Day? When, how, and why did England "lose" 11 days? The answers to these questions and many more present a royal event for each day of the calendar year in vivid detail, with close-ups of the personalities involved. The recurring occupational difficulties faced by the royal family over the centuries are revealed—as Shakespeare's Henry IV so memorably concludes, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." Today the royal family is plagued by the press, but even 300 years ago Charles II felt the need to apologize to a crowd of onlookers for taking so long to die. Ranging from the death of William III, who was killed by a mole to the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, more than 300 tales of royal days, supplemented by family trees and date lines, bring alive the drama of what it was, and is, to be a king or a queen.