As the last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne (1665-1714) received the education thought proper for a princess, reading plays and poetry in English and French while learning dancing, singing, acting, drawing, and instrumental music. As an adult, she played the guitar and the harpsichord, danced regularly, and took a connoisseur's interest in all the arts. In this comprehensive interdisciplinary biography, James Winn tells the story of Anne's life in new breadth and detail, and in unprecedented cultural context.
Briskly original and subversively funny, this novella from popular British writer Bennett (Untold Stories; Tony-winning play The History Boys) sends Queen Elizabeth II into a mobile library van in pursuit of her runaway corgis and into the reflective, observant life of an avid reader. Guided by Norman, a former kitchen boy and enthusiast of gay authors, the queen gradually loses interest in her endless succession of official duties and learns the pleasure of such a common activity.
In this collector’s edition, we have compiled a selection of the best articles on royal families to have appeared in BBC History Magazine over the years, accompanied by several new pieces. Over the pages that follow you will meet some of the most fascinating royal couples and family groups, and pick up some tips for raising a royal child and celebrating a royal wedding. It would be difficult to tackle this subject without exploring the family of our present Queen and so the final section delves into the lives of the Windsors – from their wartime activities to the present day.
The souvenir edition will be packed with decade-by-decade tributes, with beautiful images of the Queen’s journey from a young age, through to grandmother and elder stateswoman. It will include stories from her childhood days to serving the nation in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the war, right through her Coronation and becoming a mum. The special issue will also reveal how the Queen coped with difficulties in her life from Princess Margaret’s love for Captain Townsend to the aftermath of Diana’s death and on to becoming the much-loved Queen she is today with Prince Philip by her side.