The White Princess

The White Princess is a 2013 fictional novel written by Philippa Gregory on Princess Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII.

Elizabeth is devastated by the loss of her beloved, her uncle, Richard III of England, at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Years earlier, her mother, Elizabeth Woodville, had made a pact with Margaret Beaufort to marry Elizabeth off to Margaret's Beaufort's son, Henry Tudor. Now that Henry Tudor is king, he honors the pledge he made in 1483 and agrees to marry Elizabeth, although he makes it quite clear that he is the conqueror of England and will not rule jointly with the princess who had a much better claim to the throne than he. Still he must make sure she is fertile and so he rapes her until she is with child. Their first child is born 8 months after their wedding on January 18, 1486. The royal historians had said that Henry was descended from King Arthur identifying Winchester as Camelot. As such, the first Tudor Prince was born there and he named Arthur.

In 1486, only a year after gaining the throne, Henry faced open rebellion by York supporters in the Stafford and Lovell rebellion. Under the leadership Francis Lovell and the Stafford brothers, the rebellion was a failure and ended in the death of the latter two.

Due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower, Elizabeth's two brothers, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, their was civil unrest against the Tudor reign by pretenders claiming to be the York heirs. While Henry had spared  Edward "Teddy, 17th Earl of Warwick, son of George, Duke of Clarence, the boy was kept as a prisoner in the Tower of London. Teddy's sister, Margaret "Maggie", was given in marriage to Henry's cousin, Sir Richard Pole, son of his mother's half brother. In 1487, Yorkist, under the command of the Earl of Lincoln, rose up in rebellion against the King in support of Lambert Simnel, who claimed to be Teddy. Despite Henry's attempt at damage control by showing that he had the real Earl of Warwick, Simnel gained traction with Teddy's Aunt, Margaret of Burgundy. Simnel was defeated at the Battle of Stoke where Lincoln was killed. Henry VII pardoned the poor boy and gave him a job in the royal kitchen.

For her participation in the Simnel rebellion, Henry had his mother-in-law placed in Bermondsey Abbey. She died 5 years after entering on June 8, 1492. Elizabeth would name her second daughter and overall third child after her but the child died at the age of 3, 6 months before her younger sister, Mary, was born. Elizabeth already had another daughter named Margaret after the child's grandmother. Henry and Elizabeth would also have two other sons, Henry (1491) and Edmund (1499). As their marriage progressed, the two reached an understanding and slowly became attached to one another.

In 1490, a young flemish man named Perkin Warbeck, appeared and claim the be Richard, Duke of York. Like Simnel before him, he gained the favor of Margaret of Burgundy. Eventually he was able to gain the support of James IV of Scotland, who gave him Katherine of Huntley in marriage. Warbeck landed in Cornwall in 1497 with 6000 men. He promptly fled upon hearing news that Henry's arm was in hot pursuit. Henry had Warbeck arrested and placed in the Tower of London with Teddy. Both tried to escape in 1499 but were subsequently found and brought back. Both were subsequently executed.

I give this book a 1/5. As you all know, I have a youtube channel and I consider myself a romantic of sorts and my videos reflect that. I had been thinking of making a video on Elizabeth of York but after reading this book, that is the last thing I want to do. I had always envisioned Elizabeth of York as this beautiful and sweet York princess but in this book, she just comes off as whiney, mopey and completely unlikable. I was on the fence about the Elizabeth-Richard romance but in this book they went so far as to say that they actually had relations. I was completely turned off the book by the rape of Elizabeth by Henry and perhaps infuriated later when they started to bond together in some bizarre form of Stockholm Syndrome. From all the previous readings I have read, Elizabeth and Henry had a very loving relationship and this book just spits in that relationship's face. Henry comes off as a complete monster.that rivals Shakespeare's Richard III. The book itself is incredibly boring, all this commotion happening with none of the tension that comes with fearing the loss of a crown. I understand that these events did actually happen so I am more inclined to blame Gregory's odd writing. I know she can do tension building decently as we've seen in the White Queen but this book was just awful.

The White Queen (TV Series)

The White Queen is a TV series which premiered on  June 16, 2013 on BBC One and began broadcasting in America on August 10, 2013 on the Starz network. Set in the the tumultuous times in the War of the Roses, the series centers around Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville and Margaret Beaufort.

Rebecca Ferguson as Elizabeth Woodville

Max Irons as King Edward VI of England

Amanda Hale as Margaret Beaufort

Fayes Marsay as Anne Neville

Aneurin Barnard as Richard III of England

 It is based on the "The Cousins' War" Series by Phillipa Gregory, namely The White Queen, The Red Queen and The King Maker's Daughter.    

I give this TV show a 3/5. Considering the three books this series is based on I am not going to hold the plot against the show because I've already talked about it. What I will say is that I am not a fan of the whole witchcraft thing. As for the acting, the only person who stood out to me was Aneurin Barnard, who made a great Duke of Gloucester. Amanda Hale and James Frain, who played the Earl of Warwick, were not bad either. Fayes Marsay shows herself to be a rising star. Otherwise everyone else was either hit or miss for me.

The characterization and writing was incredibly disappointing. The transition between the beloved York Prince to the "evil" Richard III was so sudden it comes off as unnatural. Isabel Neville flip flopped left and right without there being much need to. Anne Neville goes from "Let's not get carried away calling Elizabeth a witch" to "BURN THE WITCH" in two seconds flat. There was a very weird paradox where Margaret Beaufort was extremely religious and at the same time openly lusting after Jasper Tudor. I was not a fan of the crazy fanaticism either - I understand that Margaret Beaufort was indeed religious but they seemed to have taken it to a whole new level in the first few episodes. Thank goodness they toned it down later on in the series. Needless to say, the characterization was down right bad.

Worst of all was the production value. The sets and costumes were lackluster. I understand that they couldn't afford a ship or 3 battle scenes but I felt they could have done better than just stating, "There was a battle and I am King. Oh wait, he is king. Nope, I am king again. Oops, another battle happened." Edward IV had a slow decline into excess until he started looking  like his grandson, Henry VIII, and how did The White Queen present this? They stuffed a pillow down Max Iron's shirt. None of the rest of him filled out....just his shirt. The funniest scene, in my opinion, was when Edward said, "We are not young, Elizabeth", when they looked exactly as they had in the first episode.

I will take a step back and say that I did enjoy the show to a certain degree and don't regret spending an hour each Sunday to enjoy the latest episode. One perk to the show was that we saw the romance between Richard and Anne, it's one of the few works to feature these two lovebirds. Still, I would only recommend it for people especially interested in the War of the Roses and not just anyone who is looking for a nice period drama. It starts out incredibly rough but gets better and better towards the end.

Stay tuned for my review of the fifth book in the Cousin's War Series The White Princess

Marina: The Story of a Princess

Marina: The Story of a Princess is a 1995 book on Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, later the Duchess of Kent by Sophia Watson.

The story of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark begins in 1863, more than 40 years before her birth, when her grandfather, born Prince William of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg and later a Prince of Denmark, was elected as King George of the Hellenes, after King Otho was deposed the previous year. He married Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia four years later and the two went to on to have eight children. The fourth of which was a boy named Nicholas, Marina's father. The Greek Royal family was an incredibly close one, who spent their days at the lovely palace of Tatoi. Their court was said to be one of the most easy going in all of Europe.

On August 29, 1902, Nicholas married Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, the only daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and Princess Marie of Mecklenburg-Scherwin. The couple had three children: Olga, born in 1903, Elisabeth, born in 1904, and the last, being born on December 13, 1906, was Marina. Marina was very close with her two sisters as well as her parents although her maternal needs were filled more by her English nanny, Mrs. Fox, than anyone else.

George was a good king and led the nation to dramatically increase its size during the first Balkan War. Nearing the fiftieth anniversary of his ascension, George was killed by an alcoholic anarchist. The future kings of the Hellenes would not be quite so lucky. Nicholas's elder brother, Constantine, succeeded the throne in 1913, making his German born wife, Princess Sophie of Prussia, queen. When the first world war broke out in 1914, conflict broke out between Prime Minister Venizelos and the King over Greece's position in the war. Venizelos wanted to join the side of the allies while Constantine believed in maintaining neutrality. The Prime Minister began a smear campaign against the King saying that he was actually pro-German on account that his wife was sister to the Kaiser. Constantine was exiled in 1917, making his second son, Alexander, King of Greece.

Prince and Princess Nicholas followed the ex-King into exile in France. Their exile from Greece and the Russian Revolution put a dent in the Nicholas' purse but Elena was able to live glamorously on a reduced budget, something that she later passed on to Marina. The family lived off of the sales of Elena's jewels and Nicholas's paintings as their only source of income.

After the death of Alexander from a monkey bite in 1920, Constantine was restored to the throne, bringing the entire Greek royal family back with him. His reign would end two years later when after military failure against the Turks, he was once again exiled, making his eldest son George II of the Hellenes. He died only 4 months after his second exile. In 1923, Olga married Prince Paul of Yugoslavia. He would become regent of Yugoslavia when in 1934, his cousin, Alexander I of Serbia, was assassinated in Marseille, leaving his 11 year old son, Peter, king at the age of 11. Elizabeth married Karl Theodor, Count of Toerring-Jettenbach "Toto" in 1934.

In 1932, Princess Marina met Prince George, Duke of Kent, fifth child of George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck. George experienced a rather stunted childhood as neither his Mother or Father were of a parental sort. He was however close to his brothers: Edward, Albert and Henry. Marina and George became engaged in 1934 and they married in November of that year. The couple enjoyed a 5 month honeymoon. While Marina was very much in love with George, he eventually did stray and it was a constant humiliation to the proud Princess to endure all of his affairs. Marina, by this point, had already become beloved by the British people.

On January 20, 1936, George V died, making his eldest son Edward VIII. Marina had had a good relationship with her father-in-law and a decent one with her eldest brother-in-law. Edward's reign lasted less than a year as he abdicated on December 11, 1936, after being barred as king to marry his mistress, the divorcee, Wallis Simpson. His younger brother, Albert "Bertie", took the name George for his reign. Marina had a cordial relationship with the new King's wife, born Elizabeth of Bowes-Lyon, but felt herself slightly superior because she was born a Princess and didn't just marry into the title. Same with Prince Henry's wife, born Alice Montagu Douglas Scott.

In 1939, Great Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. Marina threw herself headlong into the war effort. In 1941, Prince Paul signed a pact with Nazi Germany in order to try a preserve Yugoslav in face of Hitler's threats. This pact did not sit well with the Yugoslavian army and he was exiled within two days of its signing. Paul, Elizabeth and their family were exiled to British Kenya.

George died at the age of 39 in 1942 in an airplane crash. Marina was devastated. She had had three children by George: Edward, Alexandra and Michael, the last of which was born only 7 weeks previous. George VI had to the good sense to bring Elizabeth over from Kenya to help comfort her sister. Although she was still very much broken up over her husband's death, Marina eventually returned to work. Marina, who relied on her husband for everything, now had to rely on herself alone. While she was not poor, she was far from well off and had to live scrupulously. But that did not stop her from being the fashionista that she was before George's death.

Marina died on August 27, 1968, at the age of 61. She died leaving behind her three children, two of whom were now married and with children of their own. Marina was an active member of the royal family, who won respect from all that knew her.

I give this book a 1.5/5. The book is roughly 45% on Princess Marina and 55% on something else. The book went into huge detail on the Greek and British Royal Family. Do not misunderstand me, I have nothing against a little back story, it's always a necessary. And even afterwards, if an event was mentioned, huge detail was put into the event and only stated that Marina was there and not how she felt about the situation in more than one sentence. But there was just way too much and as such Marina's story lost out on book space. Not that there was much to work with considering that the author skipped roughly fifteen years of the Duchess's life.  Her death came suddenly and was just glossed over, more time was spent on her funeral than anything else. Another huge flaw with the story was that it barely explored any of the relationships Marina had with her family. There was more written on Marina's relationship with her mother-in-law than with her husband. It does not go into any detail on George's extra marital relations both heterosexual and homosexual. She was only upset by, that's it folks. Choose another book instead of you are really interested in the life of this glamorous Princess because I found it empty, hollow and ultimately not worth my time.

The Madness of Queen Maria: The Remarkable Life of Maria I of Portugal

The Madness of Queen Maria; The Remarkable Life of Maria I of Portugal is a book is a 2009 book written by Jennifer Roberts on Maria the Pious, otherwise known as Maria the Mad of Portugal.

On January 19, 1729, Infante Joseph of Portugal, eldest surviving son of King Joao V of Portugal and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, married Infanta Mariana Victoria, the one time fiancee of Louis XV of France. After five years of marriage, Mariana Victoria gave birth to her first child, a girl. She was later christened, Maria Francesca Isabel Josepha Antonia Gertrude Rita Joana, and given the title of Princess of Beira by her grandfather. Joseph and Mariana Victoria would have a further four daughters. The Princess of Beira was raised in the incredibly religious Portuguese court, which was one of the strictest courts in Europe.

In 1750, Maria's grandfather died as a result of a series of strokes and her father became King Joseph I of Portugal. Whereas Joao took control of the government and made himself an absolute monarch, his son handed over his power to the Marquis of Pombal. The Marquis's aggressive policies and anti-religious laws made him so unpopular with the aristocracy that a conspiracy was hatched among the high nobility to murder the king and his adviser.When the plot was discovered, Pombal used this as an excuse to get rid of the Tavora family and to dispel the Jesuits. Plombal's control over the King was so great that even his eldest daugther's pleas were ignored.

In 1755, the Lisbon Earthquake hit Portugal, killing roughly 100 000 people. The Rebeira Royal Palace, Maria's birthplace, was destroyed in the quake. Afterwards, Joseph developed a severe case of claustrophobia and the court was moved to a new palace on the hills of Ajuda.

Maria was age 25 in 1760, high time for a Princess to be married but as heiress to the Portuguese throne she could not simply to married off to some foreign prince. A solution was found in Joseph's younger brother, Pedro. Maria married her uncle on June 6, 1760, her groom was 42. Despite the age gap, the couple experienced a happy marriage. Maria gave birth to her first child the very next year and it was named Jose after her father thus securing the succession. He was later created Prince of Brazil. They would have 5 further children: two Joao's born in two successive years that died a month after being born. A third Joao would be born in 1767 who did indeed survive childhood. His birth was followed by 3 daughters, only the eldest, named Maria Anna Victoria, survived infancy.

Following the example set by his Mother, the Prince of Brazil married his Aunt, Benedita, in 1777, when he was 15 and she was 30. The marriage was the express wish of his grandfather. King Joseph died only 3 days later. Maria was the undisputed queen of Portugal and although Pedro was also made King, it was in fact she that ruled. Her first act as queen was to rid the court of Plombal, a move that made her immensely popular. And so it was that for the first decade of Maria's reign, she was much loved by her people and regarded as a wise and good queen.

From 1785 onwards, things only went downhill for Maria. In this year, a double marriage by the Queen Dowager between Joao and Infanta Carlota of Spain and Maria Anna Victoria and Infante Gabriel. It was in 1786 that she began exhibiting the first signs of madness. It was also in this year that Pedro died. Poor Maria was devastated by her beloved husband's death and forbade court entertainments. Fate dealt the queen another hard blow when in 1788, her eldest son died of smallpox. He and Benedita did not have any children despite the Princess having 2 miscarriages. Maria Anna Victoria, her husband and her one of her two sons died of the same disease in that same year. Maria brought over Maria Anna Victoria's remaining child, Pedro Carlos, to live in Portugal and raised as a Portuguese Infante. His death and that of Maria Anna Victoria brought their mother further into the depths of insanity and by 1792 she was deemed incapable of ruling. Jose's successor, his younger brother, Joao, became regent for his mentally incapacitated Mother.

At the turn of the century, the threat of Napoleon loomed large on the Iberian Peninsula. After some antagonizing on the part of the Spanish with French backing and the urging of the British, the entire Portuguese fled to Brazil in 1808. Maria could be heard screaming the entire boat ride. In 1810, Pedro Carlos married Joao's eldest daughter, Teresa, Princess of Beira. They had one son, born in 1811. Pedro Carlos died the very next year. Carlota, wild and uncontrollable, would always be a source of trouble for the family. Maria I died in 1816 in Rio De Janeiro without ever having returns to Portugal. Her son became Joao VI of Portugal, Brazil and the Algraves.

The Braganza's returned back home in 1821 whereupon Carlota began stirring up trouble by supporting her second son, Miguel's, claim to the Portuguese throne.

I give this book a 2/5. I finished the book in one reading, it is a rather short book. I feel the book was rather empty and that it had about as much information as what I would find in a compilation of a bunch of wikipedia articles (although no doubt it might contributed to said articles). For a book on the "madness" of Queen Maria it does not go into any depth about what might have been the cause of Maria's insanity. It simply dates the time and place things happened which might have been why it was quite dull to me.

Princesse of Versaille: The Life of Marie Adelaide of Savoy

Princesse of Versailles: The Life of Marie Adelaide of Savoy is a 1992 biography, written by Charles Elliot, on the life of Marie Adelaide, Duchess of Bourgogne.

In 1684, King Louis XIV of France arranged a marriage between his 14 year old niece, Anne Marie of Orleans, Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. Anne Marie fell madly in love her husband upon their first meeting but he would always be cold distant towards his wife, himself having many mistresses.Anne Marie's first child was born on December 6. 1685 and named Marie Adelaide. Anne Marie disliked the hedonistic lifestyle of the Savoy court and instead opted for a more relaxed environment with Marie Adelaide and her younger sister, Maria Luisa, at Vigno di Madama.

As a result of the Treaty of Turin in 1696, Marie Adelaide became engaged to Louis XIV's grandson. The Treaty of Turin was an agreement by Victor Amadeus and the Sun King for the former's support in the Nine Years' War. The Duke of Savoy was famous for his perpetual shifting in allegiances. It was decided that Marie Adelaide would come to France, despite her younger age, in order to transition from a Princess of Savoy to a French one.  Louis XIV and his secret wife, Madame de Maintenon, became enraptured with the darling Princess the moment they laid eyes on her. Marie Adelaide was educated at the Maison Royale de Saint-Louis, a girl's school founded by Madame de Maintenon.

Marie Adelaide's intended was Louis, Duke of Bourgogne, the son of the Grand Dauphin and Marie Anne Victoria of Bavaria. As a child, the Duke was incredibly difficult with no respect for anyone whatsoever. It was thanks to his tutor Francois Fenelon that he was able to become the serious minded heir that France needed. Marie Adelaide and Louis married on December 7,1697, when the bride was 12. Because of the Princess's young age, the marriage was left unconsummated for 2 years, very much like it was before they were married. But the limited time that they had together was enough for Louis to become smitten. He nicknamed his wife "Draco", the latin word for Dragon.

The Duchess of Bourgogne's presence at court was like a breath of fresh air as she was able to bring happiness and mirth to the aged King. She developed a love for theater and did a few amateur productions where her husband even chimed in. But her great love was gambling. Again her husband joined in on the fun but after Marie Adelaide fell deathly ill, his conscience kicked in and he abstained from the gambling tables henceforth. Despite Bourgogne's intense love for his wife, Marie Adelaide did not necessarily reciprocate his feelings because she found his piety rather boring. Both husband and wife had a deep love of practical jokes and unfortunately for the husband, he was sometimes be his wife's poor victim.

 Because of his deep piety, Bourgogne, with all of his amorous Bourbon tendencies, never strayed from his wife and in fact had a terror of his wife's ladies-in-waiting. One night Marie Adelaide announced loudly to the court that she was set to retire for the night. Her husband followed close on her heels. Once inside the room, Marie Adelaide had a friend of hers jump into the bed with the covers of her head while the Duchess hid behind the curtains. When the Duke of Bourgogne entered the room, he blew out the candle and quickly went to work. When things were getting heated, Marie Adelaide jumped out from the behind her curtains and accused him of cheating on her. The Duke was at first flabbergasted but soon after that became very mad and began to beat the hapless lady in his bed. All the while his wife laughed in the background.

After a previous pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, Marie Adelaide gave birth to her first child, given the title of the Duke of Brittany, in 1704.The short lived younger Louis died a year later of convulsions. His death devastated his parents and the Duke and Duchess of Bourgogne became closer as a result. The next Duke of Brittany was born in 1707 much to France's joy. Another son was born in 1710, given the title of the Duke of Anjou, and he would prove to be his Mother's favorite. With two boys in the stray, the Bourbon dynasty seemed secure far into the future.

In 1700, the Duke of Bourgogne's younger brother, Phillip, whom Bourgogne was especially close with, became King of Spain. Another contender for the Spanish throne was Archduke Charles of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor). The ensuing battle for the Spanish crown would be known as the War of Spanish Succession. In 1708, Bourgogne was given command of the army in Flanders. His command left him in conflict with Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendome, one of the greatest French commanders of all time, whom Bourgogne later brought disgrace too.

 It was the longest of their many separations and Bourgogne wrote faithfully to his wife daily. And at first, Marie Adelaide replied with equal earnest (She once wrote a letter to him in her blood which delighted him beyond belief) but it was during this time that the Duchess of Bourgogne began intriguing with two separate gentlemen. Her relationship with said men probably never progressed beyond flirting but none the less tongues began to wag. Even Bourgogne noted that something was wrong when her letters to him became less and less frequent. The affair ended when things got out of hand at the intervention of Madame de Maintenon. One of the gentlemen she was involved with would later commit suicide.

The Duke of Bourgogne's return from the front caused the relationship between the couple to change. Now Marie Adelaide began to appreciate her husband's steadfastness and soon she returned his feelings for her with full force. The couple and their young family was happy. In 1711, le Grand Dauphin died, aged 49. making Bourgogne and his wife only a step away from the throne. As the new Dauphine, Marie Adelaide began to settle down on her wild gambling and partying lifestyle, trying to set a good example for the court. The court traveled to Fontainbleau in early 1712. It was there that Marie Adelaide became ill. It turned out to be the measles. She succumbed to the disease on February 12, 1712. Her husband was absolutely distraught. He had already caught the disease and died less than a week later. The Duke of Brittany soon followed his parents to the grave. Only little Anjou survived because his governess had locked him in a room to spare him from the doctors. If Bourgogne was devastated by Marie Adelaide's death, it was nothing compared to The Sun King's reaction. The bright light of his life was gone now and for the next two years Versaille was in despair.

Anjou became Louis XV of France on September 1, 1715.

I give this book 4.5/5. I've already made a Youtube Video on Marie Adelaide but I still didn't know that much about her. This book really opens my eyes to who this wonderful woman really was. I'm a sucker for royal romances and while I was glad to share their love in my video, I don't think I properly captured the couple's dynamics. It wasn't just a boy meets girl and they fall in love (although it certainly was that way for Bourgogne), it was more complicated than that and that's what made it beautiful to me. While the book starts off a little boring and the Treaty of Turin lasted roughly a chapter when the books starts exploring Marie Adelaide's relationship with her husband that's when it hits its stride. I must admit that by the end the book had me tearing up a little.  

Clisson and Eugenie

Clisson and Eugenie is a 1795 romance novella by Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Clisson is a revolutionary war hero brought down by his enemies. Leaving the hustle and bustle of the capital, he takes a trip to a public bath where he meets two sisters, Amelie and Eugenie. Clisson becomes infatuated with the beautiful Amelie but it is ultimately Eugenie's inner beauty that conquers his heart. The two marry and start a family. Clisson is at peace with his Eugenie.

The war resumes and Clisson is compelled to fight for his country. He is wounded in battle and his friend, Brenville, is sent to reassure Eugenie of Clisson's love and speedy recovery. The two take comfort in their love for Clisson but slowly they fall in love. Heartbroken at his wife's betrayal, Clisson sends one final letter to Eugenie before dying in battle.

I give this story 3/5. The Peter Hicks translation of Clisson and Eugenie is  86 pages long: 30% is the introduction, 40% is the explanation and only 30% is the actually story. The story is rather bland but it had its moments - the ending was especially touching. You don't need to read between the lines to realize the connections in this story to Napoleon's own life (especially his relationship with Desiree Clary). If you're a Napoelon fan, this is the book for you. Otherwise, for the average reader, it won't satisfy your romance sweet-tooth.

Crowned in a Far Country

Crowned in a Far Country; Portrait of Eight Royal Brides is a 2007 book by Her Royal Highness, Princess Michael Kent on eight royal princess who had to leave their country of birth upon marrying and take up life in a foreign court.

Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, Catherine the Great of Russia

Archduchess Maria Antonia, Queen Marie Antoinette of France

Archduchess Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily

Archduchess Maria Leopoldina, Empress of Brazil

Eugenie de Montijo, Empress of the French

Victoria, Princess Royal, Empress Frederick III of Germany

Princess Alexandra and Dagmar of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia

I give this book a 2/5. I have read HRH Princess Michael of Kent's other book The Serpent and the Moon before and I did not particularly like her writing style - this book in no way changes my mind. The research was shallow and riddled with contradictions - i.e. she says that Empress Eugenie only had one true love and then later talks about how she had two admirers or that Alexandra learned her intense dislike for Germany through her Father and then later says that the Princess of Wales got it from her Mother. HRH also says rather far fetched things such as "the Prince Imperial went on a noble mission to conquer a few troublesome African tribes". Shallow and superficial, the connection between these eight women are a loose as the construct of this book.