It is not just the modern-day royals that are the butt of quips and jokes about their personality and behaviour. Royalty have never had it easy or made it easy for themselves, as historian Geoffrey Regan sets out to prove in this hilarious collection of stories.
From the emperors of Rome to the princes of the present-day House of Windsor, those of royal blood have not always behaved with dignity fitting of their regal standing. In this book, Geoffrey Regan casts a jaundiced eye over the lapses, gaffes and indiscretions of kings, queens and kaisers.
Discover which Hapsburg emperor retired to a monastery for a quiet life and ended up eating himself to death. Learn which of Edward VII's sons was suspected of being Jack the Ripper. Read about the medieval French monarch who was utterly convinced that he was made of glass and the prince who confessed his marital infidelity on television.
The book presents a colourful and varied collection of princely cameos. From calamitous coronations and bizarre baptisms to farcical funerals, from grand occasions mismanaged to marriages mishandled, the author lays bare the turbulent public and private lives of monarchs as diverse as Ludwig II of Bavaria and Edward VIII.
