u/AnteaterKey2626

I've been thinking about finally picking up a book on Lady Jane Grey, and I've narrowed it down to these three, all relatively recent and seemingly well-received:

• The Sisters Who Would Be Queen (by Leanda de Lisle)
• Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery (by Eric Ives)
• Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey (by Nicola Tallis)

Has anyone read any of these and can make any recommendations, please? I generally like the writing style of all three authors and I'm really not sure which one to get. I also like the fact that de Lisle focuses on all three Grey sisters, given that Katherine and Mary also had dramatic and tragic lives, but I'm still primarily interested in Jane.

20,000+ days: Prince Philip of Edinburgh (25265), Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (20888)

10,000–19,999 days: Philippa of Hainault (15179), Eleanor of Provence (13456), Eleanor of Aquitaine (12618)

7,500–9,999 days: Mary of Teck (9390), Catherine of Aragon (8747), Henrietta Maria of France (8632), Catherine of Braganza (8297), Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (7978)

5,000–7,499 days: Isabella of France (6940), Eleanor of Castile (6582), Elizabeth Woodville (6576), Matilda of Scotland (6380), Elizabeth of York (6232), Matilda of Flanders (6156), Margaret of Anjou (5984), Matilda of Boulogne (5977), Isabella of Angoulême (5900), Anne of Denmark (5822), Elizabeth of Bowes-Lyon (5535), Adeliza of Louvain (5424)

2,500–4,999 days: Anne of Bohemia (4521), Caroline of Ansbach (3815), Joan of Navarre (3694), Alexandra of Denmark (3391), Berengaria of Navarre (2886), Margaret of France (2858), Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (2551)

1,000–2,499 days: Prince George of Denmark (2426), Mary of Modena (1404), Catherine Parr (1296), Anne Boleyn (1085), Isabella of Valois (1063)

500–999 days: Catherine of Valois (820), Anne Neville (629), Caroline of Brunswick (556), Jane Seymour (512)

Less than 500 days: Catherine Howard (483), Anne of Cleves (188)

Average tenure: 5953.4 days (Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville each counted as one tenure)

Percentage of time (1066–2022, William I–Elizabeth II) during which the English/British monarch had no royal consort: 31.78%

Disputed consorts such as Geoffrey Plantagenet, Margaret of France (wife of HtYK) and Guildford Dudley are not included.

I've seen this portrait, attributed to William Scrots, identified as depicting either one or the other, so I wonder what people think. The facial features here look a bit similar to Hilliard's miniature portrait of Margaret, at least to me.

Off the top of my head, I can remember the Jacobite risings, his conflicts with both his father and his son, his love for his wife, and how much he liked his beloved electorate. A fact that often comes up is that he was also the last British monarch to personally lead troops into battle.

Still, he had a long reign of 33 years that included several major European wars, yet he seems surprisingly overlooked compared with the monarchs before and after him. Maybe this is because his political role is often portrayed as being quite limited compared with that of Parliament and his ministers? Or is there more to it than that?

I've read that King Louis Philippe visited Queen Victoria in 1844, and that during his exile decades earlier he became friends with Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent. I would like to know more about what kind of relationship Victoria and Louis Philippe had, both personally and as fellow monarchs.

One of the most capable consorts and regents in my opinion, and a major stabilising force during the Fronde and even into Louis XIV's majority. Personality-wise also very interesting, she both adored gambling and was extremely pious, and I also love how she was proud of her hands.

Any biographies or other book suggestions would be welcome, or also on the 17th-century Stuart princesses in general. I know Sophia was not a Stuart, but still she's Stuart-adjacent ... I've read Daughters of the Winter Queen, which included plenty of information on the British princesses of the era as well, and so far I've only encountered books on Mary II and Anne, so I'd love to read about their aunts too.

Louis XV (left): 15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774
Klemens von Metternich (middle): 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859
Wilhelm II (right): 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941

Looking for books that capture this vibe. I love reading about the dark aspects of royal life in late medieval and early modern Europe, especially focused on tragic personal stories, paranoia, abandonment, the feeling of going insane. I'm open to all genres, either more historical or veering into fantasy, any suggestions would be much appreciated.

This might be a bit outside the usual scope since it's more Tudor-adjacent than strictly Tudor, but I'm so fascinated by these Habsburg royal women (Margaret of Austria, Mary of Hungary, Margaret of Parma, Isabella Clara Eugenia).

I've recently read Sarah Gristwood's Game of Queens that also features them, but I haven't been able to find much written on them specifically. Can anyone recommend any books, articles or other resources on any of them? They mostly appear as supporting characters in Tudor narratives, especially Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary (and Margaret of Parma even visited England!), so I'd love to know more about them.

I know the situation was complex, to say the least, with all the drama about Concini, Luynes and Richelieu, but the more I read about Louis XIII's reign, the more baffling Marie's actions get. Several earlier female regents during the King's minority (Blanche of Castile, Anne of France, Catherine de' Medici *to an extent*) did what the regency required and then settled, but Marie just didn't, even when she might have said that she just wanted to prevent her son's favourites to control him. It might have been that Concini and Leonora were the driving factors prior to 1617, but Marie was far from a passive observer.

Why was Marie so unwilling to part from her influence over her son? I don't understand why she would prefer Gaston over Louis, and how come she wouldn't relent after failing so many times ... her relationship with Louis XIII was a complete rollercoaster, so I'd really like to understand her motivations better.