Penguin monarchs

If Ethelred was notoriously 'Unready' and Alfred 'Great', King George VI should bear the designation of 'George the Dutiful'. Throughout his life he dedicated himself to the pursuit of what he thought he ought to be doing rather than what he wanted to do. Inarticulate and loathing any sort of public appearances, he accepted that it was his destiny to figure regularly and conspicuously in the public eye, gritted his teeth, largely conquered his crippling stammer and got on with it. He was not born to be king, but he made an admirable one, and was the figurehead of the nation at the time of its greatest trial, during the Second World War. This is an enjoyable book about him.

Edward III lived through bloody and turbulent times. His father was deposed by his mother and her lover when he was a teenager; a third of England's population was killed by the Black Death during his reign and the Hundred Years War with France began under his leadership. Yet Edward managed to rule England for 50 years, and was viewed as a paragon of kingship by both his contemporaries and later generations: the triumphant victor of the battles of Sluys and Crécy; the founder of the Order of the Garter; his court the most famous center of chivalry in Europe. Jonathan Sumption's gripping new account of Edward's rise and fall brings to life a figure who was impulsive and warmongering, but also companionable, generous and addicted to practical jokes. He thirsted too much for glory, lived too long, and was condemned to see thirty years of conquests reversed in less than five, leaving his realm riven by internal disorder. Ultimately, Sumption shows us, Edward died a heroic failure. - Jacket flap.

For a man with such conventional tastes and views, George V had a revolutionary impact. Almost despite himself he marked a decisive break with his flamboyant predecessor Edward VII, inventing the modern monarchy, with its emphasis on frequent public appearances, family values and duty. George V was an effective war-leader and inventor of 'the House of Windsor'. In an era of ever greater media coverage -- frequently filmed and initiating the British Empire Christmas broadcast -- George became for 25 years a universally recognised figure. He was also the only British monarch to take his role as Emperor of India seriously. While his great rivals (Tsar Nicolas and Kaiser Wilhelm) ended their reigns in catastrophe, he plodded on. David Cannadine's sparkling account of his reign could not be more enjoyable, a masterclass in how to write about Monarchy, that central -- if peculiar -- pillar of British life. - Publisher.