All About History Book of Kings & Queens

Throughout history, monarchs have had a huge impact on the world, whether uniting nations or tearing them apart. Some have inherited great power, while others have fought to take what they saw as rightfully theirs. There have been kings who instigated wars to demonstrate their strength and conquer the world, and queens who helped shape the future of their nations. In this newly revised edition, we take a look at some of the most iconic and influential monarchs the world has ever seen, from Nefertiti and Alexander the Great, to William the Conqueror and Eleanor of Aquitaine. We’ll also take a look at the 30 kings and queens who changed the world, the wars waged by Henry VIII, uncover the man behind the myth of the monstrous Emperor Nero and…

REIGN 1558-1603 COUNTRY ENGLAND AND IRELAND LEGACY DEFEATED THE SPANISH ARMADA, RETURNED ENGLAND TO A PROTESTANT RULE AND LED A GOLDEN AGE OF EXPLORATION, THE ARTS AND SCIENCES Elizabeth I Defeated the Spanish Armada – 18 August 1588 The Virgin Queen who reigned over a golden age, paving the way for the British Empire She was known by several names – the Virgin Queen, Good Queen Bess, Gloriana – and the legacies of Queen Elizabeth I are many, but of all the ways that she changed the world, there is one episode of her life in particular that stands out. It was the summer of 1588, and having been angered by his ‘heretic’, ‘illegitimate’ sister-inlaw Elizabeth I, the Protestant ruler who succeeded the English throne at 25 years old after his wife Mary I died, the…

On 6 December 1912, an Egyptian workman digging along the banks of the River Nile unearthed one of the most precious treasures in the history of Egyptology. The man was one of many working on the excavation of an ancient sculptor’s workshop, a dig overseen by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt. As he felt the knowing jolt of his pick against hard stone, he brushed away the earth to reveal the distinctive colours of ancient paintwork, and immediately called for his superior. Borchardt recalls: “The tools were put aside and the hands were now used,” revealing the slender neck of a limestone bust buried upside down in the dirt. Digging deeper, they revealed a pair of full, red lips; a dramatic, sloping nose; almond eyes; and dark, arching eyebrows. Finally, they…

Since the discovery of Nefertiti’s bust, archaeologists have scoured the Egyptian desert in search of her resting place. Although no formal identification has been made, one Egyptologist believes she has found Nefertiti’s mummy in the tomb of Amenhotep II, the great grandfather of Akhenaten. The mummy, known as ‘The Younger Lady’, was discovered buried alongside Queen Tiye, Akhenaten’s mother, and a young boy, possibly his brother, back in 1898. The discoverer, Victor Loret, originally believed the mummy to be male, but a closer inspection by anatomist Dr Grafton Elliot Smith Tests concluded that it was a woman. The room containing the mummies was then sealed, and had been all but forgotten until 1993, when Egyptologist Joann Fletcher stumbled across one unlikely piece of evidence. Joann, who at the time was completing a…

Brief Bio DARIUSI Persia, 550-486 BCE Rising from an unimportant place in the royal dynasty of Persia and an also-ran role as a spearman during the Persian campaign against Egypt, Darius eventually took the throne of Persia after becoming involved in a plot to kill the usurper Bardiya. His loyal army ensured that the rocky early days of his reign rapidly smoothed out as a series of conquests brought Persia wealth and empire. What would you do if you inherited one of the largest and most powerful empires the world had ever seen? Well, if you were Darius I, the third king of the mighty Persian Empire, you would spend your reign making it even better, transforming its economy and embarking on a series of military campaigns that would lead you to earn the…

Brief Bio ALEXANDER THE GREAT Greek, 356-323 BCE Becoming king of Macedon after his father’s murder, Alexander led the Greeks into war against the powerful Persian Empire. With charisma and cunning, he led from the frontline to create an empire that stretched from Libya to India, creating a new golden age for Hellenic culture. From the moment of his birth in 356 BCE, Alexander of Macedonia was destined for great things. He would grow up to conquer and rule one of the largest empires ever built, all through military prowess, shrewd diplomacy and sheer force of personality. The young Alexander grew up believing his life would lead to greatness, which was partly due to his mother, Olympias, continually telling him that he was divine and that his destiny lay in conquest. Macedonia at the time…