Please type the description of the issue

WELCOME

ROYAL COUPLES • REGAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT CHANGED HISTORY

MATILDA The queen who rewrote the rules • Far from just providing heirs, the relationship between William the Conqueror and his wife Matilda inspired a new model of queenship, says TRACY BORMAN, with Matilda’s diplomatic skills proving crucial to the consolidation of William’s rule

DID ANNE BOLEYN CRAVE THE CROWN? • For years we have been told that Anne refused to sleep with King Henry VIII until he made her his queen. Yet, says GEORGE BERNARD, the argument that she demanded a crown on her head simply doesn’t stack up

QUEEN ELIZABETH I’S GREAT LOVE • The ‘Virgin Queen’ never married, but one suitor came closer to her than any other. TRACY BORMAN explores the complex and sometimes scandalous relationship between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley

Charles II TOO RANDY TO RULE • DON JORDAN and MICHAEL WALSH reveal how the merrie monarch’s obsession with sex cost England a fortune and left it vulnerable to attack

The A TO Z of royal weddings • Many have been the glorious start to long and happy relationships, but others were jinxed from the start by secrets, scandals, riots and disasters. TRACY BORMAN takes a look at royal marriages through history

ROYAL FAMILIES

HOW TO RAISE A ROYAL • Leading an army; marrying a partner who doesn’t speak English; serving as God’s representative; curing scrofula; or simply riding a horse — a monarch’s job description includes some challenging tasks. TRACY BORMAN offers tips on making sure your royal children are up to the job

ENGLAND’S ULTIMATE FAMILY DRAMA • That a single dynasty, the Plantagenets, was able to rule England for 331 years, when disease or violence could transform the political landscape overnight, is truly remarkable, says ROBERT BARTLETT

KING EDWARD III The family man • King Edward III’s wife and children played central roles in his private life and his dreams of empire. MARK ORMROD explains the significance of the king’s celebrated family in his dynastic ambition

GEORGE III and the reinvention of royal family life • When he came to the throne in 1760, George was determined that his own family should be very different from the dysfunctional one in which he grew up, says JANICE HADLOW

WORLD OF THE WINDSORS • THE TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF A ROYAL DYNASTY

How George and Mary modernised the monarchy • The British monarchy’s survival into the 21st century owes an enormous debt to the reign of George V and his wife Mary, says DENYS BLAKEWAY

The Windsors AT WAR • STEPHEN BATES describes how the response of George VI, his wife Elizabeth and their two young daughters during the battle against Nazi Germany helped cement the royal family’s place in the British people’s affections

Elizabeth II A life in pictures • Ever since Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, both her public role and her personal life have been in the spotlight. Turn the page for the pictorial story of Britain’s longest reigning monarch, through six eventful decades

THE FALL AND RISE OF THE WINDSORS • Royal events today are celebrated with enthusiasm in the UK, a turnaround from the 1990s when the monarchy was beset by tragedy and its future was questioned. SARAH GRISTWOOD charts the changing fortunes of the Windsors in recent years

ABOUT THE AUTHORS