Overview

The tragic story of the doomed romance between Charlotte, heir to the English throne, and Leopold, uncle of Queen Victoria and first King of the Belgians. A story that Jane Austen famously declined to tell, declaring: “I could no more write a romance than an epic poem.” Charlotte was the only legitimate royal child of her generation, and her death in childbirth – the result of medical incompetence and ill-fortune – was followed by an unseemly scramble to produce a substitute heir. Queen Victoria was the product. Chambers masterfully demonstrates how the personal and the political inevitably collide in scheming post- Napoleonic Europe, offering a vivid and sympathetic portrait of a couple whose lives are in many ways not their own. From the day she was born, Charlotte won the hearts of her subjects and yet behind the scenes she was used, abused and victimised by rivalries - between her parents; between her Father (the Prince Regent, later George IV) and (Mad King) George III; between her tutors, governesses and other members of her discordant household; and ultimately between the Whig opposition and the Tory government. Set in one of the most glamorous eras of British history, against the background of a famously dysfunctional royal family, Charlotte & Leopold – The True Story of The Original People's Princess is a moving, sometimes funny and always entertaining royal biography with an alluring contemporary resonance. <

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9781905847235

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James Chambers was born in Ireland and educated at Oxford. He has written many books on British history including Palmerston: The People's Darling, The English House and The Telegraph History of the World. He has also worked extensively in TV. A former international fencer, he still commentates on The Olympic Games and World Championships for TV.

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