Regina

A New History of Royal Women and Power

Kate Williams

From the New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Queen Victoria—an epic new history of royal women, from Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, that shatters the myths we have built around them.

In this enthralling historical journey, celebrated historian Kate Williams leads us into the world of queens, empresses, princesses, mistresses and ladies-in-waiting. Stories about royal women form some of our most foundational myths about femininity, and yet their legacies have been almost entirely constructed by the words and images of men.

From the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia to the opulent courts of medieval Europe, this book delves deep into the lives of these remarkable women, lifting the veil on both their trials and triumphs as they navigate political intrigue, family rivalries and personal sacrifices. From Hatshepsut and Cleopatra, through Tudor queens Catherine of Aragon and Lady Jane Grey, via Queen Victoria's contemporaries Yaa Asentewaa of Ghana and Queen Lili’uokulani of Hawaii, and right up to Princess Diana, this is an unmissable history that unlocks why we think about women, politics and power in the ways that we do.

Kate Williams is the author of the New York Times bestseller Becoming Queen Victoria, which was the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film The Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend as Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She is also the author of Ambition & Desire, a biography of Josephine Bonaparte. Kate works as CNN's British royalty and historical expert. She lives in England.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Kate Williams

“Kate Williams has perfected the art of historical biography. Her pacy writing is underpinned by the most impeccable scholarship." Alison Weir

"Kate Williams has succeeded brilliantly in bringing us a fresh Mary—one who she has set in a gloriously rich context, while making her tragic heroine irresistibly real and relevant. But the true triumph of this book lies in the perfect balancing of Williams’s excellent research with the need to keep the pages turning. Its pace is perfect, and there isn’t a line wasted in this taut, dramatic, and utterly beguiling biography." Charles Spencer, author of To Catch a King

"Divertingly and instructively illuminates a time and culture both far away and intriguingly like our own." The Washington Post

“A sparkling account of this most fallible and endearing of women.” The Daily Mail

"Williams expertly and entertainingly details the twisty and sordid path to the monarch’s execution. In framing Mary’s story as being one about ‘how we really think of women and their right to rule,’ Williams hints at its ongoing resonance." Christian Science Monitor