The Making of a King

King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy

Robert Hardman

The dramatic story of the new king’s evolution over the past year from Prince of Wales to King Charles III, from one of the most acclaimed royal biographers writing today.

No British monarch has had a tougher act to follow.

Now, after seventy years of waiting and preparation, King Charles III is not just the head of the most famous family in the world. He is the custodian of a thousand-year-old institution which must redefine its place in the digital age while others insist on rewriting the past. With unrivaled access to the king, the royal family, and the court, leading royal authority Robert Hardman brings us the inside story on the most pivotal and challenging year for the monarchy in living memory.

From the death of Elizabeth II through to the ancient spectacle of the Coronation, from the rise of a new Prince and Princess of Wales to the latest "truth bombs" from the Sussexes, this is the story of the making of a monarch.

Robert Hardman has covered aspects of royal life for more than twenty years and is the writer of both the film and the book Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work. He writes for the Daily Mail in London.

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Endorsements & Reviews

"A stunning, intimate recapitulation of the king’s first year. Readers are treated to a fast-paced inside view of royal life’s intricacies. With Mr. Hardman’s sources and experience––he interviewed the king several times when Charles turned 60 and produced a BBC documentary on the king’s first year––The Making of a King is an up-close-and-personal look at a world most readers will never directly experience." The Washington Times

"An impressive account." The Washington Post

"Robert Hardman's new biography takes us inside the first year of Charles's reign. A can't miss book for royal watchers." Town & Country

“He did it with Elizabeth II and now he has done it again with Charles III. Robert Hardman is the unsurpassed grand master when it comes to the inside story of the modern monarchy. Full of surprises and glorious detail.” Andrew Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Napoleon

“A superb, fascinating account of the new King, his court and the first year of his reign, elegantly written, deeply researched, impeccably sourced and filled with scoops and new details by the most authoritative of royal historians writing today. This is the definitive book.” Simon Sebag Montefiore, bestselling author of The Romanovs

Praise for Queen of Our Times:

The Sunday Times Book of the Year

“There are a lot of royal books out there, but Robert Hardman’s majestic treatment of the late Queen reigns glorious over all of them. An impeccably researched front-row seat to a remarkable, gilded and long life.” The Times (London)