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Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family by [Roger Powell, Peter Beauclerk-Dewar]

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Peter de Vere Beauclerk-Dewar

Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family Kindle Edition

by Roger Powell (Author), Peter Beauclerk-Dewar (Author, Contributor) Format: Kindle Edition

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Since 1066 when William the Conqueror took the throne, English and Scottish kings have sired at least 150 children out of wedlock. Many were acknowledged at court and founded dynasties of their own; several of today's dukedoms are descended from them. Others were only acknowledged grudgingly or not at all. In the 20th century this trend for Royals to father illegitimate children continued, but the parentage, while highly probable, has not been officially recognized. This book is a genuinely fresh approach to British kings and queens, examining their lives and times through the unfamiliar perspective of their illegitimate children. Interviewees include many of their descendants. But beyond personal narratives it also sheds light on the perennially fascinating topic of sexual habits; the links between politics, power, and patronage; the class system, scandal, and celebrity; and the different expectations we have of men and women.

Print length

290 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Tempus
Publication date

May 1, 2008
File size

1474 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roger Powell has been a professional genealogist for over 40 years. He was until his recent retirement a senior editor at Burke's Peerage and Gentry and Director of Debretts Ancestory Research. He was also a research assitant at the Royal College of Heralds. He is also related to the Duke of Monmouth, another bastard son of Charles II. He lives in Northamptonshire.Peter Beauclerk-Dewar is a direct decendent of the bastard offspring of Charles II and Nell Gwyn. He is a heraldic consultant to Christies, has previously been an editor for Burke's Peerage & Gentry, and is a fellow of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries. He also a JP and a trustee of the Institute of Heraldic & Genealogical Studies at the University of Kent. He lives in London. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01M21BY9F
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tempus; 1st edition (May 1, 2008)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2008
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1474 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 290 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0752446681
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #401,583 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #84 in Historical Irish Biographies
- #414 in Biographies of Royalty (Kindle Store)
- #964 in Royalty Biographies

Customer Reviews:
143 ratings

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Peter de Vere Beauclerk-Dewar

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Customer reviews

5 star		42%
4 star		24%
3 star		21%
2 star		10%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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A Mom :)

A dry read, unfortunately

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

As a “bastard” myself, albeit non-royal, I was very intrigued to read this book. I think royalty is a fascinating subject, and this definitely would go down a path not often travelled.

Unfortunately, this book reads like the dictionary: very dry. It gives approximate dates, names, patrilineal line. I was hoping to learn more about the people behind the name and/or painting—there were several attempts it seems to illustrate that, but in the end there was very little. Granted, information may be scarce as these children who’s only “crime” was to be born may have not had much information, but that being said, it was still a very dry read.

6 people found this helpful

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Earl Lopez

For the curious, a worthwhile read

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

Thoroughly researched and well written. Heavy on details, which is good to get a more thorough understanding. I recommend this book.

Helpful

P A f

Eh...way too many bastards to keep track of.

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

Very confusing

Helpful

Janelle

Learned a Lot of New Things

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2014

Verified Purchase

Who knew that so many kings fathered a horde of bastards. A key for all of the abreviations would have been helpful, and it got kind of boring at the end with "The Lose Ends" section. But overal, this was a fun read.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

L. Arnold

Interesting

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

An interesting look into the live of royal illegitimate children and how they fit into the court structure. Some I had heard about, such as Monmouth, many I had not. If you enjoy stories of English royalty you will enjoy it

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Gomes

a lot of info

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2013

Verified Purchase

this book is amazing and has sooo much information...I found the index to be rather complicated and hard to find any pathways which is what an index is for...otherwise great book for reference

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

British history is fun!

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2011

Verified Purchase

Quite delightful yet subdued and scholarly history of all the known and suspected illegitimate children of British royals over the centuries. Some are quite well known and others are a surprise. If you are at all interested in British history, you will enjoy this book.

20 people found this helpful

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Nilsa M Cintron

Good Reading

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

Historical review of where Europe's royal really came from. No holds barred. Very enlightening and hits right to the point.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

April

Interesting, but…

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

Informative, fun, gossipy text…but…badly edited…lots of silly typos, like this: ”lucy walters” is sometimes ”lucy walter”, and occasionally found in ”liege”, but now and then in ”leige”…words, information and names are repeated, or left out…pronouns are messed up, or left out…the text seems to have been written in short snippets, at different times, and not put together into a working whole…eagle-eyed editor, with sharp pencil, wanted…read with caution…

One person found this helpful

M. Notman

A summary, nothing more nothing less

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2009

Verified Purchase

Seeing as this was first published by "burkes peerage" i wasnt expecting this to be an in-depth examination of the illegitimate children of our royal family- but i wasnt expecting it to read like an extract from Burkes peerage either-! Its not so much a book as a series of enclyclopedia articles strung together- and in DESPERATE need of a proof reader, some of the sentences seem to end at bizzare junctures and you aren't sure exactly who is being referred to at a number of points in the book as he leaps from person to person seemingly at random and then expects you to know which of the various charecters he is referring to as "father", "him", "she" etc later on. It is quite interesting to be fair, and its certainly well researched, but in the hands of a better writer this could have been an excellent book

20 people found this helpful

Dale Welham

An interesting but difficult read.....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2015

Verified Purchase

An Interesting look at the illegitimate royals and their impact on the history of the UK. I had no idea that so many prominent figures in our wonderful history were the subjects of a dubious beginning in life. I found that most of the lineal descriptive passages were too convoluted resulting in having to re-read them several times in order to grasp the portrayal intended.

2 people found this helpful

Thalia

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

A disappointing book. Shoddily written and at times totally confusing.

Jo Chetkowski

Information

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

It was very basic in the information offered which is not unexpected but perhaps would have been better if that information was done in a different style. It did not make me want to go and learn any more about anybody which is what I would be expecting with a book like this. Most of the content gave no hint of humanity in the relationships, too impersonal for me.

4 people found this helpful

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