Tag: English Civil Wars

Book Review: “Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars” by Linda Porter

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Throughout history, many civil wars have altered the course of the history of the countries where they occurred. While we think about the American Civil War, the French Revolution, and the Wars of the Roses, another civil war often overlooked outside of England is the English Civil Wars. A series of conflicts between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists led to the execution of King Charles I and the rise of the English Republic under Oliver Cromwell. We often view the conflict from either Charles’ or Oliver’s perspective, but we have to consider the family that Charles left behind. How did the English Civil Wars mold the children of Charles I and his Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria? Linda Porter explores the lives of the royal children in her book, “Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars.”

I am a relative novice when it comes to the Stuart dynasty, especially the English Civil Wars. I have seen Linda Porter’s books but have not read any of them yet. I like a challenge so when I saw this book, I decided to give it a try.

Before we explore the lives of the children of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, we must understand how their relationship began in the 1620s. A Protestant English king married a French Catholic princess, the daughter of King Henry IV of France and Marie de Medici. To say that the English did not like having a Catholic queen would be an understatement. Charles I and Maria had nine children in total, but only five would survive into adulthood; Charles II, Princess Mary, James II, Prince Henry, and Henriette Anne. It is through the lives of these five children that we can get a grasp of what kind of impact Charles I’s decisions had on his family as the English Civil Wars took place.

The most difficult part of this book for me was understanding the conflict of the English Civil Wars themselves as it was not an area that I normally study. I think Porter does an admirable job of explaining the causes of the English Civil Wars and how Charles and his family dealt with the anti-royalist resentment. We see the children and Henrietta Maria escape to other countries like France and the Netherlands by any means necessary while Charles I stayed behind. Porter shows her audience that Charles I was a good father until his execution on January 30, 1649. The death of Charles I left a mark on his children. Charles II and James II would have to bid their time and fight for their right to rule after Oliver and Richard Cromwell with a few scandals mixed in. Henriette Anne and Mary would get used to married life with their husbands Philippe Duke of Orleans and William II of Orange respectively.

This is a story of a resilient family who fought for what they believed in, even if it meant that their father died in the process and their country hated them for a time. It is a story of how love and endurance brought the monarchy back from the brink to survive another few centuries. I now want to dive deeper into the Stuart dynasty and read more books by Porter. If you are like me and you want to learn more about the Stuarts and the English Civil Wars, I recommend you read, “Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars” by Linda Porter.

Book Review: “The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court” by Gareth Russell

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

The PalaceWhen we think of old homes, we often think of the phrase, “If walls could talk,” because the true treasure of any home is not the floorboards or the walls, but rather the stories of those who lived inside its walls. Take, for example, Hampton Court Palace in England. A home for over 500 years that has seen many architectural and artistic changes in its hallowed halls, but it is the stories of those who stayed for brief periods that truly make this palace spectacular. Stories full of salacious scandals, religious implications, and revelations that would shake England to its core through revolutions. Hampton Court Palace has been the center of English court drama for centuries and finally, these tantalizing tales are being told in a truly remarkable book, “The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court” by Gareth Russell.

I would like to thank Gareth Russell and Atria Books/Simon and Schuster, for sending me a copy of this book. I have enjoyed Russell’s previous biographies about The Queen Mother and Catherine Howard, so when I heard that he was writing a new book about Hampton Court Palace, I knew I wanted to read it.

Russell structures this book similarly to how he structured, “Do Let’s Have Another Drink” in that each chapter is a different tale from this palace’s half a century of history, which is a ton of historical fun to explore. He starts with a story of a ball attended by Elizabeth Windsor, soon to be Queen Elizabeth II, a few days before her coronation in 1953. Full of glitz and glamor, we soon transition to the origins of the land that Hampton Court Palace resides on and how the palace came to be after its humble beginnings as an estate for the Knights Hospitaller. It was not until the Wars of the Roses that the manor gained prominence under a favorite of Henry VII, Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney.

By understanding how this phenomenal manor became a palatial palace, we can appreciate the stories that are the bulk of this book. Russell takes his readers through 500 years of English royal history, starting with the tumultuous Tudors, moving to the saucy Stuarts, the haughty Hanovers, the gossiping Georgians, and finishing with the worldly Windsors. Each chapter focuses on one character from each dynasty and one room of the palace.

While I was relatively well aware of the Tudor tales of Cardinal Wolsey, Catherine Howard’s run down the Haunted Gallery, and Mary I’s phantom pregnancies, it was the other dynasties that drew me into an engrossing book. The Stuarts especially shocked me with the colorful cast of characters who ranged from King James I with the King James Bible, Charles II and his many mistresses, and Oliver Cromwell. Russell shows the tragic moments, which included the death of several queens of England, the chaotic period known as the English Civil Wars, the creation of “The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior,” and the story of The Grand Duchess Xenia, the last living sister of Tsar Nicholas II. There are also stories full of art, scientific research, love, humor, and even chocolate and court life.

Russell’s narrative style of writing combined with his meticulous research has created another smash hit. I could not put this book down and I was very sad when I finished reading it, I did not want it to end. I don’t want to spoil much about this book, but it is my new favorite book by Gareth Russell. If you want a book full of fascinating history that you can binge-read, I highly suggest you read, “The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court” by Gareth Russell.