Behind the Throne

Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the British Royal Household- Adrian Tinniswood
Basic Books/Hachette
Release Date: October 2, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: In Behind the Throne, historian Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking the reader on a remarkable journey from one Queen Elizabeth to another and exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads: the power struggles and petty rivalries, the tension between duty and desire, the practicalities of cooking dinner for thousands and of ensuring the king always won when he played a game of tennis.

____________________________________________________________

Adrian Tinniswood's Behind the Throne explores the lives of English royalty from Queen Elizabeth I to Queen Elizabeth II through the eyes of those who served them.  In a light, conversational style of writing, Tinniswood examines how costly Elizabeth I's 'visiting' her nobility was and the incredible lengths nobles needed to go in order to house and entertain her- not only in a way fit for royalty, but also in a way fit to recommend them to Elizabeth the next time she had a gift to bestow.  It is hard to imagine the number of residences that have come and gone during this time period, and what one royal thought of as the best of all houses the next might hate and ignore.

Much of the book looks at the inevitable balancing act of how a king (or queen) should be seen to live like royalty, while at the same time trying (or not) to keep in some kind of budget.  Throne has an uneven amount of behind the scenes stories to tell, and often instead of newly discovered research into the daily life of English royalty and those who serve them, we read the same stories we've heard in any history.  While I didn't learn anything new about the Prince Regent (George IV)'s living habits, there were many good glimpses behind how Elizabeth I and King James I lived.  George V and the more modern royals become more known and accessible and we see the harbingers of the modern day paparazzi and the new balancing act between private lives and what the public wants to know.

From what has changed to what hasn't, Behind the Throne gives an entertaining, and highly readable, account of 500 years of history and the lives of English royalty and those who surround them.  A good read for history lovers and those who think they don't like history, but always enjoy a good bit of royal gossip.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review