Monarchy

The Mail on Sunday’s Royal Correspondent, Katie Nicholl, looks at how the histories of the previous generation have shaped Princes William and Harry. She picks the best books on the British royals.

She became the heir to the British throne because her uncle had resigned and became Queen Elizabeth II aged just 25, after her father's early death in 1952. The royal biographer Robert Lacey considers Elizabeth Windsor (1926-2022),  her family history, her legacy and what made her so successful as Britain's titular head of state.

He was the Machiavelli of English kings – a chancer and usurper with a highly dubious claim to the throne. But Henry VII ruled for 25 years and founded a dynasty. His biographer, Thomas Penn, tells us how he did it

Women’s historical role in politics wasn’t always as limited as we might assume. Medieval historian Helen Castor tells us about powerful women in British history and how they were constrained or conspired against.

University College London professor Helen Hackett selects five books on the Virgin Queen, including one by the monarch herself. "You get a sense of her independence of mind. She does her own thing"