Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I’ve always been interested in history and over some fifty decades ir more, I’ve read and studied many different aspects. That said, this book is a total revelation! I had no idea that so much was going on in the background well into the twentieth century. I knew over the centuries that marriages were contrived as a means to power and control and various European royal houses lost their sovereignty for a number of reasons. The history behind so many of these well known dynasties is well set out in this book. I was aware of the Portuguese house of Braganza, but didn’t realise the monarchy there had lasted so long. The social, religious and political reasons behind the downfall of this, and other European families is explored in fascinating detail.

I’m not a royalist and find the contrivances established for centuries to ensure that control and power remains in the hands of a select few both odious and irrelevant. But it goes on and Robert Stoves book gives shocking insight into how far the state and senior politicians were ( and no doubt are) involved in maintaining their status quo. This title makes the complexities of the links between so many families much easier to understand and it tackles a diverse subject in an informed and structured way. At times, it reads rather like an adventure story and I was keen to find out what happened next. An authoritative and truly eye opening read. Really enjoyed it and it’s whetted my appetite for more like this.

NetGalley, Anita Wallas

Found this book very interesting dividing up the various countries where Royal houses fell post WW1 and how the countries tried to develop different systems and the aftermath of what happened to these families. Has been fully researched and would interest anyone with an interest in modern history.

NetGalley, stephen hutchison

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I have read a book on a similar topic before, which was published in 1994. As the author reminds us of the last attempt at a monarchist coup in Germany, it proves one thing – the topic is still relevant and worth exploring.
I was very impressed by the structure of the book. I learned a lot of new things, for example, about Portuguese history, which I believe is not as well-known. Each chapter was very well organized, and the events were clearly described. The text is engaging and informative, which allowed me to learn a lot.
This book is a great contribution to the literature on monarchies and their falls.

NetGalley, Magdalena Šejdová