I really enjoyed this book, and was surprised as it covered the grandchildren of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and not just their sons.
I loved the way the book was laid out, with an introduction to the Plantagenet Family, and how they came into existence and power, and then each male was given a chapter dedicated solely to them.

Good Reads - Reading With Leanne

This book explains a major part of medieval royal history in that it looks in-depth at the Plantagenets family and all they encompassed in King Henry, King Richard, King Henry I, II, III, King John and Eleanor of Aquitaine. People usually say that people marry for money, kingdoms and influence and to be honest Eleanor as wife and mother must have been one of society’s prime people. Seeing how much land, the influence she had in having half of France, whose husband would gain that into his possession. With each of the family getting their own chapters this was an excellent book and lays it out well for the reader. A really well written work, which doesn’t get too bogged down in historical detail. Certainly a good book and written about an important part of history.

Read the full review here

UK Historian

Click here to watch

Video review by Dr Alexander Clarke

I would recommend this book to all those interested in this era and some preliminary knowledge of the Plantagenets would help the reader to follow the thread of the various stories. Douglas Boyd clearly has expert knowledge on the Plantagenets and brings their characters to life.

Alison Wall, Local History Group

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

For those that love the Plantagenet line, this is the perfect book for you! Jump into the tangled web of Plantagenet history, and intrigue.

Eleanor of Aquitaine was a formidable woman, but her sons were going to prove just as formidable. While they did not all have happy endings, the line that Henry and Eleanor began was going to be one of intrigue, deceit, piousness and poignant figures that are not easily forgotten.
Dive into the the history of this larger than life family, and get to know the Plantagenet line in a whole new light!

LOVED this book!

NetGalley, Rebecca Hill

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Douglas Boyd has given us a captivating look, albeit a succint one, into the lives of the four male halfwits born of the tempestuous union of Becket's murderer & the infamous French nympho, a truculent foray into the most dysfunctional Anglo-French family of the Middle Ages. Far from being the brightest lights in the harbour and always running a wheel short of a full set, those four royal brothers managed to turn pride, gluttony, lechery, covetouness, wrath, envy and sloth into child play by continually backstabbing each other and squabbling endlessly for asinine reasons while bringing mayhem & wreaking havoc all over Western France during their father's reign, whenever & wherever those four self absorbed idiots felt like it, "bien sûr".....
I definitely love to hate them & I can't stop being fascinated & disgusted at the same time by their egregious and often hard to understand behaviour.
Suffice to say that if reality TV had existed at the end of the 12th century, they would definitely have given the moronic Kardashians a run for their filthy money! A wonderful introduction to the never boring world of the Plantagenets & higly recommended to anyone interested in Medieval history.

NetGalley, jean luc estrella

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


At the beginning of this book, the reader is introduced to the world of knights, the protectors of the people upon their noble steeds – or so we have been led to believe, when basically what they actually excelled at was killing others. I love history, especially this time period after having become fascinated with Harold Godwinson, but Plantagenet Princes covers so much more including many things I had not thought of previously, obvious though some of them are, the difference between the horses the knights travelled on and their “destrier “ the horses they rode into battle, but once considered it makes total sense. This is just one of the points Douglas Boyd brings to life and explains in a clear and precise style. In fact, I learned things between these pages which I have often wondered about but never encountered them discussed so honestly and openly.

We live through the exploits, the forming of the family and associates that become the Plantagenets. I appreciate that in the places where previously discovered opinions are quoted, where doubt may still be present in some cases, Douglas Boyd does not assume to “tell” us what the truth is. He states in all honesty that “ we do not know...” and may give a possible scenario, yet still does not insist to know in full detail.
I particularly recommend a part of the book referenced, which was written by Daniel of Beccles that gives advice as to certain propriety of knights e.g., not to attack an enemy while he was squatting to defecate. I must bear that in mind!

The author fully underlines how wily rulers could be and in certain circumstances had to be, how difficult it must have been to relax and sleep soundly in one's bed, constantly having to watch your back, with fathers and sons turning against one another...it seems almost impossible to live a life in such a manner, yet this is what they did. It seems bizarre how important continuing the bloodline was, from father to a son, how necessary a son was but then too many sons became a threat as they more often than not rebelled against their father and their other brothers for greed. This is aided by Boyd's descriptions and detailing of events being so rich and evocative.
Throughout the book, I tried to imagine how the “ ordinary “ person would have existed, trade being badly affected and peasants were incessantly taxed – it must have been hell on earth, being penalised for faults not of their doing.
To conclude, Douglas Boyd has written an informative and enjoyable read, highlighting the Plantagenet line, a rivalry that disrupted families, people and even countries.

I rate Plantagenet Princes 5 out of 5 stars.

NetGalley, Mariel Renaud

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Boyd's Plantagenet Princes is a good reference for writers and chronicles this line from its inception to its end. Every page is filled with intrigues, battles, blood lines blended and blended over again. This is a must for scholars of this historical period.

NetGalley, Carol MacArthur

If you wish to learn about the Plantagenets but don’t wish to get bogged down with of the historical ins and outs this is the book for you.
Each Prince has his own chapter so a good book to dip into too. Sometimes history books give you too much history. This hits the right balance between a book for the interested rather than for the academic.

NetGalley, Cath P