Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy

by Leslie Carroll Narrated by Leslie Carroll

Overview

A funny, raucous, and delightfully dirty history of 1,000 years of bedroom-hopping secrets and scandals of Britain's royals

Insatiable kings, lecherous queens, kissing cousins, and wanton consorts-history has never been so much fun.

Royal unions have always been the stuff of scintillating gossip, from the passionate Plantagenets to Henry VIII's alarming head count of wives and mistresses, to the Sapphic crushes of Mary and Anne Stuart right on up through the scandal-blighted coupling of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Thrown into loveless, arranged marriages for political and economic gain, many royals were driven to indulge their pleasures outside the marital bed, engaging in delicious flirtations, lurid love letters, and rampant sex with voluptuous and willing partners.

This nearly pathological lust made for some of the most titillating scandals in Great Britain's history. Hardly harmless, these affairs have disrupted dynastic alliances, endangered lives, and most of all, fed the salacious curiosity of the public for centuries. Royal Affairs will satiate that curiosity by bringing this arousing history alive.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

If misery loves company, devotees of the late Princess Diana may be happy to learn that, like Prince Charles, King George I ignored his luscious wife and first cousin, Sophia Dorothea, for not one but two hideous mistresses, one of whom may have been his half-sister. Camilla, duchess of Cornwallis, had a great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, who was the mistress of Charles's great-great-grandfather Edward VII; a hysterical Alice had to be dragged away from her comatose lover's deathbed and wore full mourning to his funeral. After his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, bore him eight children, Henry II openly cavorted with his 16-year-old Welsh mistress, Rosamund, but the highly political Eleanor got revenge by inciting their sons to rebel against Henry and possibly poisoning Rosamund. The narrowness of Carroll's subject matter (she writes historical fiction as Amanda Elyot) is more tiresome than titillating, and her tales of such favorites as Anne Boleyn, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Essex and Wallis Simpson are less than fresh. (June 3)

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Library Journal

In this delightful addition to the countless other books written about the British Royal Family, Carroll (Choosing Sophie) deftly constructs information chronologically by ruling dynasty, from the Angevins to the Windsors. Along the way, she shares with readers little-known facts-e.g., that the 20-year liaison between William IV and his actress companion was apparently a happy and contented one until he tossed her aside to become king-as well as facts more widely known, e.g., that Queen Victoria and John Brown were close friends but that no evidence of an affair has been discovered. As her previous experience writing historical fiction under the pseudonym Amanda Elyot attests, Carroll can ably research and distill facts and has a true talent for weaving fascinating narratives. Her entertaining writing style makes this one book you do not want to put down. Entertaining, impeccably researched, and extremely well written, it will appeal to all readers with an interest in British history as well as to those with a more specialized interest in the personal lives of the British royal family. Highly recommended.
—Faye Harkins

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175855976
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	03/21/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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