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How English royal rule evolved from 1660 to the dawn of the 20th century

With a deft blend of disciplined scholarship and dramatic flair, Dr. David Starkey continues his epic documentary on English royal rule. In this series, you'll meet lustful, cagey Charles II, who sired 17 illegitimate children while outmaneuvering his opposition; austere William of Orange, whom Parliament invited to conquer England; plain, pragmatic Anne, who oversaw the expansion of a great empire; George I, who established the Hanoverian line but never learned English; and regal Victoria, who ushered in a new age that saw the Monarchy become the model for middle-class morality.

This lively, engrossing narrative shows how events in the bedroom and on the battlefield shaped Europe's longest-surviving governing institution. In a world rocked by populist revolutions, how did England's monarchs manage to hold on to power? Starkey finds answers in the English tradition in which kings and queens rule by consent of the people, as well as in the adaptability and tenacity of those who sat on the throne.