John Van der Kiste Books

This is a fascinating portrait of the Princess and how she played a colorful role from her birth in 1876.

A study of relations between Britain and Austria as seen through personal and political connections between the families of Queen Victoria and Emperor Francis Joseph

This book explores key aspects of Queen Victoria's life through her roles with mentors, family, ministers, and servants. It highlights her close relationship with Albert and the tumultuous dynamics with her sons, as well as her favoritism towards Disraeli and aversion to Gladstone.

This book examines the downfall of James II, how the monarch came to forfeit the goodwill of the nation within three years.

This new book portrays the life and character of Good King Billy', one of Britain's most endearing sovereigns and down-to-earth Hanoverians.

An examination of the education, recreation and general upbringing of royal children in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, from the isolated childhood of Queen Victoria to the children of George V.

This biography of Xenia, sister of Nicholas II gives a new angle on the Romanov story and provides new information on relationships within the family after the Revolution. Important new letters and photographs are also included.

John Van der Kiste's book takes in the principal monarchies of Scandinavia going back to the beginning of the 19th century. He uses unpublished sources and photographs to show how they relate to modern European history. The book also considers the political backgrounds to the monarchs' reigns; as well as examining the suspected pro-German leanings of Gustav V, the author describes the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905, which eventually led to the election of Christian IX's grandson as Haakon VII.

Queen Victoria and Albert, the Prince Consort, had nine children who, despite their very different characters, remained a close-knit family. Inevitably, as they married into European royal families their loyalties were divided and their lives dominated by political controversy. This is not only the story of their lives in terms of world impact, but also of personal achievements in their own right, individual contributions to public life in Britain and overseas, and as the children of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort.

Recounts the lives of the four women who married into the Victorian royal family: Alexandra of Denmark, Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, Louise of Prussia and Helen of Waldeck-Pyrmont.