Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria
Julia Gelardi's Born to Rule is the powerful epic story of five royal granddaughters of Queen Victoria, who reigned over the end of their empires, the destruction of their families, and the tumult of the twentieth century
Here are the stories of Alexandra, whose faith in Rasputin and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the flamboyant and eccentric queen who battled her way through a life of intrigues and was also the mother of two Balkan queens and of the scandalous Carol II of Romania; Victoria Eugenie, Spain's very English queen who, like Alexandra, introduced hemophilia into her husband's family---with devastating consequences for her marriage; Maud, King Edward VII's daughter, who was independent Norway's reluctant queen; and Sophie, Kaiser Wilhelm II's much maligned sister, daughter of an emperor and herself the mother of no less than three kings and a queen, who ended her days in bitter exile. Using never before published letters, memoirs, diplomatic documents, secondary sources, and interviews with descendents of the subjects, Julia Gelardi's Born to Rule is an astonishing and memorable work of popular history.
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Customer Reviews
Rated 5 starsCouldn't put it down
I was taken in right away by the easy storytelling style of the author. This is a personal bio of the 5 granddaughters, so major historical events are covered only as they effect the lives of the queens. This may be as intimate a glimpse as we can get of these royal women. Queen Victoria, mentor and role model to the queens, looms in the background. Some here felt it would be better to cover each queen separately, but I...
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Rated 5 starsFive strong women; one delightful book
It is very easy to find a book in English about Queen Victoria and Tsarina Alexandra but to find one that includes Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, Queen Sophie of Greece, Queen Marie of Romania AND Queen Maud of Norway, that is in itself, amazing. I couldnt tear myself away from this book since the day it arrived. An excellently researched book (although I will forgive the author for calling Princess Ingeborg of Sweden...
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Rated 5 starsA marvelous first book from Ms. Gelardi!
As a specialist royalty bookseller and publisher of a royalty journal, I receive many royalty-themed books for review every year. Many are middle of the road productions on the same over-studied topics. Then and again comes a book such Ms. Gelardi's, a marvelous first book by a tremendously promising author. I am not a stranger to the story of Queen Victoria's five granddaughters who sat on European thrones. However, Ms...
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Rated 5 starsA Nice Glimpse of A Vanished World
Born to Rule is a joint biography of five royal consorts, all first cousins and granddaughters of Queen Victoria, who reigned over their countries during the early to mid twentieth century. Although Maud of Norway (called Harry in the family), Sophie of Greece, Victoria Eugenie of Spain (Ena), Alexandra of Russia (Alix), and Marie of Rumania (Missy) were cousins who knew each other fairly well, their personalities and ultimate...
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Rated 5 starsA Fitting Tribute to Five Memorable Queens
This book is a must-have for any fan of royalty. It profiles the lives of five granddaughters of Queen Victoria, four of whom suffered greatly in the name of duty, either by their spouse's infidelity, the betrayal by their children or the instability of their country. The life and death of the tragic Alexandra is, of course, well known, but this chronicles four other queens as well -- Sophie of Greece, Maud of Norway, Marie...
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