The Royal 100

"The Royal 100: A Who's Who of the First 100 People in Line of Succession to the British Throne" combines a text by Alan Hamilton with many, many photographs. The book's subtitle pretty much describes it perfectly. The book is divided into five sections that reflect the genealogical interconnections of the British royal family. The sections cover the House of Windsor and its descendants; the Norwegian royal house (yes, one of them could inherit the British crown if some massive disaster wiped out all the Windsors and descendants); the Romanian royal family; the Yugoslavian royal family; and the Russian imperial family.The interesting introduction has an overview of the British royal family and the principles of royal succession. The text overall is both informative and entertining. I loved the many pictures of the royals and their relatives: at work, at play, in formal looking poses, etc. There are wedding pics, baby pics, and pics of royals in the fancy military uniforms that seem to never go out of fashion. Mini-biographies (very brief for the more obscure individuals) accompany the pictures. Along the way are some marvelous images and curious (occasionally even scandalous!) facts.This is definitely one of the most enjoyable of the many royal books I have read over the years. It's full of life. Unfortunately, the 1986 edition is (as I write this review) way out of date. But the book is still well worth exploring.