We set our scene in Damask: A kingdom that couldn’t get ransacked if it tried... But now that the king is dead, that’s exactly what his brothers have in mind. All they need is a bad king to take his place. The population will rebel, the neighboring kingdom will be “invited” to restore order, and they’ll be in business... Bad Prince Charlie will do. His reputation for “badness” precedes him, and everyone knows he wouldn’t spit on Damask to save it from Drought. At the mention of Lady Catherine (va-va-voom) Durace, he’s in on the scheme. But his father’s ghost has been skulking around the castle, and we all know that means trouble. If Charlie ever gets around to hearing the old man out, he may learn that his uncles’ mildly sinister scheme is actually a bonafide evil plot. Ransacking Damask is just a cover for the real game: Weapons of Magical Destruction.

Agreeing to be a part of his uncles' dastardly scheme to wreak havoc in the kingdom of Damask by taking the throne, Bad Prince Charlie, renowned for his incompetence, is haunted by his father's ghost, who reveals an evil plot involving weapons of magical destruction.

What if Cinderella went to the ball...and got pregnant? Bad boy Prince Charlie doesn't want to marry, but the Prince's Ball has only one purpose: to find a bride for the future king. He doesn't expect to be tempted by any of the ladies vying for his attention (or his title)...least of all the woman he finds sneaking around his castle. The problem? Even when sparks fly, she refuses to tell him her name. And when the clock strikes midnight, his mystery woman runs. But Prince Charlie has made his choice. He's found his future bride... Now he just needs to catch her.

The dramatic story of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his quixotic attempt to regain the throne of England. The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-46 is one of the most important turning points in British history--in terms of national crisis every bit the equal of 1066 and 1940. The tale of Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie," and his heroic attempt to regain his grandfather's (James II) crown--remains the stuff of legend: the hunted fugitive, Flora MacDonald, and the dramatic escape over the sea to the Isle of Skye. But the full story--the real history--is even more dramatic, captivating, and revelatory. Much more than a single rebellion, the events of 1745 were part of an ongoing civil war that threatened to destabilize the British nation and its empire. The Bonnie Prince and his army alone, which included a large contingent of Scottish highlanders, could not have posed a great threat. But with the involvement of Britain's perennial enemy, Catholic France, it was a far more dangerous and potentially catastrophic situation for the British crown. With encouragement and support from Louis XV, Charles's triumphant Jacobite army advanced all the way to Derby, a mere 120 miles from London, before a series of missteps ultimately doomed the rebellion to crushing defeat and annihilation at Culloden in April 1746--the last battle ever fought on British soil. Jacqueline Riding conveys the full weight of these monumental years of English and Scottish history as the future course of Great Britain as a united nation was irreversibly altered.

A provocative, surprising, and utterly fresh portrait of Charles, Prince of Wales He is one of the world's most fascinating and least understood figures: now sixty-six, Prince Charles has spent his entire life preparing to be king while insisting on being his own man. In this brilliant portrait, he emerges as a complex character driven by a painful past, a questing intellect, and a powerful impulse not only to reshape the monarchy but to use the long wait for the throne to work toward high ideals. Based on exclusive interviews with members of Charles's inner circle and on rare access to the Prince himself, this revelatory biography takes us deep into the royal sphere—a world of its own that Catherine Mayer calls Planet Windsor—and shows us the skullduggery and unintentional comedy of court life. At the same time, it provides a clear-eyed view of Charles's struggles and his achievements as a philanthropist and activist. The book also offers a fundamental reappraisal of one of the most documented episodes in modern history—his marriage to Diana. The reality, as with many aspects of the Prince's story, is more gripping and more poignant than we knew. Now closer than ever to achieving happiness, the Prince is still far from settled. He remains committed to bringing about social and political change, but in aiming to be a king of hearts, he often creates heartache, for himself and others. Born to Be King explains how and why Charles may redefine the role of the sovereign, even as it reveals the astonishing extent to which the Prince has already left his mark on the world.