St James's Palace was built by Henry VIII in the 1530s on the site of a former leper hospital, and as such is one of London's oldest royal palaces and host to some of the most extraordinary events in British history. It was at St James's Palace that Mary Tudor signed the treaty surrendering Calais; where Elizabeth I held her Councils of War at the time of the Spanish Armada and where Charles I spent his final night before his execution. Today, the Palace remains the official seat of the monarchy - 'the Court of St James' - playing host to many state and ceremonial occasions. This delightful book is filled with quality reproductions to illustrate the witty and informative text, bringing to life the history of the royal palace. Sir Kenneth Scott, an author very familiar with the workings of a royal household, gives an illuminating and fascinating account of the history of St James's Palace, which is the only one of the Royal Palaces not open to the public. AUTHOR: After school and university in Edinburgh, Sir Kenneth Scott joined the Diplomatic Service and served in a variety of posts including Moscow, Bonn, Washington and Brussels before being appointed Ambassador in Yugoslavia in 1982. From 1985 to 1996 he was one of the Private Secretaires to The Queen, and during most of that time he lived in an apartment in St. James' Palace. In 1996, after retirement from the Royal Household, he spent nine months in Sarajevo as Chairman of the Provisional Election Commission which organised the first democratic elections in Bosnia after the war. He now lives in Edinburgh. 150 colour illustrations

Edward Impey provides a highly illustrated history of Kensington Palace from its foundation early in the 17th century, its early ownership when William and Mary bought it right through to its association with Diana, Princess of Wales and its current status in the 21st century.

Compiles information about a myriad of topics, ranging from the arts and life sciences to computers and the zodiac. 8 yrs+

Mothers, wives, concubines, entertainers, attendants, officials, maids, drudges. By offering the first comparative view of the women who lived, worked, and served in royal courts around the globe, this work opens a new perspective on the monarchies that have dominated much of human history. Written by leading historians, anthropologists, and archeologists, these lively essays take us from Mayan states to twentieth-century Benin in Nigeria, to the palace of Japanese Shoguns, the Chinese Imperial courts, eighteenth-century Versailles, Mughal India, and beyond. Together they investigate how women's roles differed, how their roles changed over time, and how their histories can illuminate the structures of power and societies in which they lived. This work also furthers our understanding of how royal courts, created to project the authority of male rulers, maintained themselves through the reproductive and productive powers of women.

“An illuminating portrait” of the palace―its architecture, its scandals, its politics, and its role in France’s tumultuous history (The New York Times Book Review). The story of Versailles is one of historical drama, under the last three kings of France's old regime, mixed with the high camp and glamour of the European courts, all in an iconic home for the French arts. The palace itself has been radically altered since 1789, and the court was long ago swept away. Versailles sets out to rediscover what is now a vanished world: a great center of power, seat of royal government, and, for thousands, a home both grand and squalid, bound by social codes almost incomprehensible to us today. Using eyewitness testimony as well as the latest historical research, Tony Spawforth offers the first full account of Versailles in English in over thirty years. Blowing away the myths of Versailles, he analyses afresh the politics behind the Sun King’s construction of the palace and shows how Versailles worked as the seat of a royal court. He probes the conventional picture of a “perpetual house party” of courtiers and gives full weight to the darker side: not just the mounting discomfort of the aging buildings but also the intrigue and status anxiety of its aristocrats. The book brings out clearly the fateful consequences for the French monarchy of its relocation to Versailles and also examines the changing place of Versailles in France’s national identity since 1789. Includes photographs “Animates the palace that was home to the most charismatic monarchy in Europe for a century, until the French Revolution . . . well-researched and highly engrossing.” —Publishers Weekly

Worsley and Souden's book tells the story of one of the finest palaces in Europe, covering the original buildings of Henry VIII's reign and the baroque additions by Sir Christopher Wren, as well as the famous Gardens. It also reveals details of palace life for both the monarchy and those 'below stairs'.

This book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Islamic palace architecture in Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and southern Italy, presenting all known palace buildings in ground plans, sections and individual descriptions. The author traces their evolution from the 8th to the 19th century and places them within the context of the history of Islamic culture.