Playing at Monarchy looks at the ways sports and games (tennis, fencing, bullfighting, chess, trictrac, hunting, and the Olympics) are metaphorically used to defend and subvert, to praise and mock both class and political power structures in nineteenth-century France. Corry Cropper examines what shaped these games of the nineteenth-century and how they appeared as allegory in French literature (in the fiction of Balzac, M(r)rim(r)e, and Flaubert), and in newspapers, historical studies, and even game manuals. Throughout, he shows how the representation of play in all types of literature mirrors the most important social and political rifts in postrevolutionary France, while also serving as propaganda for competing political agendas. Though its focus is on France, Playing at Monarchy hints at the way these nineteenth-century developments inform perceptions of sport even today

Photographer Chris Jackson has been by the Royal family's side on domestic visits and overseas tours for the past fifteen years, resulting in an unparalleled photographic archive of the evolving British Royal family. Occupying a front-row seat to history, Jackson's assignments have taken him to the four corners of the Earth to document the extraordinary breadth and devotion of the Royals to causes such as cancer research, mental health, and HIV awareness in Africa. In his own words in captions and texts, he reveals the magic as well as the logistics of what it's like to photograph the Royal family. The result is this unique collection of photographs of the modern British Royal Family the archive of this multi-award winning Royal Photographer and current Royal Photographer of the Year. From the modern-day fairy tale of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding to the births of Prince George and Princess Charlotte and their soon-to-be new sibling to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's historic marriage to countless Royal tours in between, this book presents the British Monarchy and Queen Elizabeth II, its most enduring icon, through the lens of one of its most trusted photographers. Whether it's Prince George's first day of school, the Duchess of Cambridge playing cricket in Mumbai, or the Invictus Games, Jackson records moments both large and small with a warmth and sincerity that has made him a media standout. Organized by theme, from State Occasions to Charity works to a typical year in the Royal Diary, this book celebrates fifteen years of the Royals in intimate portraits of a singular family's role on the world stage at a unique moment in time.

The power of monarchs has traditionally been as much symbolic as actual, rooted in popular imagery of sovereignty, divinity, and authority. In Mystifying the Monarch, a distinguished group of contributors explores the changing nature of that imagery—and its political and social effects—in Europe from the Middle Ages to the present day. They demonstrate that, rather than a linear progression where perceptions of rulers moved inexorably from the sacred to the banal, in reality the history of monarchy has been one of constant tension between mystification and demystification.

In this riveting and extensively researched account, Peter Conradi - the celebrated author of The King's Speech - offers an uncompromising portrayal of Europe's royals and reveals the scandals, excesses, conflicts and interests hidden behind the pomp of ceremonial garb and the grandeur of official functions. At a time when Western society appears to be demanding more equality and democracy, people's fascination with monarchies shows no signs of waning.Taking the reader on a journey between past and present, into a world populated by great celebrities such as Wallis Simpson, Grace Kelly and Princess Diana, as well as lesser-known and slightly murkier aristocratic figures, The Great Survivors analyses the reasons behind this apparent paradox by looking at the history of the main European dynasties - including the Windsors and their predecessors - and providing a glimpse into their world, their lives and their secrets.

In the increasingly questioning world of the 1990s, the role of the monarchy in a democracy is again coming under scrutiny. Its critics argue that the monarchy is a profoundly conservative institution which serves to inhibit social change; that it has outlived its usefulness; that it symbolizes and reinforces deference and hierachy; and that its radical reform is therefore long overdue.Rejecting these arguments Vernon Bogdanor makes a powerful case for the positive role that monarchy plays in modern democratic politics. Ranging across law, politics, and history he argues that far from undermining democracy, the monarchy sustains and strengthens democratic institutions; that constitutional monarchy is a form of government that ensures not conservatism but legitimacy.The first serious examination of the political role of the monarchy to appear in many years, this book will make fascinating reading for all those interested in the monarchy and the future of British politics.

A government is a group of people and institutions that lead and organize a community. Governments create laws, collect taxes, protect a country's borders, and provide its citizens with services. Every country's government works differently. Forms of Government explores several main types of government, describing the history of each one, how they function, what rights and responsibilities citizens have, and the effect the government has on the economic and cultural life of its people. What is a Monarchy? Monarchy is a form of government in which one person, called a monarch, rules for life. What is a Monarchy? explains how power is passed through a family from generation to generation. Almost every country in the world was once ruled by a monarch. Today there are far fewer monarchies. Some monarchs are still powerful, but most, such as Queen Elizabeth II in the United Kingdom, have only ceremonial roles. Book jacket.