Features the court of Britain's longest-reigning monarch Royalty and the Victorian era, with coverage of the people, pageantry, and power of Queen Victoria's court. Beginning with the Queen's 1897 Diamond Jubilee, this book describes her long reign. It paints a portrait of a unique ruler at the height of empire.

A celebration in medals of Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years as our monarch. On the occasion of the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne as Queen of Canada, Canada has followed a long tradition of recommending to Her Majesty the institution of a commemorative medal to mark this auspicious milestone. Commemorative Medals of The Queen’s Reign in Canada, 1952-2012 examines in detail this element of the Canadian honours system. This short and accessible work provides the reader with an interesting and informative study of the honours that have recognized nearly a quarter of a million Canadians over the past six decades. Fully illustrated in colour, the book recounts the history and development of the commemorative medals awarded during The Queen’s 60 years as monarch.

A flavour of this book ... This small disk is called Carmichael’s Amulet and it commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria by the dates 1837 and 1897. These are the dates of her 60 years reign. To the right can be seen a mould that is carved from wood. It seems to have been professionally made in a large block that is well finished and furnished with a hook for hanging up. The mould may have produced butter pats or terrines for a Victorian celebration. As well as the Diamond Jubilee dates it commemorates the Record Reign that Queen Victoria had achieved in 1896 after being monarch for longer than George III. These images were taken by the authors as this book was being written and so they do not appear in the text which summarises an enormous variety of Diamond Jubilee souvenirs. Inside you will find a unique view of Victoriana that was made to celebrate one event at the height of the powers of the British Empire. The souvenirs will give you a glimpse into Victorian creative ingenuity as well as the thinking and beliefs of people in 1897.

Since Queen Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne sixty years ago Britain has seen huge social, political and economic change. As her people have celebrated the highs and mourned the lows, she has remained a constant and stable figure at the head of the world's most famous Royal Family. Through 12 Prime Ministers, four recessions, wars and a technological revolution, the Queen's determination to carry out her duties and to connect with the public has not faltered. Sixty Glorious Years celebrates her extraordinary ability to have secured a place in the hearts of generations of Britons. With rarely seen pictures, this book offers an unparalleled look at the life and work of the woman who looks set to become Britain's longest surviving sovereign.

The awestruck press thrilled all of Canada with reports of the Earl of Dufferin’s 1876 fancy dress ball at Rideau Hall. Twenty years later, the Earl and Countess of Aberdeen not only topped Dufferin’s extravaganza and catered to a new taste: at their Historical Fancy Dress Ball, guests promenaded as important characters from Canadian history. The next year, in Toronto, their Victorian Era Ball feted Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee by celebrating in costume the progress of her reign and the technological wonders of the century to come. In 1898, the Aberdeens induced Montreal’s French and English high society to act out the ideal of national unity. Cynthia Cooper tells the stories of these four vice-regal balls, the costumes, and the optimistic nation-builders who disguised frivolity as historical research and chose costumes that allowed sexual display scandalous in any other setting. The reporters on the fringes of each event form a gushing Greek chorus, and photos by Notman and Topley show la crème de la crème of young Canada in all its finery.

Moving images of the British monarchy are almost as old as the moving image itself, dating back to an 1895 American drama, The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots. And from 1896, actual British monarchs appeared in the new 'animated photography', led by Queen Victoria. Half a century later the 1953 coronation of Elizabeth II was a milestone in the adoption of television, watched by 20 million Britons and 100 million North Americans. At the century's end, Princess Diana's funeral was viewed by 2.5 billion worldwide. In the first book length examination of film and television representations of this enduring institution, distinguished scholars of media and political history analyze the screen representations of royalty from Henry VIII to 'William and Kate'. Seventeen essays by Ian Christie, Elisabeth Bronfen, Andrew Higson, Karen Lury, Glynn Davies, Jane Landman and other international commentators examine the portrayal of royalty in the 'actuality' picture, the early extended feature, amateur cinema, the movie melodrama, the Commonwealth documentary, New Queer Cinema, TV current affairs, the big screen ceremonial and the post-historical boxed set. A long overdue contribution to film and television studies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and students of British media and political history.

'Ackroyd makes history accessible to the layman' - Ian Thomson, Independent The penultimate volume of Peter Ackroyd’s masterful History of England series, Dominion begins in 1815 as national glory following the Battle of Waterloo gives way to post-war depression, spanning the last years of the Regency to the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901. In it, Ackroyd takes us from the accession of the profligate George IV whose government was steered by Lord Liverpool, who was firmly set against reform, to the reign of his brother, William IV, the 'Sailor King', whose reign saw the modernization of the political system and the abolition of slavery. But it was the accession of Queen Victoria, aged only eighteen, that sparked an era of enormous innovation. Technological progress – from steam railways to the first telegram – swept the nation and the finest inventions were showcased at the first Great Exhibition in 1851. The emergence of the middle classes changed the shape of society and scientific advances changed the old pieties of the Church of England, and spread secular ideas across the nation. But though intense industrialization brought boom times for the factory owners, the working classes were still subjected to poor housing, long working hours and dire poverty. It was a time that saw a flowering of great literature, too. As the Georgian era gave way to that of Victoria, readers could delight not only in the work of Byron, Shelley and Wordsworth but also the great nineteenth-century novelists: the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, Mrs Gaskell, Thackeray, and, of course, Dickens, whose work has become synonymous with Victorian England. Nor was Victorian expansionism confined to Britain alone. By the end of Victoria’s reign, the Queen was also an Empress and the British Empire dominated much of the globe. And, as Ackroyd shows in this richly populated, vividly told account, Britannia really did seem to rule the waves.