In a series of moving portraits of the monarchs and their advisors, Charles Douglas-Home and Saul Kelly examine the tasks with which recent crowned heads have been troubled, and the virtues that enabled them, by and large, to act for the common good. Incisive, evocative and informed by a magisterial vision of the scope of political power, this work offers a persuasive answer to the critics of monarchy, and an account of a unique form of government that will give confidence and inspiration to the British people, as they enter a new century of shifting powers and uncertain prospects.

The Royals is a wonderful photographic record of the British Royal Family from the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 to the modern day. Showcasing the lives and historical events of six monarchs, the book highlights every major era of the 20th Century through two World Wars, the new Elizabethan era and the generational expansion of the Royal Family in the 1980s and 1990s, the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997, and the rejuvenation of the Royal Family under Princes Wills and Harry. With over 400 images from the Mirrorpix archives, and informative introductions and extensive captions, The Royals is a wonderful snapshot of an amazing era.

La monarchie anglaise a-t-elle encore une justification en cette fin du vingtième siècle ? Les ors royaux ne sont-ils qu'un vaste parc d'attractions, un peu désuet mais charmant, pour touristes nostalgiques ? Le monarque a-t-il un rôle politique réel, au Royaume Uni, dans le Commonwealth ? La monarchie est-elle devenue un luxe inutile ? Que pense le peuple de la monarchie ? Pour répondre à ces questions Monica Charlot a réuni les analyses de spécialistes d'outre-Manche et les résultats, souvent inédits, d'enquêtes d'opinion de ces dernières décennies. Ces documents sont en outre illustrés d'articles de presse et de discours. At the end of the 20th century does the British monarchy still have a role to play ? Is the pomp and circumstance more than an old-fashioned but charming tourist attraction ? Has the monarch a political role as Head of State or as Head of the Commonwealth . Is the monarchy a costly dispensable luxury ? What does the public think of the monarchy ? Monica Charlot has asked eminent specialists from Britain to answer these questions and give their point of view. The book containts in addition a selection of opinion polls, extracts from walter Bagehot's English Constitution and a few important speeches and texts.