England has always been a place of queens. The earliest known lived nearly 2,000 years ago. Early queens, such as Boudica and Cartimandua, are historical figures, while others, such as Cordelia and Guinevere, are mythical. In both historical documents and romantic legends, the early queens of Britain played a prominent role, and this has never ceased to be the case.

Nearly eighty women have sat on the throne of England, either as queen regnant or queen consort, and the voices of all of them survive through their writings and those of their contemporaries. For the first time, the voices of each individual queen can be heard. This volume charts the course of English queenship from our earliest named queen, the fierce Boudica, through the Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Plantagenets, to the queens of the Wars of the Roses and the woman whose marriage brought peace after years of conflict, Elizabeth of York.

• Across

  two volumes, England’s Queens represents the only comprehensive

  history available of the lives of every English queen and queen consort from

  the earliest Saxon queens to the House of Windsor.

• Fabulously

  illustrated.

• A

  wonderful narrative history laced with the words of the queens themselves.

• The lives of England’s queens have never been so popular – see the huge

  success of Philippa Gregory’s novels, BBC2’s lavish drama The Tudors, and Hilary Mantel's book Bring

  Up The Bodies (Anne Boleyn).