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| Becoming Queen | 
 enlarge | Author: Kate Williams
Publisher: Hutchinson
Category: Book
List Price: £20.00
Buy New: £12.00
You Save: £8.00 (40%)
New (20) from £10.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 5035
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.6
ISBN: 009179479X
EAN: 9780091794798
ASIN: 009179479X
Publication Date: September 18, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Charlotte & Victoria November 18, 2008
Queen Victoria was never meant to be Queen of England. Her cousin, Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent, was the heir to the throne. Charlotte's tragic death in childbirth meant that George III's many children had to scramble to marry & have legitimate children, one of whom would inherit the throne. Although George III & his Queen had fifteen children, when Charlotte died, there were no other legitimate heirs. The royal Dukes had illegally married unsuitable women or kept mistresses & had over 50 illegitimate children. There was an undignified rush to ditch their partners & find respectable princesses to marry. The Duke of Kent married Victoire of Saxe-Coburg & Victoria was born. This fascinating book tells the story of Charlotte & Victoria. Charlotte's childhood was unhappy as her parents hated each other & used her to score points off each other. Victoria's childhood was dominated by her mother as her father died when she was a baby. Victoire came under the influence of Sir John Conroy, who ran her household. They were determined that Victoria would not rule alone & made plans for a regency if her uncles should die before she was eighteen. Victoria was equally determined to rule without her mother or Sir John. Her childhood was one of virtual imprisonment as her mother schemed to promote her daughter to the public as the heir to the throne. An interesting picture of the formative years of a Queen.
 A superb historical biography. November 9, 2008
Kate Williams has followed up her excellent biography of Lady Hamilton 'England's Mistress', with this fascinating book on how Queen Victoria ascended the throne. Beginning with the troubled path that would lead to the emergence of the Victorian age, Kate Williams depicts the dissolute and the degenerate heirs of George III, and the question surrounding the future heir the young and vulnerable princess Charlotte. The first half of the book introduces the reader to the background and its many characters who all wanted a stake at the throne. It is due to Kate Williams' attention to detail that she captures a whole host of memorable figures, not least Victoria's mother and the machiavellian John Conroy.
Ultimately in this very engaging historical biography, Kate Williams has achieved in bringing to life young Victoria, spirited, intelligent, and passionate, who through a change of fortune would become one of the most important monarchs in world history. A monarch who with the love of her future husband Albert, would usher in a new optimistic age. Brilliant and my pick for the best biography of 2008.
Requires perserverance, a little heavy to begin with ... October 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
By the time I reached the epilogue I loved this book but it was rather heavy going to begin with as we learnt about the cruel upbringing and subsequent untimely death of the princess who should have been queen instead of Victoria. I thought the Charlotte years could have been condensed into rather fewer pages, and more emphasis given to Victoria's accession in order to affirm the book's title. Notwithstanding the above points, I heartily recommend this book as Kate Williams shows us a side of Victoria that came as rather a surprise to me: what a nympho!!!
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