Behind the Throne

<p><b>Behind the Throne is, above all, a history of family life.</b><br><br>They ate, entertained their friends and worried about money. <b>Henry VIII</b> kept tripping over his dogs. <b>George II</b> threw his son out of the house. <b>James I</b> had to cut back on the drink bills.<br><br><b>The great difference is that royal families had more help with their lives than most.</b><br><br><b>Charles I</b> maintained a household of 2,000. <b>Victoria's </b>medical establishment alone consisted of thirty doctors, three dentists and a chiropodist. Even today,<b> Elizabeth II</b> keeps a full-time staff of 1,200. <br><br>A royal household was a community, a vast machine. Everyone, from<b> James I's Master of the Horse</b> down to <b>William IV's Assistant Table Decker</b>, was there to smooth the sovereign's path through life while simultaneously confirming their status.<br><br>Here, Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking you on a remarkable journey, exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads. <br><br><b><i>Behind the Throne</i> is a true domestic history of the royal household, a reconstruction of life behind the throne. </b><br><br><b>'The most interesting and informative book on British royalty for many years' <i>Literary Review</i></b></p> <p><b>Behind the Throne is, above all, a history of family life.</b><br><br>They ate, entertained their friends and worried about money. <b>Henry VIII</b> kept tripping over his dogs. <b>George II</b> threw his son out of the house. <b>James I</b> had to cut back on the drink bills.<br><br><b>The great difference is that royal families had more help with their lives than most.</b><br><br><b>Charles I</b> maintained a household of 2,000. <b>Victoria's </b>medical establishment alone consisted of thirty doctors, three dentists and a chiropodist. Even today,<b> Elizabeth II</b> keeps a full-time staff of 1,200. <br><br>A royal household was a community, a vast machine. Everyone, from<b> James I's Master of the Horse</b> down to <b>William IV's Assistant Table Decker</b>, was there to smooth the sovereign's path through life while simultaneously confirming their status.<br><br>Here, Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking you on a remarkable journey, exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads. <br><br><b><i>Behind the Throne</i> is a true domestic history of the royal household, a reconstruction of life behind the throne. </b><br><br><b>'The most interesting and informative book on British royalty for many years' <i>Literary Review</i></b></p>