A Brief History of the House of Windsor: The Making of a Modern Monarchy (Brief Histories)

The fascinating story of the modern British royal family, from its rebranding in the middle of the First World War to Prince William and Kate today

The British monarchy is over a thousand years old, but the House of Windsor - the same rulers by a different name - dates only from 1917. In the middle of the First World War when the future of the major thrones of continental Europe looked very bleak indeed, it rebranded itself from the distinctly Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the homely and familiar Windsor.

By identifying with its people and country rather than the princes, kings and emperors of Europe to whom it was related by birth and marriage, the British royal family set the monarchy on the path of adaptation, making itself relevant and allowing it to survive. The story of this transformation, with all its ups and downs - including the shocking death of Princess Diana in August 1997 and the astonishing return to popularity of the royal family in the first decades of the twenty-first century - is truly fascinating, filled with colourful personalities and exciting events.