Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the British Royal Household - Hardcover

Adrian Tinniswood is senior research fellow in history at the University of Buckingham and the author of The Long Weekend and The Verneys, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. He was awarded an OBE for services to heritage by her majesty, the Queen, and lives in Bath, England.

"A glimpse into a world where everything is possible for the rulers, because the ruled do all the work: This sounds enchanting, and so Behind the Throne proves to be...The author has a wry humor and a way with a phrase."―Wall Street Journal

"Charmingly erudite...Like a seasoned tour guide, Tinniswood keeps us moving through chambers of wonders, from the Elizabethan to the modern era...Tinniswood is both a careful scholar and a nimble writer."―Washington Post

"Shrewdly observed and engagingly written...A cracking read, packed full of stories which Tinniswood relates with verve and wit."―Spectator (UK)

"Tinniswood (The Long Weekend) explores the inner workings of the well-oiled machine that is the household, servants, and monarchy of Britain...A masterpiece of history that reads like a novel; a true delight."―Library Journal (starred review)

"[Tinniswood] amply, entertainingly, compellingly succeeds in making the case that when it comes to British royalty, it takes a village to make a monarch."―New York Journal of Books

"[Tinniswood] displays a knack for uncovering the absurd and delightful. A wit borne of a deep intimacy with his subject shows through. It all has the effect of bringing the monarchy down to earth."―New York Times Book Review

"[A] juicy new domestic history of the royal household...Tinniswood's magpie narrative is...about boundaries: the walls, literal and metaphorical, that separate monarchs from their people."―Guardian

"Fascinating...Never overly deferential, but humorous and distantly respectful. Our royals are human beings after all...Behind the Throne is a wonderfully entertaining account of life through five centuries of royal households."―Sunday Times

"Behind the Throne, erudite and amusing, bulges with colourful scenes of barely managed chaos at court."―Times

"[A] juicy new domestic history of the royal household...Delicious."―Observer