The prequel to The Crown: the first truly candid portrait of George V and Mary, the Queen's grandparents and creators of the modern monarchy

Shortlisted for the Elizabeth Longford Historical Biography prize and the History Reclaimed Book of the Year prize

The lasting reputation of George V is for dullness. However throughout his reign, the monarch navigated a constitutional crisis, the First World War, the fall of thirteen European monarchies and the rise of Bolshevism. The suffragette Emily Davison threw herself under his horse at the Derby, he refused asylum to his cousin the Tsar Nicholas II and he facilitated the first Labour government.

How this supposedly limited man steered the Crown through so many perils is a gripping tale. With unprecedented access to the Royal archives, Jane Ridley has been able to reassess the many myths associated with this dramatic period for the first time.

'Wonderful... Never a dull paragraph' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Times

'Magnificent... An evocative and touching portrait of a surprisingly impressive man' Philip Hensher, Spectator

'A big, beautiful beast of a book. Fair, thorough and unexpectedly funny' Lucy Worsley