They were queens. They were kings. They were kids.
Lots of kids dream of becoming royalty. But being a child monarch is not all glory and bossing people around. Behold Kids Who Rule and discover the startling realities of five junior rulers from history.
Boy king Tutankhamun was crowned pharaoh of Egypt at age nine. Groomed to lead armies, his homework involved firing arrows from a moving chariot. Mary Queen of Scots became royalty at only six days old. She grew up fleeing bad-tempered King Henry VIII who saw her as a child bride for his son.
Other child monarchs profiled:
- Queen Christina of Sweden (1626 to 1689)
- Puyi, Last Emperor of China (1906 to 1967)
- The current Dalai Lama of Tibet (1935 to present).
Each chapter focuses on a different ruler by offering a dramatic episode from their regal childhood, eye-opening elements of their country's history, and an "End of the Story" section on how their life played out. Complete with photos of art and artifacts from each era and intriguing sidebars, Kids Who Rule is a crowning achievement of non-fiction storytelling.
(2009)
