The Royal Families of Europe [Hardcover]

Geoffrey Hindley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2001

As fascinating as it is informative, this chronicle of Europe's most enduring system of government—monarchy—explores the many colorful and often controversial facets of an institution that has survived revolution, warfare, regicides, national strife, and the occasional sheer incompetence of the head beneath the crown. While it considers monarchical history as well as the tales, intrigues, scandals, and historical gossip that have attached themselves to both the British and continental monarchies, this always engaging volume also speculates upon the future of European monarchy as a vital and viable form of government after the year 2000. The speculation is not idle, for monarchy continues to command the world's attention and to wield significant influence throughout Europe. Of the fifteen members of the European Union, seven are monarchies—among them Spain, whose king saved the country's democracy from a military coup in the 1980s, and Belgium, where the monarchy has proven to be a crucial factor in the survival of a fractured nation. In England four generations of Windsors survive and thrive, and the Dutch royal house, too, enjoys immense popularity. Meanwhile, former monarchs like Constantine II of Greece, Michael II of Romania, and Simeon of Bulgaria retain their titles and loyal followers who refuse to forfeit the hope of their kings' restoration to power. Surveying the sweep of monarchy in Britain and across the regal face of the European continent, The Royal Families of Europe adeptly illuminates an institution that flourishes with possibilities and prospects beyond ceremony, ermine robes, crowns, and scepters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In exhaustive detail, Hindley (The Book of the Magna Carta) gives an overview of the state of the monarchy in 20th-century continental Europe. He first looks at the royal families--some of them in exile--of countries, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania and France, where the monarchy's political duties have been assumed by other governmental bodies. Hindley espouses the view that today's hereditary monarchs are "above politics" and that, when functioning in their proper capacity as heads of state, they "embody values of public service and a sense of communal and national identity." Drawing on dozens of historical and contemporary sources, he traces the impact of WWI and II, and of the Communist Bloc, on various monarchies. The travails of the Bulgarian royals, for instance, began in 1939, when King Boris III was forced to cooperate with Germany but kept his commitment vague. When Hitler pressed him to formally declare war on the Soviet Union, he refused and died shortly thereafter under mysterious circumstances. The throne was left to six-year-old Simeon II, who in 1946 was exiled along with his mother and sister. King Simeon II still holds out for re-enthronement, maintaining active ties with expatriated Bulgarians, in part via a Web site where he posts letters to the Bulgarian people. Hindley, whose sympathies apparently lie with the mostly disempowered aristocracies, gives several examples of bad treatment received by deposed royal families, including the harassment of Constantine II of Greece when he cruised the Greek Islands. Hindley also covers monarchies currently on the throne--with varying degrees of executive power--in countries like Belgium, Monaco and Spain. This account's sentimental subjectivity may appeal to devotees of European monarchy despite the book's dry prose, but it will disappoint more serious scholars of the subject. Photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Rumors to the contrary, the British monarchy is in no real danger of falling; most Britons prefer the institution to remain intact. In this survey of the contemporary monarchical scene in Europe, Hindley presents a fascinating, very knowledgeable "balance sheet" of the countries where monarchs still sit on thrones and a look back at the history of countries where monarchies were once in place but have since been replaced by a republican form of government. His focus is on the local traditions in which each monarchy flourished as well as the conditions that have either kept the monarchy alive or resulted in its overthrow. He introduces the reader to the important royal personalities of the twentieth century, citing the present Spanish king, Juan Carlos, as "twentieth-century Europe's most distinguished holder of the office of monarch." The author peers into the future of monarchy in Europe, sensing that "the challenge for monarchy is to survive in the present by adapting to the future," which he credits the institution of having considerable ability to do. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (March 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078670828X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786708284
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting gossip, flawed research, February 19, 2001

By 

John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Royal Families of Europe (Hardcover)

This is an excellent summary of the present state of European royals at the beginning of the 3rd millenium. Its nice to have information on which Hapsburg has married which Oldenburg and what the present state of the monarchist cause is in various countries in Eastern Europe. Historically the book is somewhat flawed by some sloppy research and/or editing. For example, the chapter on the Belgian Royal Family is fraught with errors. King Albert I is referred to as Alfred at one point, and there are numerous genealogical mistakes (Albert I was nephew, not son, of Leopold II). I don't regret buying the book for its information on present day royals, but I would not rely on it for research on their predecessors.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Geoffrey Hindley should be ashamed to have his name on this!, October 30, 2001

By 

Alistair Williamson (Ottawa, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Royal Families of Europe (Hardcover)

I am quite relieved that I borrowed this book from my local library before deciding whether to purchase it for my own extensive library.

The egregious editing and factual errors (which, in my days in the publishing business, would have led to pink slips!) are unforgiveable.

Avoid this book at all costs!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful contemporary resource, August 3, 2001

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Royal Families of Europe (Hardcover)

It can be difficult for Americans to find reliable information on current and former European royal dynasties. The Windsors dominate the scene, obviously, and we monoglots soon discover that English-language media cover other royal families only sporadically.

Then, once every ten years or so, a book comes out that focuses on once-and-maybe-(or maybe not) future sovereign dynasties, like the Greek, Italian, German, or French royal families. These books, however, seem usually to fall into one of two categories: fawning, or sneering ('Look at these losers who think they're still kings.')

Fortunately, Geoffrey Hindley's useful resource falls into neither of these categories. And that makes it well worth the read.

Hindley is an unabashed monarchist, and takes the position -- sadly rare these days -- that monarchs and their dynasties really do have something useful to offer their nations and their people. In a wide-ranging discussion of currently reigning royals, he shows how the various monarchs relate to the day-to-day business of their nation's governments, and measures their degree of influence, or outright power, both in public and behind the scenes.

His coverage of the pretenders is also thorough and informative. He wrestles with the questions of the Russian and French succession, the constitutional position of the never-abdicated King of the Hellenes (aka Greece) and his family, and reports on what may well turn out to have been the first steps toward restoration in Bulgaria.

As other reviews have noted, there are a few minor errors in history and genealogy. But these are more in the nature of typos, not serious flaws in research or argumentation.

The late Austrian writer Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn wrote of the natural inability of a North American to take monarchy seriously, either as a system or a philosophy. Yet for millions of Europeans (to say nothing of Asians and Africans), monarchy plays a central role in their history, their present, and most likely their future too. This very useful book helps us understand why, and perhaps makes it a little easier for Americans to overcome our natural barrier to something that is, after all, part of our history too.