25 Royal Babies that Changed the World by Amy Licence Book Review

I received this book from Amberley Publishing on the occasion of Princess Charlotte’s birth, and it seems quite fitting! Though of course, we don’t know if Princess Charlotte will change the world, she certainly has the platform to do so. The 25 Royal babies in the book are;

1 Empress Matilda, 1102
2 William IX, Count of Poitiers, 1153
3 Eleanor of Leicester, 1215
4 Edward II, 1284
5 Edward the Black Prince, 1330
6 Henry V, 1386
7 Edward of Westminster, 1453
8 Edward V, 1470
9 Arthur Tudor, 1486
10 Henry Tudor, 1511
11 Elizabeth I, 1533
12 Edward VI, 1537
13 James I, 1566
14 Henry Stuart, 1594
15 Henrietta of England, 1644
16 James Stuart, 1688
17 George III, 1738
18 Amelia of Great Britain, 1783
19 George, stillborn son of Charlotte of Wales, 1817
20 Victoria, Princess Royal, 1840
21 Edward VIII, 1894
22 Albert (George VI), 1895
23 Elizabeth II, 1926
24 William of Cambridge, 1982
25 George of Cambridge, 2013

The 25 royal babies Amy Licence writes about have done so already, or so the book promises us. I really enjoyed certain additions, like the son of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon who died only a few weeks old. His early death most certainly changed the future as Henry would go on to divorce Catherine in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Had this boy lived and become Henry IX, the future of England might have been completely different. The historical what-ifs are always rather interesting, like William IX, Count of Poitiers, who was the first-born son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. He also died young. The addition of Amelia of the United Kingdom is surprising as she is quite unknown. She was the fifteenth child of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and George III, and she died unmarried at the age of only 27.

Amelia of Great Britain

The tragic story of Charlotte of Wales is told. Childbirth was especially dangerous in those times and death made no difference between rich or poor. Charlotte died after having given birth to a stillborn son, who was named George. (I did not know that the child had been named George!). Charlotte was next in line after her father, but instead, he was followed by his brother William IV and later Queen Victoria.

The stories of Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II are forever intertwined and certainly fits into the category of ‘changing the world’. The last two chapters about William, Duke of Cambridge and his son George are a bit of a mystery to me. So far they are simply the heirs of the heir and have not, in my opinion, changed the world. Perhaps they were added to make the book accessible to a larger audience, but I’m not a fan.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I’m glad some more unknown but important stories were included here. This could have easily been a cookie-cutter book! I’m not sure I would’ve gone for the same 25 babies if I had written something like this, but then again, maybe 25 is just not enough! (UK & US)