Three Emperors - Penguin Books

This book will set you back £10 in the shops, cheaper online. European royal families found themselves increasingly irrelevant in the late 19th century. So although Queen Victoria reigned pretty much forever, her attempts to influence the direction of her country (and Empire) were largely ignored by Ministers with better things to do. But one sphere in which Victoria believed she would be able to exert influence was in foreign affairs. She assiduously married her children off to other Royal families, believing that family ties at the top of each nation’s hierarchy would help keep the peace ... more