Lit Hit List: Books about Royalty - Real and Fictional

While we have complicated and differing opinions about the concept of monarchy in the real world,* there’s no denying that it’s a favorite of ours when it comes to the fictional world.

We wanted to round up some of the reviews we have already written about some of our favorite bookish royals, as well as provide recommendations for some non-fiction looks at the various royal families around the globe.

• “The Royal We” (Our Review | Bookshop | Kindle) and “The Heir Affair” (Our Review | Bookshop | Kindle) by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

• “Red, White, and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston (Our Review | Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Gown” by Jennifer Robson (Our Review | Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn (Our Review | Bookshop | Kindle)

• “American Royals” (Our Review | Bookshop | Kindle) and “Majesty” (Our Review | Bookshop | Kindle) by Katharine McGee

• “Royal Holiday” by Jasmine Guillory (Our Review | Bookshop | Kindle)

Others like this:

Contemporary Royalty

• “The Windsor Knot” by SJ Bennett (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Runaway Princess” by Hester Browne (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “Tokyo Ever After” by Emiko Jean (Bookshop | Kindle) - this doesn’t come out for a few weeks, but it is adorable and well worth the preorder!

• “The Royal Runaway” by Lindsay Emory (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Heir and the Spare” by Emily Albright (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Royal Secret” by Lucinda Riley (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “Prince Charming” by Rachel Hawkins (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Royal Treatment” by Melanie Summers (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “A Princess in Theory” by Alyssa Cole (Bookshop | Kindle)

Historical royals (y’all know I love historical fiction)

• The Josephine B series by Sandra Gulland (Bookshop | Kindle)

• The Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn (Bookshop | Kindle)

• Anything by Philippa Gregory, but The Cousins War series is my favorite (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “I Was Anastasia” by Ariel Lawhon (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette” by Carolly Erickson (Bookshop | Kindle)

• The Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn” by Robin Maxwell (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “Elizabeth I” by Margaret George (Bookshop | Kindle)

• The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper (Bookshop | Kindle)

Not quite based in this universe but still fun…

• “The Selection” series by Kiera Cass (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Lunar Chronicles” series by Marissa Meyer (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “Ella Enchanted” by Gail Carson Levine (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “Stardust” by Neil Gaimin (Bookshop | Kindle)

In case you want to look at the inspiration for these fictional royals…

British Royal Family

• “Elizabeth and Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters” by Andrew Morton (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “Elizabeth the Queen” by Sally Bedell Smith (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser, and the Wardrobe” by Angela Kelly (Bookshop | Kindle)

• Anything by Allison Weir, but “The Princes in the Tower“ (Bookshop | Kindle) is my favorite

• “Ask Sir James” by Michaela Reid (Bookshop)

• “Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria” by Julia P. Gelardi (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor” by Anne Sebba (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty” by G.J. Meyer (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Break of the British Empire” by Laurence Bergreen (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Heir Apparent, A Life of Edward VII” by Jane Ridley (Bookshop | Kindle)

Other Royals (sorry, my “expertise” is mostly with the British Royals, but I wanted to share a few others!)

• “The Romanovs: 1613 - 1918” by Simon Sebag Montefiore (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “Nicholas and Alexandra” by Robert K. Massie (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman” by Robert K. Massie (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the Birth of Modern China” by Hannah Pakula (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “The Three Emperors” by Miranda Carter (Kindle)

• “Marie Antoinette: The Journey” by Antonia Fraser (Bookshop | Kindle)

• “When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt” by Kara Cooney (Bookshop | Kindle)

*Shannon has THOUGHTS but also enjoys watching “The Crown,” Elizabeth has a soft spot and entirely too much memorabilia from the Royal Collection Trust, and Moira is generally ambivalent.

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