Resources

On this page you will find a range of resources relating to themes of monarchy, imperialism, colonalism and decolonisation. Where works are authored or edited by Research Hub members, their names are linked to their profile on our Members page.

This collection of resources is constantly curated. If you are aware of a resource that should be included on this page, please email Cindy McCreery.

Recent Books on the history of modern monarchy (published since 2020)

Author(s)TitlePublisher and Published Year
Artole, Andoni and Álvaro Paris, eds. Royalism, War and Popular Politics in the Age of Revolutions, 1780s-1870s: In the Name of the KingPalgrave Macmillan, 2024.
Atkins, Harrison. Conquering the Maharajas: India’s Princely States and the End of Empire, 1930-1950 Manchester, 2023
Aldrich, Richard J. and Rory Cormac.The Secret Royals: Spying and the Crown, from Victoria to Diana Atlantic, 2021
Ali, Omar,et. al. African Rulers and Generals in India n.p., 2021
Altman, Dennis.God Save the Queen: The Strange Persistence of Monarchies Scribe Publications, 2021
Armenteros, Carolina, Matthijs Lok and Iason Zarikos, The Making of the Modern Atlantic Monarchies: 1770 to the Present Day Bloomsbury, 2023
Astarita, Mario. Uno statista sul trono: Alfonso XIII e il decline della monarchia liberale spagnola (1902-1917(Il Pensiero, 2022)
Atwal, PriyaRoyals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire (Hurst and OUP, 2020
Baer, Marc David. The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs Basic Books, 2021
Bakhash, Shaul. The Fall of Reza Shah: The Abdication, Exile and Death of Modern Iran’s Founder Bloomsbury, 2022
Balasubramanian, UmaSayajirao Gaekwad III: The Maharaja of Baroda Rupa Publications, 2019
Barich, Daniel. Learning to Rule: Court Education and the Remaking of the Qing State, 1861-1912 Columbia UP, 2022
Becquet, Hélène (ed.). L’Exil des monarques: Entre abdications et reconquêtes du pouvoir Armand Colin, 2024
Blili, Leila Temima. The Deys and Beys of Tunis, 1666-1922American University of Cairo Press, 2025
Bloks, MoniekHermine – An Empress in Exile: The Untold Story of the Kaiser’s Second Wife (Chronos, 2020).Chronos, 2020
Bolton, Betsy. In the Kingdom of the Thudner Dragon: Happiness, History, and Environment in a Changing BhutanLever Press, 2025
Borman, TracyCrown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II Hodder & Stoughton, 2021
Boudon, Jacques-Olivier. Les quatre sergents de La Rochelle: le dernier crime de la monarchie Passés composés, 2021
Braun, Bernd (ed.), Es lebe die Republik: Der Erste Weltkrieg und das Ende der Monarchien in Deutschland und EuropaVandenbroek & Ruprecht, 2021
Castro-Woodhouse, LeslieWoman between Two Kingdoms (Cornell, 2021).Cornell, 2021
Chachavalpongpun, PavinLove and Death of King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand Palgrave Macmillan, 2021
Chakrabongse, Narisa (ed.). Turbulent Times: The Diaries of Prince Chakrabongse, 1916-1920 River Books, 2025
Clammer, Paul. Henry Christophe, the Haitian Revolution and the Caribbean’s Forgotten Kingdom Hurst Publishers, 2023
Clancy, LauraRunning the Family Firm: How the Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money Manchester UP, 2021
Connolly, Michael J. Jacobitism in Britain and the United States, 1880-1910 McGill-Queen’s UP, 2023
Cooper, Andrew Scott. The Five Crowns: Royals in War and Revolution from Athens to Tehran Public Affairs, 2023
Corley, J. Susan. Leveraging Sovereignty: Kalakaua’s Global Strategy for the Hawaiian Monarchy, 1825-1854. University of Hawai’i Press, 2022
Dauga, PierreCharles X: Le Naufrage de la monarchie française Édiitions de l’Ouest, 2020
David, Ian G. Champassak Royalty and Sovereignty: Within and Between Nation-States in Mainland Southeast Asia University of Wisconsin Press, 2024
Davidson, Christopher M. From Sheiks to Sultanism: Statecraft and Authority in Saudi Arabia and the UAE Hurst, 2022
Davis, Edward Hilary. The British Bonapartes: Napoleon’s Family in Britain Pen and Sword, 2022
Decharneux, Baudouin and Alice Toma, Royauté(s): Entre historicité et imaginaire EME, 2021
Dedieu, Jean-Pierre. Après le roi: essai sur l’effondrement de la monarchie espagnole Casa de Velázquez, 2021
De Lorenzo, Renata and Lloret, Rosa Ana Gutiérrez (eds). La Monarquías de la Europa meriodional ante el desafio de la modernidad (siglos XIX y XX)Prensas de la Universidad
De Meyer, Marteen and Sibille de Cartier d’Yves (eds), Belgians on the Nile: A History of Royal Visits, Entrepreneurship and Archaeological Exploration in EgyptBibliotheca Alexandrina, 2020
Domeier, Norman and Mühling, Christian (eds), Homosexualität am Hof: Pratiken und Diskurse von Mittelalter bis Heute Campus, 2020
Doyle, William. Napoleon at Peace: how to End a Revolution Reaktion Books, 2022
Dyt, Kathryn. The Nature of Kingship: The Weather-World in Nineteenth-Century Vietnam. University of Hawai’i Press, 2024
Escribano Roca, Rodrigo and Rebeca Viñuela Pérez (eds), Transatlantic Monarchisms in the Americas and Europe, 1812-1868. Palgrave Macmillan, 2025
Fitzmaurice, AndrewKing Leopold’s Ghostwriter: The Creation of Persons and States in the Nineteenth Century Princeton UP, 2021
Fitzpatrick, Matthew P.The Kaiser and the Colonies: Monarchy in the Age of OUP,. 2022
Francis, Martin. Empire, Celebrity and Excess: King Farouk of Egypt and British Culture, 1936-1965 Bloomsbury Academic, 2022
Franconie, Grégoire. Le Lys et la cocarde: royauté et nation à l’âge romantique (1830-1848)PUF, 2021
Fromherz, Allen James and Abdulrahman al-Salimi (eds), Sultan Qaboos and Modern Oman, 1970-2020Edinburgh University Press, 2022
Ganjanakhundee, Supalak. A Soldier King: Monarchy and Military in the Thailand of Rama X ISEAS, 2022
Geraghty, Anthony. The Empress Eugénie in England: Art, Architecture, Collecting Paul Holberton, 2022
Gibney, JohnIreland and the Monarchy Pen and the Sword, 2020
Goldstone, NancyIn the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie-Antoinette and Her Daughters Little Brown, 2021
Gralha, Julio (ed.). Os diarios de D. Pedro II no Egito. LVN Editora, 2022
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs Basic Books, 2024
Hazell, Robert and Bob Morris (eds).The Role of Monarchy in Modern Democracy: European Monarchies Compared Hart, 2022
Heath, Sean.Sacral Kingship in Bourbon France: The Cult of Saint Louis, 1589-1830 Bloomsbury, 2022
Heavens, Andrew. The Prince and the Plunder: How Britain Took One Small Boy and Hundreds of Treasures from Ethiopia The History Press, 2022
Hein-Kircher, Heidi and Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh (eds). Modernizing Europe’s Imperial Monarchies: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia in the Nineteenth Century Palgrave Macmillan, 2025
Hocking, Jenny.The Palace Letters: The Queen, the Governor-General, and the Plot to Dismiss Gough Whitlam Scribe, 2020
Hofmeister, Ulrich and Florian Riedler (eds), Imperial Cities in the Tsarist, the Habsburg, and the Ottoman Empires Routledge, 2024
Innes, Lyn.The Last Prince of Bengal: A Family’s Journey from an Indian Palace to the Australian Outback Westbourne Press, 2021
Jackson, D. Michael and Christopher McCreery.A Resilient Crown: Canada’s Monarchy at the Platinum Jubilee Dundurn Press, 2022
Jones, Heather.For King and Country: The British Monarchy and the First World War Cambridge UP, 2021
Jordan, Christina and Imke Polland (eds).Realms of Royalty: New Directions in Researching Contemporary European Monarchies ).Transcript Verlag, 2020
Kamrava, Mehra. A Dynastic History of Iran: From the Qajars to the Pahlavis CUP, 2022
Kimizuka, Naotaka. Constitutional Monarchy of the Twenty-First Century Springer, 2024
Koch, Jeroen, Dik van der Meulen and Jeroen van Zanten. The House of Orange in Revolution and War: A European History, 1772-1890 Reaktion Books, 2022
Köhler, Thomas Walter, Christian Mertens and Anton Pelinka (eds), Ultimo: Österreichs letzer Kaiser im Übergang von der Monarchie zur Republik Braumüller, 2022
Kroll, Franz Lothar, Fürsten ohne Throne: Schicksale deutschen Herrscherhäuser im 20. Jahrhundert. BeBra Verlag, 2022.BeBra Verlag, 2022
Kruger, Rayne.The Devil’s Discus: The Death of Ananda, King of Siam DMP Publications, 2021
Lamotte, Stéphane. The Worlds of a Prince: Albert 1st of Monaco Harry N. Abrams, 2022
Landy, Simon. The King and the Consul: A Tragedy of Old Siam River Books, 2022
Larman, Alexander. The Windsors at War: The Nazi Threat to the Crown Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 2023
Larman, Alexander. Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of RoyaltySt Martin’s Press, 2024
Legoy, Corinne and Olivier Tort (eds).Monarchies censitaires Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2020
Lentz, Thierry. Napoléon III: la modernité inachevée Perrin/Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 2022
Lieven, DominicIn the Shadow of the Gods: The Emperor in World History (Viking, 2022).Viking, 2022
Lloyd, Abbas.Bahalwapur: The Kingdom that Vanished Vintage Books, 2020
Low, Valentine. Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown Headline, 2022
Lowrie, Andrew. Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor Blink, 2021
Mail, Asbol bin Haji. Traditional Malay Monarchy. Routledge, 2024.
Malinowski, Stephan, The Hohenzollerns and the Nazis: A History of Collaboration Allen Lane, 2025
Malinowski, Stephan, Nazis and Nobles: The History of a Misalliance OUP, 2020
Marchi, Maria Christina.The Heirs to the Savoia Throne and the Construction of ‘Italianità’, 1860-1900 Palgrave Macmillan, 2022
Marsland, Kim. Queen Victoria’s Wooden Dolls: Stories of a Royal Childhood Unicorn, 2023
Martin, Russell EThe Tsar’s Happy Occasion: Ritual and Dynasty in the Weddings of Russia’s Rulers, 1495-1745 (Cornell UP, 2021).Cornell UP, 2021
Mérieau, Eugénie.Constitutional Bricolage: Thailand’s Sacred Monarchy vs the Rule of Law Hart, 2021
Mestyan, Adam. Modern Arab Kingship: Remaking the Ottoman Political Order in the Interwar Middle East Princeton, 2023
Michael, Nigusie Kassaye W. Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia Lexington Books, 2023
Michelet, MaximeL’Impératrice Eugénie – une vie politique Éditions du Cerf, 2020
Moin, A. Azfar and Alan Strathern, Sacred Kingship in World History: Between Immancence and Transcendence Columbia UP, 2022
Moreno Luzon, Javier. El rey patriota: Alfonso XIII y la nación Galaxia Gutenberg, 2023
Müller, Frank Lorenz and Heidi Mehrkens (eds).Royal Heirs and the Uses of Soft Power in Nineteenth-Century Europe Palgrave, 2020
Müller, Frank Lorenz. Royal Heirs: Succession and the Future of Monarchy in the Nineteenth CenturyCambridge UP, 2022
Norrie, Aidan et. al Hanoverian to Windsor Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023
Ochonu, Moses EOchonu, Moses E. Emirs in London: Subaltern Travel and Nigeria’s Modernity Indiana University Press, 2022
Olechnowicz, A.J. Monarchy, Magic and Democracy: The Royal Family and Modern Britain Continuum, 2022
Owens, Ed. After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Survive? Bloomsbury, 2023
Palmer, DeanTea with Hitler: The Secret History of the Royal Family and the Third Reich History Press, 2021
Parker, John (ed.), Great Kingdoms of Africa California, 2023
Peat, Rachel Peat (ed.).Japan: Courts and Culture Royal Collections Trust, 2020
Peng, Ying-chen. Artful Subversion: Empress Dowager Cixi’s Image Making Yale University Press, 2023
Perrier, Antoine. Monarchies du Maghreb: L’État au Maroc et en Tunisie sous protectorat (1881-1956) Editions de l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 2023
Persson, Fabian.Survival and Revival in Sweden’s Court and Monarchy, 1718-1930 Palgrave, 2020
Philipps, Adrian. The First Royal Media War: Edward VIII, the Abdication and the Press Pen and Sword History, 2023
Pillai, Manu S.False Allies: India’s Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma Juggernaut, 2021
Prescott, Craig. Modern Monarchy. Agenda Publishing, 2025
Protschky, Susie.Photographic Subjects: Monarchy and Visual Culture in Colonial Indonesia Manchester UP, 2021
Purcell, Jennifer J., Fiona Courage and Benjamin Jones (eds). Reflections on British Royalty: Mass-Observation and the Monarchy, 1937-2022 Bloomsbury, 2024
Rappaport, HelenAfter the Romanovs: Russian Exiles in Paris from the Belle Epoque through Revolution and War Macmillan, 2022
Ridley, JaneGeorge V: Never a Dull Moment Chatto & Windus, 2021
Roberts, AndrewRoberts, Andrew. George III: The Life and Reign of Britain’s Most Misunderstood Monarch (Penguin, 2021).Penguin, 2021
Rulof, Bernard.Popular Legitimism and the Monarchy in France: Mass Politics without Parties, 1830-1880 Palgrave, 2020
Ruoff, Kenneth J.Japan’s Imperial House in the Postwar Era, 1945-2019 (Harvard UP, 2020).Harvard UP, 2020
Sagar, Rahul (ed.).The Progressive Maharaja: Sir Madhava Rao’s Hints on the Art and Science of Government Hurst, 2022
Sambuy, Livia Manera. In Search of Amrit Kaur: An Indian Princess in Wartime Pris Chatto & Windus, 2023
San Narciso, David, Margarita Barral Martínez and Carolina Armenteros (eds).Monarchy and Liberalism in Spain: The Building of the Nation State, 1780-1931 Routledge, 2020
Schley, Daniel F. (ed.), Japans moderne Monarchie: Beiträge japanologischer Forschung zur Wahrnehmung und Geschichte der Tenno LIT Verlag, 2022
Schulz, Joy. When Women Ruled the Pacific: Power and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Tahiti and Hawai’i. University of Hawai’i Press, 2023
Sellin, Volker. European Monarchies from 1814 to 1906: A Century of Restoration De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2017
Shakibi, ZhandPahlavi Iran and the Politics of Occidentalism: The Shah and the Rastakhiz Party I.B. Tauris, 2021
Shawcross, Edward.The Last King of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World Basic Books, 2021
Sheikh, Mohamed.Emperor of the Five Rivers: the Life and Times of Maharajah Ranjit Singh Bloomsbury, 2021
Shore, Chris, Sally Raudon and David V. Williams. The Crown and Constitutional Reform Routledge, 2024
Simon II of BulgariaA Unique Destiny: The Memoirs of the Last Tsar of Bulgaria, from Monarchy to Democracy Stackpole, 2021
Sivonen, Jaakko. Monarchy, Nation and the Common Good: Patriotism in Prussia, 1756-1806Brill, 2024
Smith, David E., Christopher McCreery and Jonathan Shanks (eds).Canada’s Deep Crown: Beyond Elizabeth III, the Crowns’ Continuing Canadian Complexion University of Toronto, 2022
Solnon, Jean-FrançoisLe Goût des rois Perrin, 2020
Spangler, Jonathan.Monsieur: Second Sons in the Monarchy of France, 1550-1800 Routledge, 2021
Sterkenburgh, Frederik Frank. William I as German Emperor: Staging the KaiserPalgrave Macmillan, 2025
Stove, Robert James. Kings, Queens and Fallen Monarchies: Royal Dynasties in Interwar Europe Pen & Sword, 2024
Raanui Daunassans-Pomare. Marau Taaroa, dernière reine de Tahiti: Souvenirs recueillis par sa fille, la princesse Ariimanihinihi Takau Pomare-Vedel Au Vent des îles, 2024
Takeyh, Ray.The Last Shah: America, Iran and the Fall of the Pahlevi Yale UP, 2022
Temime, Leila. The Deys and Beys of Tunis, 1666-1922: From Military Power to Monarchy American University of Cairo Press, 2024
Turner, Barry.Thorns in the Crown: The Story of the Coronation and what it meant for Britain (The History Press, 2022).The History Press, 2022
Ulfert, Gert-Dieter and Sebastian Dohe (eds), Nach der Monarchie: Das Ressidenzschloss in Weimar, 1918-2018 Weimarer Verlagsgesellschaft, 2022
Unchanam, Puangchon.Royal Capitalism: Wealth, Class, and Monarchy in Thailand Wisconsin, 2022
Van Gelder, Klaas. (ed.).Mere Spectacle: Coronations and Inaugurations in the Habsburg Monarchy during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century (Berghahn, 2021).Berghahn, 2021
Vial, Charles-Éloi. Le Siècle des chutes: abdications et déchéances en France, 1814-1870 Perrin, 2022
De Vienne, Marie-SybilleThailand’s Buddhist Kingship in the 20th and 21st Centuries: Power, Influence and Rites Routledge, 2023
Watanabe-O’Kelly, Helen.Projecting Imperial Power: New Nineteenth-Century Emperors and the Public Sphere OUP, 2021
Willner, Samuel E. Preserving the Saudi Monarchy: Political Pragmatism in Saudi Arabia, c. 1973-1979 Pagrave Macmillan, 2023
Winkelhofer, Martina. Sisis Welt: Zwsiches Protokoll und Privatleben – Kaiserin Elisabeths Alltag Piper, 2022
Wolff, Larry. The Shadow of the Empress: Fairy-Tale Opera and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy Stanford UP, 2023
Woodacre, Elena, et. al. (eds).The Routledge History of Monarchy Routledge, 2021
Zubrzycki, John. Dethroned: The Downfall of India’s Princely StatesHurst & Company, 2024
Zubrzycki, John.The House of Jaipur: The Inside Story of India’s Most Glamorous Royal Family Juggernaut, 2020