In this book the author presents portraits of five very different women who married English kings, and in the process it reassesses famous episodes of our history in unfamiliar, often unflattering perspective. He focuses on the women themselves and on the forces which shaped their characters, on the delicate balance of public and personal lives and the remarkable resilience which unites them all. The subjects of the book are Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henrietta Maria, Catherine of Braganza, Caroline of Brunswick and Mary of Teck. Robert Gray has also written "A History of London" and "Cardinal Manning".