QUEEN VICTORIA AND HER PRIME MINISTERS (PB)

Far from being a remote figurehead, Queen Victoria had a lifelong and enthusiastic involvement in state affairs, steered by her relationships with her ten prime ministers. She showed girlish adoration for the worldly-wise Lord Melbourne. Benjamin Disraeli flattered her shamelessly and successfully. On the other hand, when the great Liberal, Gladstone, became prime minister for a fourth time, Victoria declared it ‘a bad joke’. Drawing extensively on unpublished sources, this book charts the bitter clashes and affectionate interactions Victoria had with her ten PMs in often hilarious detail.