Guus Bosman

It was fascinating to read about the first three Kings of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During most of the 20th century, the Queens have had largely ceremonial roles, but in the 19th century there was a real power struggle between the monarchs and parliament. Ultimately, parliament won and the Netherlands became a constitution monarchy, but the three King Williams fought a hard political battle.

This was interesting book, if a little gossipy. I didn't know much at all about this period in Dutch history; the 19th century was rather boring and generally brought decline compared to the 17th century, so it is not an important part of school curriculums.

Reading the book makes you appreciate why people across Europe revolted against royal rules. There is an incredible amount of scheming and intriguing going on. The descriptions of the private lives of the monarchs were less interesting but it was fascinating to see the politics around and in royal families worked.

This book was a present by Harm and Marijke. I read it during the time that we were moving from Durham back to DC.