A history of five English queen consorts of the 14th and early 15th centuries, well-researched with a focus on lesser known royal women. These women influenced politics and economics, as well as fashion and the cult of courtly love. The narrative flows smoothly, aimed at a popular rather than scholarly audience. The bibliography and notes at the end are extensive, should the reader want to learn more from primary sources. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys history, especially about the royals.

I finally almost understand how Plantagenet fell to Lancaster and then subsequently to York. I win. Or England wins. Somebody wins.

Marguerite of France, Second Queen of Edward I

I’m assuming that since I skipped Queens of the Crusades, I missed out on Edward’s first wife. I found Queens of the Conquest a little dry, but to be fair, I much prefer the later Plantagenets. The Wars of the Roses can get it. A Game of Thrones can get it.

Poor Marguerite was forty years younger than Edward, although historical documents seem to make it appear they had a happy enough marriage. I’m well aware these things can be doctored by the victors, and take everything with a grain of salt. This Edward isn’t the problem. His son is.

Fun fact about the name Marguerite. It’s the French name for the daisy flower. That’s why Daisy is a nickname for Margaret. I can’t make things like this up. In a similar vein, Maisie is also a nickname for Margaret. That may be enough name lessons for today.

Isabella of France, Queen of Edward II

The longest section for a reason. As a Norman family, these English kings sure hate on the French a lot. And then marry their women. So many English queens are French. C’est la vie. My Duolingo lessons are going so well.

Poor Isabella. Her Edward is known for having male paramours. That’s fine. Fuck who you want, but don’t let it affect the politics of your nation. Don’t give them titles. Don’t let them give you advice. Men smh.

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Isabella, probably, after hooking up with Roger Mortimer and ruining Edward's good name.

So is Edward dead? Is he alive? Is he a pretender? I'm so bloody confused. I thought the real drama happened between Lancaster and York. Who knew things got wild this early? I guess everyone but me.

Philippa of Hainault, Queen of Edward III

I'm a little bored by Pippa so far, ngl, but maybe that's just because she's not as wack as Bella. Yes, I gave these medieval queens modern nicknames. Don't come for me.

This is supposed to be a book about women, but I want to hear more about the Black Prince. Daemon Targaryen?

So herein lies the beginning of the Black Death. Foul time. Not much better now, but at least we bathe regularly, yeah? Yeah?

Roger Mortimer and John of Gaunt’s heirs cause so much trouble. Yes, I’m obsessed with the Wars of the Roses, but why are the English kings so obsessed with the French throne?

Anne of Bohemia, First Queen of Richard II

So much hate. Can we please stop calling this woman poor and ugly? Richard was clearly into her. I’m sure one or both of them were just infertile. Or he was also gay. Unknown. They seemed happy enough.

At least Anne isn’t French. I’ll give her that. Why are nearly all of the English queens French by birth? Heavy sigh.

Isabella of Valois, Second Queen of Richard II

A child bride. Literally. She is sent back to France eventually after Richard is deposed by a Lancastrian cousin. I didn’t realize this was happening this early. Or that her sister ends up marrying Henry V. Timmy?

Fun fact. I’m Team York because my introduction to the Plantagenet family was The White Queen. Don’t hate. That very fiction historical fiction account led me to The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. See? Good things come from badly rewritten history. I also watched the Starz show. Max Irons can get it. But not as much as his daddy. I will watch anything and everything Rebecca Ferguson is in. My Swedish queen.

What I have always enjoyed about Alison Weir's historical biographies is how they read like a story being told, rather than a summary of events. I don't know much about medieval times in general, particularly their royalty, so this was an interesting read just for that. Weir writes in such an approachable way. As I said before, it feels like a story being told instead of facts being repeated. Her subjects are given life in a way that is uniquely Alison Weir. She's always a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine (Random House Publishing) for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I originally wrote:

I'm not a huge fan of nonfiction (it can be a bit of a hair-pull to get myself to finish books on topics I <i>like</i>), but when a publisher comes knocking with an ARC from an author I like, I figure I ought to give it a shot. (Both to be kind to the author and to stay in the publisher’s good graces, so I’ll get the books I want when they’re available! 😅)

But then I simply couldn't finish it. I simply cannot read nonfiction unless I really, <b>really</b> want to.

Alison Weir has an incredible ability to bring historical figures to life. In this well-researched and well-written non-fiction book she shines a spotlight on five Medieval queens from 1299-1399: Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia, and Isabella of Valois, She not only digs up everything she can to highlight little-known facts about these women, but uses them as a lens to describe what was happening in the country and Europe during this historical era. Fact-based but never dry or dull, I really enjoyed learning more about these fascinating women.

Expertly written!!! Alison Weir is a truly outstanding author! While there are a multitude of historians that study the Middle Ages, few can match her talent for presenting this topic in such an engaging manner. I have the first two books in this trilogy, and it a pleasure to read the third. I fully intend to purchase it when released, so I can enjoy it all over again! Definitely a must-buy!

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc, which I voluntarily read and reviewed.

Nobody does it better than Alison Weir. When it comes to historical fiction about English queens she is on the top of my list! Her research is impeccable and I love her writing. Taking me back to the age of the Plantagenets was an interesting topic and even though it was "fiction" there was so much to learn. Thank you Ms. Weir for bringing these five interesting women back to life.

I’ve enjoyed every book in this series by Alison Weir but this one is definitely my favorite. This book encompasses the queens during the age that chivalry was prevalent at court, starting with one of my favorite queens, Queen Philippe of Hainault. This was also a time of much change in the medieval world with poetry and music becoming popular but also the Black Death causing havoc in much of Europe.

Weir also talks about what they would have worn, foods they would have eaten and their involvement in court politics. It was also interesting to read how GOOD some of these marriages were, yes they were arranged but they fell in love with their spouses, I’m talking about Philippa and Edward and Anne and Richard specifically. Weir gives voices to queens who have been pushed to the fringes of society and I personally hope there are more books ahead!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Alison Weir does it again!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine
Alison Weir is an amazing author. Putting a lot of research and time into her books.
I enjoyed reading and learning more about Marguerite of France, Isabella of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book!

I've read Alison Weir books before, and if you have as well, you'll enjoy this one as well. Weir covers four queens during the Middle Ages, focusing on England and France. It's a nice and extremely detailed biography on four women who often either get a footnote in history or are simply known because of their husbands accomplishments. I read this book shortly after traveling to England for vacation, which I think make the book more enjoyable for me (as I visited many of the castles and sites that are described in the book).
I did struggle at times getting bogged down in some of the details of these women's lives; clearly Weir has done her research for each of them! When that happened, I skimmed through those sections until another storyline caught my interest. Overall, a great book for those interested in British women's history, or fans of Dan Jones or Lucy Worsley.

Just when I knew everything about past English queens, I read Queens of the Age of Chivalry (England's Medieval Queens #3) by Alison Weir. It was fascinating. I loved it. Five stars.

Alison Weir writes the history of five English queens. I mainly read historical fiction but my go to for facts is always Antonia Fraser and Alison Weir. Alison never misses any details and what I love is that she saves you the trouble of reading countless books. You will learn everything you need to from her writings. I rated it four stars instead of five as I would have loved to have seen some of the pictures she references throughout. Thank you to the author, publishers and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'll read just about anything Alison Weir writes, but was delighted to see her abandon Henry VIII's wives for a change and introduce a whole new group of queens. One of the beautiful things about Weir's historical fiction is that she's very open about both the truths and the fictions in her work, so that you can see the pieces of the story she's created from her own imagination vs. the pieces that are historically accurate. I also loved how this was broken up - it reads almost like a group of novellas, so each queen's story is easily separable, but they do weave together as a whole picture of an era.

This work is the third in a series about queens from the Middle Ages. I am a great fan of Weir's writing, and this book did not disappoint. It keeps your attention, like a novel, despite being nonfiction. I also learned things about queens I have read many books on. A great book for any history lover, wanting to know more about the overlooked queens of this time.

Alison hit it out of the park with this one! So much detail,and history. Working on a full length review on my bog!

In this third book of Alison Weir’s series England’s Medieval Queens, five fascinating women are brought vividly to life. As with every book this author writes, the research is impeccable. She says in the Introduction that since the book is intended for general readership, she has kept references to a minimum. As someone in that category, I greatly appreciate the decision. It is one of the things that helps the book read so smoothly. At times it almost reads like a novel, not a non-fiction book. This is especially true during the section on Isabella of France, Queen of Edward II.

The author made these queens live again. She shared the small details of their lives and, for the most part, kept them interesting. Out of five queens, only in one’s life, Philippa, did I begin to lose interest in all the detail. But, really, I think that’s more Philippa’s fault than the author’s. One thing I did like was the inclusion of prices in today’s money. It was a real eye-opener. My biggest complaint with the book was how infrequently the year was mentioned. I found it confusing at times and had to reread sections to see what year events were occurring.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

This is an amazing compilation of detail! I had no idea of how powerful some of these women were and the role they played in history. Because of the amount of well-researched, well-explained detail, the book is a slow read, but well worth the time. I was not much of a fan of English history before coming to this book--so very interesting--better than fiction!
This book is a wonder of factual presentation --its like sitting down to tea with a knowledgeable friend and learning the fascinating detail of someone's (several people!) life and how it impacted history as a whole.
I wish we had heard more about the women who influenced history when in school--I appreciate the opportunity to read about it now--thanks to Allison Weir's hard work.

Alison Weir examines the lives of five queens of England from the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 15th century. This is the time period that the idea of chivalry came from, and is also were we get many of the stereotypes of what is "medieval" in terms of fashion, speech, war, food, fun, etc. These queens' all, to some extent or another, both embody and surpass these ideas. Weir does an excellent job showing these were living, breathing three dimensional women, not just marble effigies.

Weir did an excellent job digging up all she could on these queens, putting the historical record of invoices, receipts, account books, etc. to good use to show us a detailed picture of the age. These five women act as an excellent lens to examine the history of this period and Weir shows how they fit into the context of the bigger picture.

Alison Weir is a pre-order author for me. Her work is always meticulously researched and Queens of the Age of Chivalry is the latest example of this - a wonderfully lengthy tome that also happens to be extremely readable and engaging.

This book, detailing the lives of Marguerite of France, Philippa of Hainault, Anne of Bohemia, and Isabella of Valois - all women I enjoyed learning more about.


A recommendation for fans of Ms Weir, British royal history, and European history.

I do enjoy Weir's writing very much. I was unaware this book was part of a nonfiction series. That fact, made me a bit slower getting up to speed with where she was in the explanation of the historical context of this book. Nonetheless, her attention to detail is immaculate and I now have a few more historical women to admire.