Marlene Wagman-Geller - Secret Lives of Royal Women: Fascinating Biographies of Queens, Princesses, Duchesses, and other Regal Women (Biographies of Royalty)

Praise for

Marlene Wagman-Geller

Wome n of Means

If youve ever wished you had all the money in the world, read Women of Means by Marlene Wagman-Geller. Written in her usual witty prose, these enthralling but petrifying mini-biographies show that when a woman is too wealthy, it can be a curse rather than a blessing.

Jill G. Hall, author of The Silver Shoes and The Black V elvet Coat

Does money facilitate happiness, fulfillment, the good life? How much time do we all spend wishing we had more of it? These questions and more bubble up from Marlene Wagman-Gellers crisp, exacting prose in her powerful compilation of stories about the richest women in history, Women of Means. Wagman-Gellers stories made me gasp and lodged my chin firmly on my chest as she chronicled the lives of women without a financial care in the world, whose appetites led so often to disaster. And, no, Patrizia, I would rather gleefully ride the bicycle!

R. D. Kardon, author of Flygirl

Great S econd Acts

Others will surprise you as theyve all done extraordinary things past the date when women are considered young & fresh. The book is well written and highly entertaining, but it comes with a message: In a society where ageism is rampant, we need to rethink how we view more mature women because they are capable of g reatness.

Advi ce Sisters

Marlene Wagman-Geller has done it again! Shes written another fascinating book filled with interesting facts about women who have done so much to make the world a better place. This time though all the mini-biographies tell stories about females who have had fulfilling productive lives even into their later years. With gratitude, Ive found this book to be inspiring and has given me hope and encouragement to continue on my own path as I continu e to age.

Ji ll G. Hall

These bold women are proof that the rest of your life can be the best of y our life.

Louise Harmon , author of Happin ess A to Z

Women Who Launch

Want to find courage? Look to those women who changed the game. Women Who Launch shares the stories of the inspiring women behind brands and organizations. You may know their names, but you might not know their stories. This book changes that, and lets you know of the extraordinary women who came before. Learn about women who changed the era, from Estee Lauder to the creator of The Girl Scouts, Juliette Go rdon Low.

Bliss.com

We all need a little inspiration in the world of entrepreneurship, and where better to get it than from reading the stories of women game-changers in the world who built hugely successful companies, organizations and brands, despite all the challenges they faced. This is an insightful read into the women who, in their own way, changed the world they lived in, and blazed a trail for so many other aspirant women entrepreneurs and women change-agents t o follow.

Lionesses of Africa

Also by

Marlene Wagman-Geller

Unabashed Women: The Fascinating Biographies of Bad Girls, Seductresses, Rebels, and One-of-a-Kind Women

Fabulous Female Firsts : Because of Them We Can

Women of Means: Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics, and Other Poor Little Rich Girls

Great Second Acts : In Praise of Older Women

Women Who Launch : Women Who Shattered Glass Ceilings

Still I Rise: The Persistence of Phenomenal Women

Behind Every Great Man: The Forgotten Women Behind the Worlds Famous and Infamous

And the Rest is History: The Famous (and Infamous) First Meetings of the Worlds Most Passionate Couples

Eureka! The Surprising Stories Behind the Ideas That Shaped the World

Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literatures Most Intriguing Dedications

The Secret Lives of
Royal
Women

Fascinating Biographies of Queens, Princesses, Duchesses, and Other Regal Women

Marlene Wagman-Geller

Coral Gables

Copyright 2022 by Marlene Wagmen-Geller.
Published by Mango Publishing, a division of Mango Publishing Group, Inc.

Cover Design: Megan Werner
Cover Photo: Saraid / stock.adobe.com
Layout & Design: Megan Werner

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The Secret Lives of Royal Women: Fascinating Biographies of Queens, Princesses, Duchesses, and Other Regal Women

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2022939091
ISBN: (p) 978-1-64250-943-4 (e) 978-1-64250-944-1
BISAC category code BIO014000, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Royalty

Printed in the United States of America

To my mother Gilda Wagman, to my daughter Jordanna Geller, and to my friend Jamie Lovett

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

William Shakespeare , from Henry IV

Above all things our royalty is to be reverenced, and if you begin to poke about it, you cannot reverence itIts mystery is its life. We must not let in daylight upon magic.

Walter Bagehot , from The English Constitution (1867)

Table of Contents

F or anyone in need of a heady dose of schadenfreude, one can keep track of the body count in Shakespeares tragediesand even in a couple of his comedies. Macbeth kills the guy who was going to kill King Duncan, and then he kills King Duncan, and then dispatches two drunk attendants whom he accuses of killing King Duncan. Then he organizes the killing of his best friend, as well as his enemys wife and young son, and finally carves up Siward, Junior. Macbeth finally appears on stage as a head that has lost contact with the rest of him. What fun!

But we dont have to turn to the theatre to find treachery and murder; the people sitting in the royal box at the Globe had plenty of that going on well away from the stage. And all too often, those who spilled the most bloodand caused a lot of the spillagewere women who wore crowns. These are the stories that Marlene Wagman-Geller recounts in this collection about royal women throughout history and around the world.

When we were young, many of us learned the bit of doggerel about the fates of Henry VIIIs bridesDivorced, Beheaded, Died, / Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. Catherine, Anne, Jane, the other Anne, the other Catherine, and the other other Catherine lived in a world of jewels and axes, of palaces and dungeons. The tale of the first beheaded wifethe first Anneis told in a straightforward way, but it is obviously told by a woman, and even through the authors objectivity, we can see where her sympa thies lie.

The historical ladies Wagman-Geller brings us would make an exhilarating dinner partywith five and a quarter centuries of love and betrayal, of the loss of crowns, and often, heads. We see a much broader look at the stages on which great dramas were played out with real passion and real blood, and with real sovereignty and families to lose. And during a lull in the conversation, we might hear Duchess Cayetana tell of riding her horse into the cathedral or threatening to bury all who opposed her. Or we might hear the soft voice of twelve-year-old future Queen Victoria telling her fellow guests what she already understood at a young age about the weight of a crown: There is much splendor, and there is much responsibility. There is also much danger and much heartache for those who know the storm that the blue blood s weather.