Karen Dolby

For many men, the only point in marrying was to have legitimate heirs

We have hetairai for our pleasure, concubines for our daily needs, and wives to give us legitimate children and look after the housekeeping.

The word gymnasium comes from gymnos, meaning naked

the Romans used an enticing mixture of goats milk and urine to whiten their teeth

If your thieving rod harms the smallest shoots of this here vine, like it or not, this cypress rod will penetrate and plant a fig in you

The Queen and Prince Philip have introduced a number of green initiatives at their royal residences, including setting up hydropower turbines on the River Thames to generate electricity for Windsor Castle. Ahead of the curve in their care for the environment, Prince Philip especially has spoken openly about his concerns: ‘Modern human civilization needs new resources, but there is one very important proviso – that permanent, irreversible or unacceptable levels of environmental damage must not be allowed.’

Straightforward, practical, courageous, formidable and dignified are just a few of the adjectives most often used to describe the Monarch. The broad smile and twinkling eyes also suggest a sharp sense of humour, a quality most often reserved for family and friends, but increasingly apparent in public. This book looks at the character traits and values that have affected her approach to life, as well as the events and relationships that have helped to shape her reign.

sombre party descended

o young to bear such a burden.’

Looking back on this time in her life some forty years later, the Queen reflected, ‘It was all very sudden … taking it on and making the best job you can. It’s a question of maturing into something that one’s got used to doing, and accepting the fact that here you are, and it’s your fate, because I think continuity is important.’