{"product_id":"all-the-queen-s-men-the-competition-to-marry-elizabeth-i-by-sophie-shorland","title":"All the Queen’s Men: The Competition to Marry Elizabeth I by Sophie Shorland","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 1 OCT 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe throne of England hung in the balance, and every prince in Europe wanted to claim it. When Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1558 she became the most eligible woman in Europe. All saw the same prize: marry Elizabeth, rule England.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAmbassadors flooded her court, armed with portraits, jewels and marriage proposals from princes, archdukes and kings. Sweden promised mountains of silver. Spain offered imperial protection.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAustria pledged powerful alliances. Even Ivan the Terrible - already twice married - sent envoys bearing gifts and threats in equal measure. For nearly five decades, Elizabeth kept them all waiting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShe contrived to play each suitor against the other to her own end. A persistent Erik XIV wrote love letters for a decade, convinced he could win her hand. She strung along the charming French Duke of Alençon, exchanging rings before wriggling free with an alliance secured.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMeanwhile, Robert Dudley, never far from Elizabeth's side, became the favourite who made foreign ambassadors tremble with envy. Written with historian Sophie Shorland's unique eye for a gossipy aside, morbid titbit and acerbic wit, and drawing on ambassadorial dispatches, secret intelligence reports and Elizabeth's own letters, All the Queen's Men reveals how Elizabeth I turned the competition for her hand into foreign policy - using courtship as diplomacy, flirtation as statecraft, and her perpetually single status as the key to England's survival in the tangled web of European politics.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback | Publication: 1 Oct 2026, Atlantic\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781838956424\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 384 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57648639771006,"sku":null,"price":19.8,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781838956424.jpg?v=1783341748","url":"https:\/\/www.davids-bookshops.co.uk\/products\/all-the-queen-s-men-the-competition-to-marry-elizabeth-i-by-sophie-shorland","provider":"David's Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}