It's all in the family

It is tempting to overestimate how far royal individuals guide history. In Europe, it was the late 19th century when monarchs could last be said to have an active hand on the tiller. The Three Emperors Miranda Carter Penguin Dh58 In her romping historical survey, Miranda Carter charts the parallel lives of three cousins, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, George V of Great Britain and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Despite inhabiting a rapidly modernising world, these three held onto a belief in the power of European monarchs to shape international politics through family relationships. Wilhelm and George shared a grandmother in Queen Victoria, while Nicholas and George bore such a strong family resemblance that they were frequently mistaken for one another.

This is the personal as political on a grand scale, with major diplomatic incidents being diffused (and occasionally created) over the course of family holidays. There is no stinting on the gossipy details. A penchant for practical jokes was a shared trait among the extended family; in particular, all branches enjoyed turning a hose on their long-suffering subordinates. Carter's great achievement is in showing how such amusing trivialities fed into the wars and revolutions gathering on the horizon.