The King

Few tasked with producing a biography of the newly crowned king could have pulled this off with such polish and precision. To be fair, Andersen has been documenting the royal family for more than forty years and has more than thirty-five books under his belt—two of which have topped the New York Times best seller list. This book actually began before the passing of the longest reigning monarch in world history, Queen Elizabeth II.

Andersen keeps the focus on Charles while masterfully weaving the often complex tapestry of a thousand years of British tradition and nuances of a monarchy that seem totally alien to Americans. His background and inside sources offer readers a magical peek behind the velvet curtains.

Perhaps more than defining the king himself—who has waited longer than any other monarch to ascend his throne—this work brings out the question of how a nation should be governed in the twenty first century. Andersen points out how the popularity of Queen Elizabeth held the United Kingdom together, but leaves open the possibilities and challenges ahead after so many royal scandals.