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Charles Spencer was awarded an MA in Modern History from Magdalen College, Oxford University. He worked for the American TV network NBC News for a decade from 1986, as an on-air correspondent, and wrote his own scripts for his pieces for the TODAY Show.
Charles Spencer has since presented for the History Channel, and has been interviewed in his capacity as an expert historian on several occasions by the BBC, most recently in the BBC4 three part series Charles I: Downfall of a King.
From TV it has been a short stroll to writing books. Althorp: the Story of an English House was the first (published in 1998), followed by The Spencer Family (called The Spencers in the USA), Blenheim: Battle for Europe (a Sunday Times bestseller, which was shortlisted for ‘History Book of the Year’ in the 2005 National Book Awards), Prince Rupert: the Last Cavalier, Killers of the King (a Sunday Times bestseller), and To Catch A King (a London Times bestseller).
Charles Spencer has written articles for Vanity Fair, the Spectator, the Sunday Telegraph, the Guardian, and has reviewed books for many publications, including the Mail on Sunday, and the Financial Times.
His most widely-known piece is the Eulogy he composed for the funeral of his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, in September 1997.
Imagine a chilly day in late January 1649, and a carriage with a gold crest on its doors arrives at the gatehouse of St. James's Palace. It is carrying an eight-year-old boy and his thirteen-year-old sister. They are Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Elizabeth, two of Charles the First’s children.
But, this is no happy royal or family visit. For, in a unique moment in English history, the king has recently been condemned to death, and these children have been brought to London to say their final goodbyes to their father.
Escorted by a regiment of 1200 men, King Charles the First is paraded from St. James’s Palace, through St. James’s Park and onto Whitehall, where his executioner awaits.
Walk in the footsteps of the condemned King as you learn about the events that ultimately led to this remarkable renunciation of the Divine Right of Kings and stand witness to his final words as the axe falls.
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BOOKS BY LORD CHARLES SPENCER
The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream (2020):
"As gripping as any thriller. History doesn't get any better than this’ BILL BRYSON
"A brilliant read…Game of Thrones but in the real world" ANTHONY HOROWITZ
PICKED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS.
To Catch A King: Charles II's Great Escape (2018):
"Authoritative narrative history with the pace of a Jason Bourne film" Books of the Year, Evening Standard
"A truly thrilling tale which Spencer, a natural storyteller, delivers with erudition and wit … an exhilarating read" Daily Telegraph
"A book of quite extraordinary period atmosphere, the most diligent research and an appropriately cracking pace" Sunday Express
"It's a wonderful tale, and Spencer tells it with journalistic flair" The Times
"Riveting…‘To Catch a King’ is as gripping as any thriller" Sunday Telegraph
Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I (2014:
"This is a pacy, well-researched and beautifully written story of intrigue, betrayal and Realpolitik, but above all cold-blooded institutionalized revenge on a massive international scale.” ―Andrew Roberts, author of NAPOLEON AND WELLINGTON
"Accomplished and gruesome, this masterful account of the fate of the regicides breaks all barriers in weaving the lives--and the grim fates--of many into a seamless, pacy and riveting read, underpinned by the depth of scholarship for which Charles Spencer is renowned.” ―Alison Weir, author of HENRY VIII: THE KING AND HIS COURT
"Imagine The Odessa File re-shaped to the contours of the 17th century, and you will have some idea of the pleasure to be had in reading Killers Of The King. The virtues of a thriller and of scholarship are potently combined.” ―Tom Holland, author of RUBICON: THE LAST YEARS OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
"In fluent, measured, often witty prose, Killers of the King brilliantly evokes that febrile time when the hunters became the hunted and vengeance was avenged. Like all the best history books, it succeeds not only in telling a remarkable story, but also in illuminating the entire age.” ―Jessie Childs, author of GOD'S TRAITORS: TERRORS AND FAITH IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND
Prince Rupert – The Last Cavalier (2007):
"Rupert of the Rhine proves a beguiling figure in this lively and detailed biography" ―OBSERVER
"An enjoyable life of one of the most alluring of Cavaliers" ―CONTEMPORARY REVIEW
"Well worth a read" ―YORK PRESS
Blenheim, Battle for Europe: How two men stopped the French conquest of Europe (2004):
This book was a Sunday Times best-seller, and was shortlisted for "History Book of the Year" at the 2005 National Book Awards.
The Spencers: a Personal History of an English Family (2000):
“Spencer's narrative tone, consistently intimate and sincere, helps provide the cohesive structure such a project so badly needs. The frequent referencing of letters and diaries available to the author also lends a legitimacy to his conclusions, usefully highlighting and emphasizing his points. Well-written and satisfying-to Anglophiles in general, and particularly to the royalty-obsessed.' Kirkus Reviews
Althorp: the Story of an English House (1998):
"Like all good introductions, this book suggests a world and time far exceeding its little compass." Simon Ings