British Castles and Palaces

Book excerpt: British Castles and Palaces takes you on an epic tour of Britain's inspiring castles and palaces many of which still stand proud and can be visited today. Since around 280 AD, new invaders and established monarchs alike were prolific builders - symbols of power, wealth and fear. Britain's history can be detected in its majestic buildings bursting with fascinating tales when they have been attacked, burnt down and then rebuilt again. They have been home to the greatest figures in British history - Kings and Queens have been born and died in them and battles fought over them. Find out which is the largest inhabited castle in the world; which hotel includes a suite once slept in by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn; which senior Nazi was sent to the Tower of London by Churchill in WW2; the castle in which Charles I hid from Cromwell's forces; which childhood home of Henry VIII became the dazzling art-deco playground of a millionaire couple; at which castle was it said 'We've been waiting 700 years, you can have the seven minutes.' and who first made Buckingham Palace their home? This very readable book uncovers the secrets of incredible stories of warfare, intrigue, romance and even murder with full colour illustrations. As is now the tradition with the White on Black brand, £1 from each sale will be donated to charity, in this case Crisis - The Homelessness Charity.